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6 crazy ways women experience body change during pregnancy

Published

8 years ago

June 24, 2016

6 crazy ways women experience body change during pregnancy

Pregnancy is a pretty wild experience—mentally, emotionally, and physically. But that shouldn’t come as a big surprise—you’ve got a little human being growing inside you, after all.

But with that little human being comes some crazy hormones that do some pretty wacky stuff to your body.

Listed below are six of the freakiest things that happen to you while you’ve got a bun baking in your oven.

1. Your Blood Volume Doubles: Starting from the first few weeks of pregnancy, your body actually increases the amount of blood and plasma from 30 to 50 per cent. That happens because your heart is working harder and more efficiently, which results in more blood being ejected from your heart with each beat.

2. You Get A Bit Hippy. As your body gets ready to deliver your baby, your pelvic bone will actually separate in the middle. The main culprit: A hormone aptly named Relaxin, which contributes to the relaxation of the uterine muscle, separation of the pubic bone, and softening of the cervix opening up your pelvis so your baby can be welcomed to the world safely.

3. You Develop A Dark Side: Notice a dark line growing down your stomach and your belly button getting a little brown? Known as the linea nigrea, it’s actually always there, but pregnancy hormones change the pigmentation in our skin to make it show more.

4. Your Vagina Becomes Unrecognizable: Whoa: you may find that when baby is on board, your vagina actually changes colour—turning a blue or purple hue (called Chadwick Sign). Also: It might swell up as a result of increased blood flow. You also might notice that you have a different odour down there or increased discharge.

5. Your Tootsies Get Bigger. Sadly, you may need to say so long to your cutest shoes, because your feet can grow along with your belly. A recent study from the University of Iowa published in the American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation showed that during pregnancy the arch of the foot flattens out—as a result of both Relaxin loosening your ligaments and the extra weight pressing down on your foot.

6. You Grow Hair—Like, Everywhere: Hormone changes in pregnancy may cause the hair on your head (yay!) or body (boo!) to grow or become thicker. Sometimes women grow hair in areas where they don’t normally have hair, such as the face, chest, abdomen, and arms.

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