how does pregnancy change your body
8 Ways that pregnancy will change your body forever?
To be a mother changes you there are some changes in your body when you have a baby inside your body and these changes such as Vaginal changes,Growing and shrinking breasts,Skin changes and Wider hips
At no other time in your life will you grow a whole new organ, force your heart to pump 50 percent more blood and have alien cells hijack your brain.
And while most of those odd changes disappear after birth, a few of them, like your little one, are for keeps. From permanently bigger feet to diabetes.
At no other time in your life will you grow a whole new organ, force your heart to pump 50 percent more blood and have alien cells hijack your brain.
And while most of those odd changes disappear after birth, a few of them, like your little one, are for keeps. From permanently bigger feet to diabetes.
Here are 8 things that may never go back to the way they were before pregnancy.
Shoe size
There are two main reasons for the
change in shoe size during pregnancy: weight gain and hormones.
The American College of
Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) says that women of a normal weight
should gain from 25 to 35 lbs. (11 to 16 kilograms) during pregnancy.
"That extra weight that's carried around for the 10 lunar months of
pregnancy, and even longer, flattens out the [foot's] arch," which is why
some women gain about half a shoe size during pregnancy,
The hormone relaxin also plays a
role. As its name suggests, relaxin helps relax ligaments and bones in the
pelvis, so the body can be elastic during childbirth. But relaxin also affects
ligaments all over the body, including in the feet, which can make a woman's
feet looser and more spread out
New moms: Once your feet grow, you
should get used to sporting a larger shoe size, as these changes are permanent,
even after you lose weight and relaxin production stops
Extra pounds
And speaking of weight gain, while
those extra pounds don't have to be permanent, they are for many women.
One in 4 women will hang onto 11
lbs. or more (5 kg or more) a year after giving birth. And after having a baby,
a woman will be, on average, 2.5 to 5 lbs. (1 to 2 kg) heavier than she was
prior to pregnancy, Kathleen Rasmussen, a professor of maternal and child
nutrition at Cornell University, previously told Live Science. While that's not
a ton, imagine repeating that process for four or five babies; after that, the
extra weight gain can be significant
Vaginal changes
"This one shouldn't be a surprise,
given the average dimensions of a newborn's head, but women often have vaginalchanges postpartum While the vagina will contract down to almost its original
size after birth, most women will have a permanently wider vagina
There are many factors that contribute, including type of delivery, size of baby, genetic factors [and] being overweight.
There are many factors that contribute, including type of delivery, size of baby, genetic factors [and] being overweight.
Growing and shrinking breasts
A woman's breasts go through some
big (and little) changes during and after pregnancy.
"They get bigger at first,
because the dormant fat tissue in the breast gets replaced by functional
tissue" in preparation for breastfeeding,
But these larger breasts don't
last forever. "After a woman stops breastfeeding, that functional tissue
atrophies, because it's not being used anymore," And then it's not
immediately replaced by fat, because the fat is already gone."
If the woman gets pregnant again,
then the process will repeat. And if the woman gains a lot of weight after a
pregnancy, then she'll replace those fat cells in her breasts. "But
generally, if somebody is a very fit person and doesn't gain weight, then [her
breasts] are going to stay smaller at that point,"
Stretch marks
Pregnant women might notice pink
or red stretch marks on their skin during pregnancy. Granted, this condition
isn't unique to pregnancy; people can get stretch marks any time they
experience a big increase or decrease in weight, The good news is that while
stretch marks stick around, they do get much lighter over time. "They
usually do fade out in one to two years. However, "if the woman gets
pregnant again, or gains or loses a lot of weight again, they may become more
pronounced."
Skin changes
Pregnancy comes with all kinds of
skin changes. For instance, the linea nigra Latin for "black line" is a dark, vertical line that runs over the belly to the pubic hair region
during pregnancy.
Women may also develop the
"mask of pregnancy," known as melasma, which are brown patches that
color the face. Freckles and moles can also darken during pregnancy.
The linea nigra and melasma are
caused by an increase in melanin, the pigment that adds color to your skin and
hair, according to ACOG. The dark areas usually fade after the woman gives
birth, but some women with melasma can have dark patches for years, ACOG said.
Some women with melasma are extra-careful to use sunscreen or wear a hat if they're
going outside, and others use skin lighteners after giving birth to address the
dark patches,
Varicose veins and hemorrhoids
Some pregnant women might notice
swollen, sore and blue veins called varicose veins on their legs, as well
as on the vulva and in the vagina. When these sore-feeling veins occur on the
rectum, they're called hemorrhoids
Varicose veins and hemorrhoids
develop because the uterus's heavy weight and pressure can reduce blood flow
from the lower part of the body, ACOG said. In addition, increased blood flow and
a weakening of the blood vessels' lining can contribute to these
conditions, Usually, varicose veins and hemorrhoids go away within six to 12
months of the birth
Wider Hips
Some women may notice that their
hips are wider following childbirth. But why?
You may think it has to do with the hormone relaxing — largely because relaxin relaxes and softens the joints and ligaments in the pelvis to help the mother push out the baby during labor. But that's likely not the real reason behind wider hips
Rather, wider hips are "most probably due to the deposition of fat into areas of the body that have extra fat cells," he told Live Science. In other words, some women get chubbier because of accumulating fat cells, not because their hip bones are actually wider.
You may think it has to do with the hormone relaxing — largely because relaxin relaxes and softens the joints and ligaments in the pelvis to help the mother push out the baby during labor. But that's likely not the real reason behind wider hips
Rather, wider hips are "most probably due to the deposition of fat into areas of the body that have extra fat cells," he told Live Science. In other words, some women get chubbier because of accumulating fat cells, not because their hip bones are actually wider.
