Pregnancy is supposed to be a magical time in your life. But, hormones can play strange games with a woman’s body. Here are some weird pregnancy symptoms that some pregnant women have experienced.

Blame it on the Hormones

Let’s get this straight first of all: It’s the hormones. When the body goes through the process of creating a new life, things get out of whack. It’s almost like returning to puberty except with a baby. Your emotions are up and down as a result and so are some of the things that happen to your body.

Now, some of the things that happen will have to be endured for several months. The good news is that many of the symptoms subside once the baby is born and hormone levels return to normal. But, until then, sit back and read about the strange and unusual things that your body can experience.

Weird Side Effects We Never Talk about

Itching – This occurs because of the stretching of the skin and changes in the hormone levels. It can be irritating to have to scratch your belly all the time. Instead use aloe Vera and cocoa butter creams to rehydrate the skin and manage the itching.
Extra hair – Many women talk about gaining a long luxurious head of hair as well as longer, stronger nails. That’s okay. But, did you know that sometimes women grow hair in places where they previously didn’t have hair like on their chin, neck and lip. It can be quite embarrassing but it should go away after the baby is born. In the meantime, get acquainted with waxing.
Big Feet – No one wants to wake up and find out that their feet are a size bigger. Don’t cry. Hormonal changes are to blame again. As women get heavier through their pregnancy, arches can fall and feet can spread out and swell causing you to temporarily need a bigger size shoe.
Big nose – Have you heard people say that their nose is spreading across their face? It is due to pregnancy hormones. Nasal membranes swell and blood flow increases. This can make the nose feel stuffy and look larger. Nosebleeds are also not uncommon. Use saline spray to hydrate membranes so you can breathe.
Cravings for inedible foods – Gone are the days of pickles and ice cream. Some women crave paint and clay. Why? The body is missing essential nutrients in the diet that are needed. But, don’t eat the clay. Iron is often missing so eat more red meat and green leafy vegetables.
Gas explosion – Bowels move slower during pregnancy due to the weight of the baby and, you guessed it, hormones. This leaves more time for gas to build up and explode either up or down. Try to reduce your gas faux-pas by avoiding gas-producing foods like broccoli and beans.

What side effects are you experiencing from your pregnancy? Remember, they are short-lived and soon disappear after birth.

Weird Pregancy Symptoms

A misnomer! The name given to this condition is really misleading. A lot of women will definitely agree with this statement, most especially soon-to-be moms. Fact is, morning sickness not only occurs in the morning. For many women, it does afflict them during the morning, but it can affect also pose great discomfort at any given time of the day. For some expectant mothers, it can even be an “all-day-everyday” sickness.

Around half to two thirds of all pregnant women will experience morning sickness to some extent, particularly in the first trimester. It is associated with varying degrees of nausea and vomiting. For most women, morning sickness begins around the fourth week of pregnancy and resolves by the 12th week. However, one in five women endure morning sickness into their second semester, and an unfortunate few experience nausea and vomiting for the entire duration of their pregnancy. Morning sickness is typically at its worst early in the day, hence its name, but it can strike at any point during the day or night. Despite research, the actual cause remains a mystery, but theories include hormonal changes and fluctuations in blood pressure. In most cases, morning sickness doesn’t harm the woman or the unborn child. However, severe morning sickness that includes weight loss and dehydration needs prompt medical attention.

Morning sickness is caused by the rapid hormonal changes a woman’s body undergoes during pregnancy. This is especially hard during the first few months while a pregnant woman slowly adjust to the hormonal change. This is why many women experience less morning sickness after their first trimester.

The hormonal changes include increasing estrogen, progesterone and hCG (human chorionic gonadotropinis) levels. The hCG is made by cells that form the placenta, which nourishes the egg after it has been fertilized and becomes attached to the uterine wall. Combine this with an enhanced sense of smell and more stomach acid than usual and it’s no wonder women get sick to their stomach during pregnancy.

According to studies, it’s not completely clear how these hormones cause morning sickness, but there are a few theories that have been generally accepted by the medical community. Progesterone tends to soften and relax muscle tissue — which is the natural process of preparing a pregnant woman’s body for labor and delivery. It may also prevent pre-term labor by keeping the uterine muscles relaxed. Unfortunately it also relaxes all the muscles involved in the digestive process, which causes food to be processed slower, thus causing excess stomach acid.

So far no one seems to know why hCG levels may cause morning sickness, but it is believed that there is some connection, simply because morning sickness seems to get worse as hCG levels go up in the beginning of pregnancy. They start to decline around the end of the first trimester, which is also the time when many women notice their morning sickness gradually improve as well.

Pregnant women are also concerned that constant vomiting may threaten their unborn baby. Vomiting and stretching may strain the abdominal muscles and cause localized aching and soreness, but the physical mechanics of vomiting won’t harm the baby. The fetus is perfectly cushioned inside its sac of amniotic fluid. In fact, numerous studies have discovered that moderate morning sickness is associated with a reduced risk of miscarriage. However, prolonged vomiting eventually leads to dehydration and weight loss, a situation which could possibly deprive the child of proper nutrition and increase the risk of the baby being underweight at birth.

Unrelenting morning sickness can have a profound effect on a woman’s quality of life, preventing her from working, socializing and looking after her other children. Pregnant women enduring morning sickness report higher levels of psychological stress, including anxiety and depression. This prompted the fallacy that morning sickness is purely psychosomatic, which means that the woman’s fears and anxieties trigger her physical discomfort. However, there is no research to further substantiate these claims.

Nevertheless, morning or “all-day-everyday” sickness, the most important thing is always seek medical advice, especially if symptoms become severe. Treatment options can include drugs that won’t harm the developing baby.

Pregnant Women Ask: Is it Morning or All-Day-Everyday Sickness?

Back pain is never fun no matter who you are, but when you are pregnant it is perhaps the toughest of all. This is for a few different reasons, but more than anything because even though you are probably in the most discomfort from your back pain, you are not able to rely on most of the more conventional treatments because they pose a threat to you and your baby.

For example your doctor will not be able to prescribe you pain pills, because these could affect the baby growing inside of you and so it is not worth the risk. However, if you need back pain relief during pregnancy, there are still a few natural treatment options that you can use which should help to ease your pain.

Why Pregnant Women Get Back Pain

If you take a look at a pregnant woman, it is pretty obvious to see why they are dealing with back pain. They definitely need back pain muscle relief, but first you need to understand the details on why they get back pain. For one, their body proportions are thrown off because now they have this huge load in their front, and so their spine is having all this weight put on it in order to balance out the body.

As well, with the excess weight gain that women experience during pregnancy, this too puts a strain on their back and results in back pain.

Treatment

If you want to know how to get back pain relief during pregnancy, there are a few back pain relief during pregnancy options that you will want to learn more about. One option for back pain relief during pregnancy is to use ice packs. Especially if you alternate between hot and cold on the back this is going to help to relieve your pain and you don’t have to worry about harming the baby.

Sleeping on your side is another tip if you are suffering from back pain during pregnancy, and staying fit as well. Of course you probably don’t feel like getting up and exercising and you also have to be careful with this when you are pregnant, but making sure that you are still getting regular exercise so that you can stay fit and help to relieve back pain.

These are all great tips for back pain relief if you have back pain when you are pregnant and which you will want to try.

How to Get Back Pain Relief During Pregnancy