There are a lot of women who dream of having children of their own but it is very important to understand the very real responsibility of giving birth and becoming a mother. Part of being prepared is also knowing the kind of changes your body goes through during pregnancy and most changes disappear afterwards but some of these last a lifetime.
1. Brace yourself for MAJOR physical changes – you might not even recognize the person you see in the mirror
Like every part of your body even your skin starts changing when you’re carrying a baby. After childbirth you get a darker discoloration of the skin which is often seen as freckles on your skin. This looks like a red rash around your mouth and chin and they may take a year or so to disappear. However, one condition that does not disappear is skin tags. This is a problem when your underarms have tiny balls of flesh that sag.
But don’t be afraid because with the right exercises, most women are able to get back their attractive muscular arms.
2. You might have a case of ‘mommy brain’
It is medically proven that the trauma of delivery and childbirth causes women to lose brain cells and often this leads to a decrease in the rational working of the mother’s brain. Mommy hormones also take over enhancing the protective instinct. A recent study proves that women tend to have a serious decrease in brain activity that is sometimes permanent. This also gets worse with the number of a children a woman has.
3. You may end up with a permanently different shoe size
During pregnancy women often experience swollen hands and feet which is caused by the hormonal changes in their body. But what a lot of women don’t expect is that these changes persist after childbirth and even when their child is a toddler, they might still experience restlessness, aches and pains.
4. Some stomach problems never go away
Pregnant women tend to experience everything from constipation to diarrhea but there is a chance that some of these issues stick around after child birth. A lot of women develop IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and/or hemorrhoids that effect their daily life.
5. You might never get your bladder capacity back
Even though the baby is no longer pressing on your bladder, pressure on the urethra during delivery can make urination difficult postpartum. Some women also contract a Urinary Tract infection (UTI) which leads to a burning sensation while you pee.
6. You might be covered in spidery veins
During pregnancy you carry around 50% more blood and the pregnancy hormones effect your blood circulation. This results in a condition that looks like spidery veins and is known as Varicose veins. The problem improves as you being losing weight after child birth but it never goes away completely.
7. Your breasts will be a different size and shape altogether
During pregnancy your breasts swell, become sore and your nipples become darker and bigger. After Childbirth, they remain swollen but after you stop breastfeeding they start to sag and you will also start to leak breast milk even when you aren’t breast feeding.
8. You might need eyeglasses after the experience
Pregnancy hormones often effect your vision and make it blurry now and then. Most of these problems will go away after the end of your pregnancy but sometimes the pregnancy hormones cause fluid retention that may effect your eyesight permanently.
9. You might have a permanent case of hypertension
One of the problems pregnant mothers face is of high blood pressure. This is due to the circulation of a lot more blood in their bodies and often after child birth this problem persists in the form of hypertension. You will be overprotective of your child and be on high alert constantly.
10. It can leave permanent marks on your body, like for real
Your skin stretches to its maximum elasticity to accommodate your baby and often there is no going back. Stretch marks might end up being your lifelong companion. They tend to get lighter with time and blend into your skin more but there is no shame in those beautiful scars from giving birth.
11. Mommy hormones will kill your sex drive
Most mothers are far too busy taking care of the living human being in front of them and this is why they don’t really want to think about sex but that is not the only reason. Postpartum hormones tend to make mothers’ sex drive go down and increase their mothering instincts. You might not want to get back on the horse for at least a year or more.
12. Get ready to lose a lot of hair
The average person loses a 100 hair per day and during pregnancy women stop losing the same amount of hair due to raging hormones but your body will compensate after child birth. You have to lose 6 months worth of hair in a few weeks and this might make you feel like you’re going bald but don’t worry because your hair loss will return to normal soon enough.
13. You will feel stretchy and dry down there
Your vagina may feel stretched and tender after the delivery. Shortly after delivery there is a excessive bleeding which may last for a few weeks but the vagina goes really dry while you breastfeed and this problem stays for a while. However, with the right pelvic exercises you can restore everything back to how it used to be.
14. You are the fertility queen for several weeks
Most doctors fail to mention this because the assumption is that you are too tired to engage in sexual activity anyway. However, if you do end up going down that road be very careful because you are extremely fertile after taking the 9 month break. A lot of women end up getting pregnant all over again only a few months after giving childbirth.
15. You are going to sweat like never before
The estrogen level in your body is decreasing after childbirth from very high to normal and this will caused you to sweat excessively. Several weeks after childbirth you will get tremendous night sweats and you should keep yourself hydrated and take it easy for a while.
Everybody knows that you are willing to go through all of the above for your newborn baby. We hope that amidst all this you enjoy every second spend with your baby.
Cover image via: thelocalsociety.com