Five Surprising Body Changes During Pregnancy

You might have gotten curious and read our article on the problems that can arise after giving birth, but did you ever wonder what crazy things can happen to the body during pregnancy? The body is capable of doing some weird and wonderful things, so we’ve put together a list of five changes that could possibly happen when you’ve got a literal person growing inside of you.

Voice changes

How the heck can being pregnant affect your voice?! Here’s how! Pregnancy causes an increase in estrogen and progesterone, which can in turn lead to changes in body fluids and muscle control. This affects the vocal cords, causing them to swell and resulting in a deeper voice. It’s also not a good idea to attempt to reach the high notes you suddenly can’t reach anymore as you could end up tearing your vocal cords while they’re in this fragile state. Solution: You could always see if the nearest barbershop quartet is hiring.

Hair changes

Many women have reported either finding themselves with more hair than they started with…or the opposite! Due to the ovaries and placenta producing estrogen and androgen hormones, this can lead to more hair appearing on your arms, face, and chest, but it luckily subsides after the baby is born. These extra hormones can also result in thicker hair on your head too as well as a faster growth rate. Solution: Quickly try out all those hairstyles that never worked out because your hair was too short!

On the other hand, hair loss can actually happen during pregnancy! 40-50% of women report experiencing it so it’s not at all uncommon. One reason for thinning hair is that the hormone progesterone, released in high levels during pregnancy, causes your locks to become drier and break. Another reason could be stress, which is known as telogen effluvium. You might not feel stressed, but your body is going through a lot. Solution: There are so many ways to care for thinning hair as well as many products available to get it back to its original thickness.

Baby brain

Many pregnant women complain about memory loss during pregnancy, which is also referred to as “baby brain”. Once again, hormones are to thank for this brain fog. Lack of sleep during pregnancy can also play a role as well as the lack of energy, which prevents you from being able to stay focused. It has actually been proven that the brain functions differently during pregnancy, but it’s actually a good thing because it’s making sure you’re attuned to your baby’s facial expressions when they’re born. This is achieved by increasing activity at the side of the brain that is responsible for emotional skills. Solution: Use it to your advantage and ‘forget’ to do the laundry every so often – no-one can get mad at you.

Food aversions

We’ve all heard about crazy food cravings that can occur during pregnancy, but the opposite can also be true. Many women suddenly can’t stand the food they once loved. The increase in estrogen in your system can heighten your sense of smell, which is actually an evolutionary defense mechanism to ensure pregnant women know they’re in danger or about to eat something that’s gone off. Imagine suddenly not being able to tolerate chocolate? Or wanting to throw up at the sight of pepperoni pizza? Solution: If your body doesn’t want it, it’s best not to force it. Luckily aversions get better during the second trimester so hopefully you’ll only have to live a chocolate and pizza free life for a few months.

Bigger nose

Estrogen strikes again! This hormone causes the membranes in your nose to swell and even causes nosebleeds. Some women get pregnancy rhinitis during the second or third trimester. This causes a thickening of the mucous linings, which results in your nose looking a little larger than you remember. Solution: Great if you always thought your nose was too small, although it will go back to its original size once the baby is here.