Physical Changes To Expect During Pregnancy

So you see those two pink lines on your pregnancy test stick and are all excited to shout out your happiness to the world. Well, don’t worry; you won’t be able to hide it for long anyways. While you will start noticing your physical changes internally as early as you conceive, your external physical changes will soon start becoming visible to the world. Thanks to those fluctuating hormones and the little bundle that is growing inside you.

While everyone around is happy to see you carrying a baby, your pregnant body will undergo numerous physical changes in each trimester that can make you both happy and uncomfortable at the same time. Let us look at some of these expected changes:

Visible or Varicose Veins:

Throughout pregnancy, your body is working very hard. Your heart pumps faster as it needs more blood for growth and development of your baby, especially in the first trimester. As a result the blood vessels are working overtime resulting in prominent blue colour. These veins become more visible like a road map on your body as your pregnancy progresses. The good news is, they slowly disappear once your baby is out.

Skin Changes:

Hormones can create havoc on your skin during pregnancy. While estrogen will do its good part in the initial months and give that glow to your skin, it can crack acne and some ugly pigmentation on your skin during the second and third trimester. Since estrogen levels rise during pregnancy, you will notice a good hair growth on your head and sometimes in unwanted places like upper lips and chin. The skin on your abdomen is stretching hard to accommodate a growing baby resulting in breakdown of collagen or connective tissues. This will result in fine silver lines on your tummy. Call them stretch marks which can get itchy. A good anti stretch mark cream should take care of this.

Changes in Breast:

Your body is now slowly getting ready for feeding your new baby. During first trimester you will notice that the area around your breast, the areolas look darker and enlarged. The breasts will also feel more tender, full and sensitive to touch. By the end of third trimester, you may notice a white discharge called colostrum from your breast. This is highly nutritious and hence good for a new born.

Weight Gain:

By end of second semester, you actually start showing up. As the baby grows in your uterus, your uterus will expand and you will start gaining weight. Approximately you should gain about 0.68kg weight per week throughout your pregnancy. This is the most noticeable physical change in your body and also the major reason for your discomfort.
Swelling: Pregnancy produces approximately 50% more fluids and blood to meet the needs of growing baby. This results in some part of fluid retention resulting in swelling also known as edema. You will notice this change in your hands, feet and ankles. Swelling is also noticed in women with high blood pressure or hyper tension.

Belly Button:

Towards the beginning of third semester you will notice the belly button popping out of your stomach. This is because of your expanding abdomen and is very normal. It will fall back in shape once your baby is out and your abdomen is back to shape.

Apart from all the above physical changes, there are many other changes that an expectant mother can expect like excessive sweating, tiredness, hyper active metabolism, bleeding gums and so on and so forth. The journey of pregnancy is a unique experience and every mother who takes this journey has her own share of discomforts and pleasantries. These discomforts might make you impatient and restless at times but trust me, as a mother of two, every discomfort and pain is worth because you are doing a miracle of creating a life within you that will make your forget all your miseries once you will hold that miracle in your hand So just Hang in there mommies and enjoy the  journey!

Also read: 10 Body Changes You Will Experience During Pregnancy 

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