Pregnancy is such a beautiful thing… but the side effects that sometimes come with it can be gross, embarrassing, and downright frustrating. But it’s all worth it when you’re holding your little bundle of joy, right? All those nights of sleeping uncomfortably, swelling, gas, and unexpected bodily fluids leaking, the side effects of pregnancy is definitely not a popular topic of discussion over the dinner table.
Now, to be fair, every woman’s journey to pregnancy is different. Some women are able to conceive naturally, whereas other women turn to a specialized fertility clinic to aid in their pregnancy process. But regardless of whether you conceive naturally or need a little help, there’s one constant in every pregnancy, and that is the pregnancy symptoms.
It’s important to understand that no pregnancy is the same… The symptoms that one woman may experience in her pregnancy may be totally different from your symptoms. Your pregnancy symptoms from your first child can be different from the symptoms you experienced with your second child… that just goes to show you how hormones affect each woman differently.
Despite the frustrations these pregnancy symptoms bring, it’s just something that comes with the territory of growing a human being in your body. But the best way to cope with these bothersome symptoms is to first be aware of what they are. Take a look at some of the most common and frustrating discomforts that come with pregnancy.
Side Effects to Potentially Expect During Your Pregnancy
Frequent Urination
Frequent urination is something you may have noticed before you even found out you were pregnant, and then once you found out, it made perfect sense. This particular symptom is one of the most common and early signs of pregnancy.
The part that’s disheartening about this particular symptom is that it’s likely to stick with you through your entire pregnancy, and it gets worse when your baby grows and sits right on your bladder! Oh, the joys of pregnancy!
Itchy Skin
Enduring itchy skin is pretty common with pregnancy simply because your belly is growing as your baby grows. Itchy skin is also a result of stretch marks that come from your growing belly. Now, studies have been conducted that showed that stretch marks are a result of your genetic makeup.
That’s why some pregnant women get stretch marks during their pregnancy and some don’t, but nonetheless, whether you have stretch marks or not, your body expanding can cause your skin to itch. Just continue to drink lots of water and keep your skin moisturized.
Yeast Infections
Every woman has a certain amount of yeast in her body and the only reason it becomes a problem for women is when it outgrows the other microorganisms in your body… this is especially apparent when you’re pregnant.
According to babycenter.com, when you become pregnant, your body produces higher levels of estrogen which then produces more glycogen, making it even easier for yeast to grow in a pregnant woman’s body. Yeast infections can be treated during pregnancy and it won’t hurt or affect your baby while he/she is growing in your womb.
Heartburn
If you have heartburn now and you’re not pregnant, just wait until you get pregnant… You’ll feel like a fire-breathing dragon! Heartburn is the result of the hormone progesterone. This hormone is what slows your stomach from digesting and emptying the food you’ve consumed. To prevent or reduce your likelihood of heartburn, try to avoid spicy foods or foods that a high in acid.
Nosebleeds
You may have noticed how when women get pregnant, their nose starts to get wider. Well, that same thing will happen to you during your pregnancy, causing the blood vessels in your nose to expand. With this expansion, you’ll have an increase in your blood supply which can then put too much pressure on those vessels and cause them to rupture.
Excessive Saliva Build Up
This particular symptom is something you don’t hear about too often but it is very common. During your pregnancy, you may notice that you feel like you need to spit a lot, especially when you start feeling nauseated. Pregnant women experiencing this symptom will typically keep a “spit bucket” nearby or constantly eat small snacks to reduce the saliva. Excessive salivation is by far one of the most annoying symptoms of pregnancy.
Constipation
Constipation is another culprit of that bothersome hormone progesterone; it slows the movement of food through your digestive tract, the same way it causes heartburn. This is an issue that can be bothersome in the beginning stages of your pregnancy but as your baby gets bigger there will be an increased amount of pressure on your rectum, allowing you to find more relief from constipation to “get things moving.”