Pregnancy is one of the biggest transformations that a woman can experience. Not only does your mentality change, but most importantly, your body. In order to create a human inside of you, your body has to go through a very unique metamorphosis.
The truth is that even after you’ve given birth, your body will never go back to the way it was. In order to embrace these changes, it’s ideal to anticipate them in advance. If you’re giving birth soon, or plan on it one day, take a look at some of the ways your body will change.
Changes In Breasts
Your breasts will swell in size throughout the pregnancy. Once the milk starts to come out, they’ll grow even bigger. Depending on how long you breastfeed your baby, your breasts may even become saggy.
While plenty of mothers accept this change as a natural and healthy part of motherhood, others may opt for surgery. It’s all a personal preference of how you perceive your own body.
Hair Changes
When you’re pregnant, your hair is thick and healthy. You may wonder how you waited all those years to get pregnant! Who knew such amazing hair was possible? That is until your hair falls out following delivery. While this doesn’t happen to every woman, it’s quite common.
The reason is due to a drop in estrogen. Usually, within a year, your hair returns back to its normal state. Don’t be alarmed if this happens to you!
Vaginal Changes
You guessed it. A bit of stretching occurs after delivering your baby if you gave birth vaginally. The vaginal muscles may become looser than before, and your bladder may be considerably lower.
Many women experience leaky bladders post-baby or a general feeling of things being a little “looser” down there. However, you’ll be happy to know that many mothers experience great success by practicing daily kegel exercises.
Increased Body Weight
Most doctors recommend women gaining between 25 and 40 pounds during pregnancy. Most of it is extra fluid and will be lost after you give birth. However, in some cases, women gain more than the recommended amount of weight.
They may find the last few pounds stubbornly refusing to go away.
By engaging in a healthy diet and exercise regime, you can shed any extra weight from your pregnancy.
Stretch Marks
Unfortunately, stretch marks are genetic, regardless of how many creams you apply. Although creams may help ease the appearance of stretch marks, in some cases they’re unavoidable.
Your best bet against stretch marks is to try to maintain a healthy weight during your pregnancy. If you do manage to collect a few stretch marks during and after your pregnancy, you can wear them as badges of honor for what you accomplished!
