Pregnancy is exciting, thrilling and overwhelming! Knowing that another life is growing and forming within your body can bring mixed emotions. Apart from all these feelings though, there can be discomfort, and mothers will experience certain pains along the way. Each mother may have a unique experience and their own stories to tell of what they’ve been through but there are still certain things that they will share in common. This is natural as the whole body system is experiencing different changes from producing hormones to the growth of many parts especially the belly.
So, here are the top 10 things that hurt most women during pregnancy. These are the common pains which mothers should be aware of. Pregnant women all over the world has experienced, if not all, then some of these pains at some point while carrying the tiny life inside them. Ouch!!!
1. Nausea
During the first few weeks of pregnancy when there are hormonal changes, mothers tend to have problems mostly in the mornings. Nausea is one of the first few discomforts of pregnancy. The hormones seem to control much of the body’s mechanisms. That is why in most cases pregnant women will have lesser food.
The change of hormones will make food intake totally different from the usual. Like a favorite dish becomes all suddenly the least favorite. In general, this is perhaps one of the symptoms that is part of the more broader ‘morning sickness.’
2. Heartburn
Progesterone is released when a woman becomes pregnant to soften the muscles of the uterus. This, at the same time relaxes the valve in the chest part and allows the gastric acids to flow back. This causes the pregnant woman to feel a burning sensation in the upper chest and throat as if the heart is burning. As the pregnancy progresses, the growing baby will cause the heartburn as it pushes the gastric acid to the throat.
3. Cramps and tugging on the lower abdomen
This is usually experienced during the early weeks of pregnancy. The uterus and the baby start to grow at the same time the hormones are being produced. This will cause mild cramping or the pregnant women will feel a pulling sensation or tugging on their lower abdomen.
This is not something that pregnant women should panic. As long as there is no bleeding, this should be considered as normal. And mothers should not be anxious if they experience such throughout their pregnancy experience.
4. Backache
Carrying the extra weight during pregnancy and the expansion of the uterus may throw a woman’s body off balance. The body posture changes causing a strain on the back. The increasing weight of the baby and the hormones produced during pregnancy are great factors for some ligaments on the body to lax during this time causing a swayback. In technical terms, the spine of the mother may become more bent than the usual sense that it may seem to be lordotic in curvature.
5. Pelvic pain
The pubic points will widen to a few millimeters when a woman gets pregnant. But there are cases when it stretches too far thus resulting to pain and making the mother uncomfortable. This usually happens on the 4th or 5th month but some will experience this on the early part of their pregnancy. Some will have the problem even after they give birth. This situation can be common but there are rare occasions when women have worse problems brought by the stretching of the pelvic bones, which will often need medical attention.
6. Swelling
A few things contribute to the swelling of the extremities like the feet, legs, hands fingers and even the face. Once a woman is pregnant liquid increases or doubles in the body especially the blood (increased total blood volume). This happens to support the development of the growing fetus and to make the body expand as the baby grows. Swelling is also caused by the growing uterus and as it is pressed on the pelvic vein this causes some obstruction to the flow of blood.
7. Bleeding gums
Gingivitis during pregnancy is also brought about by the changing hormones. The change will make the gums more sensitive and prone to germs. It is very important for pregnant women to have proper oral hygiene like using the right toothbrush especially something that can reach the hard to brush parts of the mouth.
Visiting the dentists for check-up and eating the right food especially those rich in Vitamin C and calcium are strongly recommended for pregnant women. This is to protect the gums and teeth from germs causing the gums to bleed.
8. Constipation
The digestive system gets affected with the hormonal changes. As the hormones help the pregnancy progress normally, it also relaxes the muscles making the movement of food inside the intestines slow.
Another cause is the iron supplements which most pregnant women are prescribed to take. The growing uterus can also cause constipation. It brings pressure to the lower abdomen including the intestines which will possibly cause fecal blockages. This in turn results to constipation.
9. Fatigue
Fatigue is another pain during pregnancy brought about by a lot of factors. During the early part of pregnancy, most women feel they are more tired and uncomfortable as the hormones are produced. On the latter part of the pregnancy, the growing baby inside the womb will seem to take most of your energy. Especially that the heart works hard a few more times due to the body’s increasing demand for blood during this time.
In some pregnant women, fatigue is also brought by the hard time to get enough sleep. This is because of the frequent trips to the bathroom or discomfort with their growing bellies. For pregnant women who may not have sleeping problems, they tend to sleep more to cope with the weariness they are feeling at this time.
10. Stretch marks
This could be another pain during pregnancy. Pregnant women may not cringe or feel their body ache with stretch marks but it’s something that a lot of pregnant women are not happy about. This is brought by the separation of collagen tissues under your skin as the uterus enlarges while the breasts develop and become fuller.
Women who experience greater levels of development in their bodies are those who will have stretch marks at the early stage of pregnancy, but in most cases stretch marks occur during the second trimester when at this stage pregnancy develops faster and the uterus is much larger.
These are some of the things which can make pregnancy more meaningful. Pregnancy may not be a bed of roses but seeing the bundle of joy later will melt a mother’s heart that all the aches and pain she hurdled for the past 9 months will immediately become a thing of the past.