Body changes during and after pregnancy are something that every woman should know about.
If you thought that you’d have your old body back after giving birth, well sorry to disappoint you but a woman can experience as much as 18 body changes during and after pregnancy.
If you wanted to know the reasons for it, look no further than the fact that you’re carrying a child that consists of hundreds of organs that causes your heart to pump 50% more blood during the entire nine months.
This article will serve as a guide for new moms that want to get informed on the body changes that can happen during and after the pregnancy. Make sure to stick to the end as we will outline a couple of tips on how to stay healthy during the entire process.
Contents
1. Your Shoe Size
Source: parents
Your shoe size will grow due to the significant weight gain. But not only that, but your hormones also have a say on that and estimates predict that every woman will notice a significant change.
During the entire pregnancy, it’s predicted that a woman will gain as much as 15 kilograms or 35 lbs. This has a huge impact on your shoe size, with every woman predicted to grow half a shoe size.
2. Extra Pounds
Source: flo
We just addressed the fact that you can gain as much as 15 kilograms or 35 lbs during pregnancy. It is said, based on research and data that only a single mother out of four will manage to gain only 5 kg during pregnancy. After giving birth, women see a significant change in weight since a whole person is removed from their belly. This results in positive weight changes, but it all depends on a few factors.
Firstly, the weight of the baby is effectively subtracted from yours, meaning you will lose weight. However, a baby cannot weigh 15 kilograms, so you will still be off your shape by a dozen kilograms.
This goes back and forth for the duration of the pregnancy and can really mess up with a woman’s hormone levels. While giving birth is a joyous process, the relief is even better.
3. Bathroom Problems
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While not exactly a physical body change, some women experience very unpleasant problems when going to the bathroom after pregnancy. This all has to do with the fact that a baby has to go through the vaginal canal, and that could further increase the risk of losing bladder control.
While not exactly a dangerous problem, it could turn into an unpleasant one pretty fast. Having no control over your bladder could put you in an unwanted social situation.
When giving birth, the baby has to go through the vaginal canal and that can significantly weaken the muscles. These muscles, as you might imagine, are of the utmost importance when it comes to bladder control. Since they’re weakened, the nerves can get damaged resulting in a very unpleasant problem.
There is a great exercise, called the Kegel exercise, which is recommended for women that experience this problem.
Also, you can visit Hwaml to know more about other problems that pregnant moms experience on a daily base.
4. Your Teeth
Source: affinitydental
One very worrying body change after giving birth is that you are far more likely to lose a tooth. The chances are even greater the more children you give birth to.
On average, women with one child lose two teeth while those with two children lose four.
This is taken from a study in the American Journal of Public Health, and it might prove the old wives’ tale true.
We should disclose that 2,640 mothers were tested in this research and most were of excellent dental care. So, it doesn’t seem that having poor dental health plays a role in losing teeth after giving birth.
But why is that?
Experts predict this to be because of hormonal issues. Hormonal changes aren’t anything new when it comes to pregnancies, and that could play a key role in losing teeth.
The fact that hormonal changes are directly related to an increase in the bacterial population in your mouth might be the reason why women lose more teeth the more they give birth.
5. Lowering the Risk of Breast Cancer
Source: health
Everyone knows that breasts grow during pregnancy, and shrink afterward. This all has to do with the fact that breasts store milk for the baby to feed after giving birth.
After the milk is gone, the breasts will somewhat shrink due to the fictional tissue that atrophies.
But if this is something that annoys you – having bigger breasts and then smaller, don’t be as breastfeeding is found to have lowered the risk of developing breast cancer.
Every time a woman breastfeeds it lowers the chances for around 4% of developing breast cancer.
How to Stay Healthy
Source: medicalnewstoday
Now, let’s quickly touch on a couple of tips for staying healthy during pregnancy.
Eat for Two
It’s important that soon-to-be mothers eat regularly. But also, everyone should keep in mind that you’re feeding another mouth so women should intake another 300 calories per day.
A diverse plate consisting of fruits, vegetables, meats, and various whole grains will make sure your baby comes up healthy as you.
Vitamins
It’s important to stay healthy as the baby will also share the trait. Vitamins keep us healthy by keeping our immune system in check. But there is one vitamin that every mother should take.
This vitamin is a prenatal vitamin that also has folic acid, iron, and iodine. Since iron is a very important mineral for your blood flow, and folic acid eliminates the chances of potential birth difficulties, it would be the smart thing to do to include this with your daily diet.
Source: Fotolia
Regular Doctor Appointments
It goes without saying that your doctor can uncover any potential problems during pregnancy. What you also should keep in mind is that you cannot neglect the regular appointments.
You’re not only looking after yourself, but you’re also looking after another person. So if you want to stay healthy during the pregnancy, and make sure your baby is in perfect health as well, then make sure to schedule regular appointments with your doctor.
