3 Changes To Expect During Pregnancy

Missing your period might be one of the most exciting things in your life right now because it could mean that you are finally pregnant. If this is your first pregnancy, you may have no idea what to expect during the next nine months, or what you should do. Here are three changes you will experience during your pregnancy, and your obstetrician will try to help you understand them and cope with them.

Weight Gain Expectations

Obstetricians are usually particular about how much weight they recommend gaining during a pregnancy, but this amount depends on your current weight and body mass index. For a person that is within a healthy range of weight, the doctor might recommend limiting the weight gain to 25 to 35 pounds during the entire pregnancy. For a person that is overweight, this amount might be considerably less.

Weight gain is an important issue to control during pregnancy for several reasons, including:

  1. The weight gained during pregnancy can be hard to lose after having the baby.
  2. Gaining a lot of weight can cause swelling and other health issues, and it can also lead to major health risks for you and the baby.

While you might be tempted to eat constantly when you're pregnant, it's important to limit yourself. If you feel the urge to eat, grab healthy foods instead of junk food, and this can include fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables.

Hormonal Changes To Expect

Through your pregnancy, your doctor will also talk about the hormonal changes that will take place. When you're carrying a baby, your hormones will change often. This usually causes a woman to feel either extremely happy or really sad and can also cause women to feel sick, tired, and nauseous.

There are many hormone changes in the body during pregnancy, but here are the three most common hormones found in a woman's body during this time:

  1. Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) – HCG is a hormone that is always found during pregnancy because it's produced from the placenta growing in the body. You can expect your HCG levels to constantly change, but they tend to be highest during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.
  2. Progesterone – During your pregnancy, you will have more progesterone than usual, but the level will be highest during the first trimester. This hormone is what causes heartburn, low blood pressure, and constipation.
  3. Estrogen – The third common hormone found during pregnancy is estrogen, which is often thought to be the hormone responsible for the glow women have during this time.  

Because there is a surge of hormones going through your body, and because the levels of these hormones are always changing, you may feel really strange during your pregnancy. Some women love being pregnant and feel really happy during this time, but others are miserable, sad, and extremely uncomfortable or sick.

Body Changes That May Occur

The third type of change you should expect involves your body. You already know that you will gain weight and that your hormone levels will be off, but what about your actual body? There are certain things that will inevitably happen from the pregnancy, but there are other things that could potentially happen.

While every pregnancy results in weight gain, some women are left with stretch marks on their bodies afterwards. This is not always an issue, but it is something that could happen to you. Another common result of pregnancy is enlarged breasts, but this too is not something that always occurs.

You may also notice changes with your vagina after delivering the baby naturally, or you may be left with back problems or varicose veins. These are all risks of pregnancy, but they do not always occur.

If you are ready to choose a doctor to begin learning more about your pregnancy, look for one at a place like Women's Clinic of Johnson County that specializes in obstetrics. When you make your first appointment, you will get the opportunity to learn more about changes to expect, and you will learn about how to care for your baby and yourself during the next nine months.


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