Annoying Pregnancy Problems That Aren't Actually Bad For You

Pregnancy is perhaps the most incredible miracle of all. From a simple (but fun) act in the bedroom, a new life is produced, forming and growing in your womb. But for all the magic of the process, it’s still a pain in the neck - sometimes quite literally - for those going through it. Scientists think that this has something to do with the way humans evolved. People have only been walking upright and having upright pregnancies for a few hundred thousand years and in that time, evolution has only partially completed the job, giving us the physiology for upright pregnancies, but not giving us the robustness that other animals seem to have (queue the hormones and moodiness!)

But it turns out that many of those annoying problems we experience during pregnancy aren’t problems at all. In fact, much of the time, they’re exactly what you’d expect, given our half-complete biology. The good news for moms, is that there’s often no need to worry, even if it seems as if you’re ill. Here are some conditions which health experts say probably aren’t worth worrying about...

Blood Spots 

Bleeding a few days after conceiving can sometimes seem a little scary. After all, shouldn’t the bleeding have stopped now that you’re pregnant?! Many women worry when they see spotting in their underwear, but there’s no need to worry necessarily - at least according to Yvonne Bohn, doctor and author of several pregnancy guide books who says that "bleeding, especially in the first two weeks of pregnancy, is actually a good thing. It’s a sign that the fertilised egg has implanted itself into the wall of the womb and has begun to mature.” She also says that it’s fine even if you don’t experience any spotting. It doesn’t mean that you’re not pregnant: it just means that the wall of the uterus didn’t shed around the implantation site.

Morning Sickness

What is morning sickness? Nobody really knows what causes the queasiness says the NHS website, but most experts think that it has something to do with the high levels of human chorionic gonadotropin hormone circulating around the bodies of newly pregnant women. Rapid changes in this hormone may explain why some women feel sick in the morning during pregnancy. Saying that, morning sickness is part of a healthy pregnancy seems a little strange, given that it can transform into a debilitating condition that prevents women from getting out of bed. But doctors are convinced, even if the symptoms are serious, that it’s an entirely normal part of pregnancy if a little unpleasant.

The stats given suggest that mother and baby survival is actually higher among women who make frequent visits to the bathroom though! Doctors have theorised that the sickness helps women to avoid foods that might harm their babies during the initial phase of pregnancy. Morning sickness, therefore, might be a kind of biological defence against poor dietary choices.

Higher-Than-Normal Discharge 

Discharge is a normal part of a woman’s reproductive health. But during pregnancy, thanks to all the changes down there, it can go into overdrive. Often women will wake up to a colourless, odourless liquid in their underwear during their pregnancy. Experts believe that this is an evolutionary response: while a woman is pregnant, it makes sense to ramp up the production of discharge to clean out the birth canal and prevent the baby from becoming infected. What’s more, it’s a relatively easy problem to solve. According to https://dryandcool.co.uk/shop/frontpage.html, there are plenty of underwear products which can control the problem, especially in cases of incontinence during the latter stages of pregnancy. Extra discharge, ultimately, is a good thing that protects both you and your baby.

Tender Breasts

You would've thought that tender breasts were the last thing you’d want before giving birth to a child. After all, teething children can sometimes be a little rough. But it turns out that sore breasts are a natural part of the hormone cycle of having children. Both oestrogen and progesterone levels rise substantially during pregnancy, and these can lead to rapid increases in the size and fullness of the breasts. It can make you feel as if you’re lugging around a load of extra weight. But, as with many other changes in the body during pregnancy, sore breasts are perfectly normal. You’ll usually experience the most tenderness during the first trimester of gestation, although soreness can persist throughout all stages in some women. The pain should subside before breastfeeding begins.

Have you experienced any of these annoying but completely natural symptoms during your pregnancies?! 

(Guest written post)