Advice on the body changes you may experience during pregnancy, with information on diet, weight, hormones and health problems.Discuss body changes in pregnancy on our forums, right now! Or, post a comment below.Enormous physical, hormonal and emotional changes take place during pregnancy over a relatively short period of time. The body has to adapt to carrying up to 20lb of baby, waters and placenta, which can impose physical strain on all the organs and tissues. Most of this weight will be carried infront causing your centre of gravity to change.
Aches and pains are common during pregnancy, as the body changes shape to accommodate the increasing size and weight of the uterus. This involves considerable changes to posture.
If the mother has existing back problems, or strains in her body from past accidents or trauma, it may be more difficult for her to accommodate these changes, and she may suffer more discomfort as a result.
The ligaments of the whole body soften during pregnancy due to the action of hormones. This allows the bones of the pelvis to separate slightly during the delivery to facilitate the passage of the baby?s head through the pelvis. Unfortunately this softening affects the whole body and makes it more vulnerable to strain during the pregnancy.
Postural changes may cause backache, neckache, headaches, aching legs and undue fatigue. Postural changes through the lower ribs and spine can impede the action of the diaphragm and make breathing difficult.
Tension within the pelvis or diaphragm area can increase resistance to the return of venous blood to the heart from the lower half of the body. This can cause or aggravate varicose veins in the legs, and haemorrhoids.
As the baby grows and takes up more space within the abdomen there is less space to move about, and your baby will find a preferred position. The mother?s posture has to adapt to accommodate the position of the baby, and if this conflicts with her own postural needs it may cause undue aches and pains. This is the reason that one pregnancy may be much more uncomfortable to carry than another.
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good luck to everyone else
for everyone on here, by what week did you start to show. i.e you looked in the mirror and could see a little bump?
i know exactly what you're going through. I am now 7 weeks pregnant having had a miscarriage back in July. I am very worried about what might happen especially since my breasts are also now less tender than they were last week. I do, however, have some feelings of nausea, whcih i didn't have at all last time, so I'm clutching onto the hope that that's a good sign. I haven't yet been able to see my GP, who is an obstetric specialist because he's been on holiday, but I will be going to see him as soon as he's back to work so that I can get some reassurance. Let's hope it's good new for both of us - for now I think we should just try and keep thinking positive thoughts. Good luck - Natasha