4 Weird Pregnancy Symptoms That Are Totally Normal

Pregnancy is a life-changing experience for every woman, including everything from shopping for trendy and stylish maternity clothes to experiencing a whole new range of physical discomforts. Most women get familiar with the common signs of pregnancy, such as a missed period and weight gain, through their friends or family members and their knowledge. However, there are things that their friends and family members often neglect or feel embarrassed to mention. These are:

#Urinary Incontinence

Alright, you are sitting in the movie theater, watching a comedy. The lead actor just told the funniest joke you’ve heard, and with the rest of the audience, you begin guffawing. Suddenly, you stop. Thankfully, the darkness is obscuring your red face, but it does nothing to hide that damp feeling in between your legs. Hoping you did not ruin the theater seat, you rush to the restroom to finish emptying your bladder.

Urinary incontinence is something that most women undergo during their pregnancy, especially the larger their belly grows, but who wants to talk about accidentally wetting their well-cut maternity pants after the age of two? There are many reasons that this occurs that can be attributed to your pregnancy.

One of the main culprits is the uterus. As your baby grows inside it, it expands as well. As it does, it drops down in your abdomen and puts pressure on your bladder. This can make you feel like you always have to go, but very little, if anything comes out when you do. You also have more fluid in your blood, so you actually will need to urinate more often than before. This is just an accompaniment to your increased size, and it helps to serve the baby’s istanbul escort needs.

There is, unfortunately, not much that can be done to stop this. You can try to prevent it by strengthening the muscles that control your urination with Kegal exercises. Ask your doctor if you are unsure what these are. In the meantime, you can also wear bump-friendly maternity nighties, sanitary napkins, or adult incontinence pads to prevent your clothes from being ruined. Sadly, urinary incontinence must be dealt with, but you are a strong woman, and you will surely be able to handle this inconvenience.

#Constipation

Constipation is not something that many women want to admit, and most of us are taught not to talk about bowel movements – or lack thereof – in public. In the same way that indigestion and excess gas are due to progesterone slowing down the speed of the digestive tract, so is constipation.

Excess iron and calcium can also contribute to constipation. Since most prenatal vitamins have additional iron and calcium in them, taking these does exacerbate constipation symptoms. You should not stop taking your prenatal supplements just because of constipation, and there are several ways to control it.

Do not take over-the-counter laxatives to get things moving unless you have tried non-drug remedies and discussed it with your doctor first. With just a few simple lifestyle changes, you might find that you do not need anything else.

First off, try slowly adding extra insoluble fiber to your diet. This can be found in fiber-rich carbohydrates and fruit, vegetables, and beans. When you add more fiber, be sure to drink more water, or the extra fiber could make the situation work. Exercise is also helpful to alleviate your discomfort, even if it is just a walk around the block.

#Pregnancy Gas

Especially in the first trimester, the hormone progesterone is to blame for excess gas that you may be burping or passing out. Your entire digestive system is made of muscles to move the food along. What progesterone does is relax smooth muscles in the body. It does not distinguish between the smooth muscles or their job function; they are all affected. What makes your digestive system work is the contractions and movement of its muscles.

When these muscles have progesterone acting on them, they slow down digestion. This means that food is in your gut for a longer time. The longer it sits, the more gas it forms. The result is that you will be passing gas and burping more than you thought possible. You also might feel full after a meal because the food in your stomach is not moving out as quickly as it once did.

It is essential not to take medications for gas unless prescribed by your doctor. For gas relief, you might want to try a cup of ginger or peppermint tea. By the way, ginger tea is also good for relieving nausea.

#Heartburn and Acid Reflux

Many women know about occasional heartburn that might plague them at other times of their lives, but indigestion that occurs with pregnancy can seem ten times worse. All too often, moms-to-be find that a gnawing sensation accompanies their morning sickness, doubling the ill effects of them both.

Believe it or not, an increase in indigestion is caused by the same thing that leads to gas: the hormone progesterone. In the same way that it produces gas because it slows digestion, leading to heartburn and acid reflux. When food sits in the stomach too long, it has the potential to rise back up into the lower esophagus. This is more likely for pregnant women because progesterone eases the sphincter muscles that keep the esophagus closed at the point it empties into the stomach.

When these muscles are relaxed, they can allow stomach acid and sometimes food to rise back up into the esophagus. Unlike the stomach, which is made of tissue impervious to stomach acid, the esophagus has no such barrier. This means that when acid comes back up, it results in a burning sensation.

You should not take any heartburn remedy without discussing it first with your doctor. She may allow you to take calcium carbonate tablets, such as Tums, to both relieve your symptoms and to act as a dietary supplement. Still, if your neo-natal vitamins have calcium in them, you should ask your physician.

Too much calcium can lead to constipation and kidney stones. Your best bet might be to try older, safer remedies such as drinking a glass of milk or eating a piece of bread or some crackers, and these will help to soak up some of the excess acids and ease your pain.