Changes in Your Body due to Pregnancy

The period of pregnancy lasts approximately 267 days. During that time a number of extensive changes take place in your body, but they should not be dreaded or viewed with alarm. Keep in mind that they are perfectly natural and only temporary. It is important for you to be aware of what is happening so that you will know what to expect and will be able to prepare for and successfully adjust to it.

One of the most striking changes during pregnancy is a gain in weight. Twenty-four pounds is the average additional weight that the mother-to-be puts on. Of this amount, only a small fraction, about two pounds, should be gained in the first three months; about eleven pounds are gained in each of the other three-month periods.

This gain in weight is accounted for not only by the child you are carrying but by other factors as well. The average weight of the
infant at birth is 7 1/2 pounds; the placenta (the organ which provides
oxygen and food essential for the life of the foetus and for the elimination of its waste products) weighs 1 pound; and the fluid in the sac in which the baby lives is 1 1/2 pounds. At the end of pregnancy the uterus weighs about 2 1/2 pounds and the breasts 3 pounds. This means that the weight gain directly related to reproduction averages 15 1/2 pounds while the remaining 8 1/2 pounds is made up of the proteins that the mother has stored in her own tissues and the excessive fluid she has retained.

Your attitude should not be one of resignation, of deciding that nothing can be done about how this weight makes you look and feel. Certainly there will be a downward drag on your abdomen and a backward pull on your lower back, however, proper exercise can do a great deal to help you distribute and carry this weight without difficulty, improving your posture and thereby your appearance.

Most expectant mothers are afraid that childbearing will leave them with an ungainly figure and that they will develop a stomach that will stick out even after the birth of the baby, but there is no reason why they should have this fear. The extreme prominence of the lower abdomen is most often caused by weakness of the abdominal muscles, a weakness that happily can be substantially overcome by proper exercise. An additional benefit, in the eyes of some physicians, is that by strengthening the muscles of the abdomen and increasing their elasticity one makes the actual birth much easier.

Abdominal streaking, or stretch marks on the stomach, is a situation which occurs frequently because of the stretching of the skin over the abdomen during the last months of the pregnancy.

Another readily apparent change is that your breasts will become larger, firmer, and more tender. Because there is an increased blood supply to the breasts as pregnancy advances, the nipples and the elevated pigmented area immediately around them become darker in color. These breast changes are, of course, in preparation for the nursing of the baby.

It is advisable for all women to wear a well-fitting uplift brassiere during pregnancy. This will provide better support for the breasts and add greatly to your comfort.

The veins beneath the skin throughout your body may become more prominent because of the increased blood supply. With some women this condition is particularly noticeable in the legs and can lead to permanent varicose veins or broken capillaries. Proper exercise, especially of the legs, may reduce the likelihood of this happening.

Another change affects the coloring of your skin. Pigment, deposited on the forehead, cheeks, and nose, gives the expectant mother a rosy, healthy appearance. About two-thirds of pregnant women have still another, change in their skin texture and coloration. Sometimes, early in pregnancy, small red elevations will appear over the face, neck, and arms. These skin changes disappear following delivery and will have no lasting effect on your complexion.

The uterus undergoes a remarkable change during pregnancy. It is converted from an almost solid organ about the size of a woman’s closed fist into a large, thin-walled, muscular sac capable of containing the baby, the placenta, and a large quantity of fluid as well.

At the end of pregnancy the empty uterus weighs about 2 — pounds compared with 1 ounce prior to the beginning of the pregnancy.
The supporting tissues of the body as well as muscles are involved in physiological changes at this time, and the pelvic joints and their related ligaments are somewhat softened. Exercising will strengthen these joints, their related ligaments, and the tissues which have been affected.

Many other alterations also occur as pregnancy progresses. The various internal organs must now change in their relationship to one another and to their environment in order to accommodate the growing child. The abdominal wall stretches, and the navel is pushed outward until, at about the seventh month, its depression is sometimes obliterated. Even the blood volume is increased—as much as thirty per cent—in order to meet the increased demands on circulation caused by the baby.

All of these changes affect your figure to some degree; either directly like the change in body weight, or indirectly, by making it more difficult to stand with good posture. They will not, however, cause you to lose your figure permanently and a well carried out programme of exercise will help you to look better during pregnancy and to regain your figure after your child is born.