What do you really know about pregnancy other than the fact that your tummy gets big and at the end of it all, a baby gets pushed out of you? We’ve probably been exposed to pregnant women in our lives before. We’ve seen the stuff that they go through.
They have morning sickness, body pain, random food cravings, and all of that usual stuff. Everyone knows about the popular aspects of pregnancy. However, there are also some very strange facts about pregnancy that you might have never known about. Get ready to have your minds blown as you read through this informative piece.
1. It’s very much possible to carry a baby in the womb for a whole year.
Yes, typically a mother only ever really carries a baby in her womb for around 9 months or 38 weeks. And that’s the standard that most women typically try to follow. However, it’s not impossible for a woman to actually carry a fetus for up to a full year. You are probably familiar with premature babies who have to come out earlier than they’re supposed to. But there are also babies who need some extra time to develop within the womb before they are ready to come out. There are some babies who grow slower than other fetuses. And that’s why they might require more time in the mother’s uterus.
2. In the second half of a pregnancy, a fetus can urinate inside the womb.
It might sound disgusting, but hey, it’s a normal aspect of life. Once the fetus starts to develop bodily systems, they’re going to have to start practicing them normally – and that includes urination. Sometimes, when a fetus urinates, they also tend to drink some of that urine back up while inside of the womb.
3. The uterus can grow up to 500 times bigger its normal size during pregnancy.
Naturally, a woman’s uterus is going to have to grow to abnormal sizes in order to accommodate a single growing fetus (or maybe even more). Studies have shown that the uterus can grow up to 500 times its normal size during a pregnancy. But 2 months after the child is born, the uterus tends to revert back into its normal size on its own. Before the pregnancy, the uterus is about the size of a peach. And at the end of the pregnancy, it can grow up to the size of a full watermelon.
4. A woman can produce as much estrogen during a single pregnancy than she would for an entire lifetime.
Naturally, a mother’s hormones are going to be running high during the period of her pregnancy. But you might already have known that. What you might not have known is how MUCH estrogen a mother is producing throughout the course of her pregnancy. On the third trimester alone, a mother produces as much estrogen in three months as she would typically do in a span of three years.
5. A woman’s waist and breasts are not the only body parts to grow during a pregnancy.
Sure, you probably know that a woman’s breasts and waist tend to grow in size once they get pregnant. The breasts accommodate milk while the waist accommodates the fetus. However, what you might not know is that a woman’s feet can grow during pregnancy as well.
6. A baby can cry within a mother’s womb during pregnancy.
A baby learns to cry within the third trimester of a pregnancy. And it’s normal for a fetus to cry while still within the mother’s womb. Usually, the crying is a response to the low humming noise that is exhibited by a mother’s abdomen.
7. Pregnant women often go through pigmentation.
90% of pregnant mothers have to deal with the pigmentation of their skin. The pigmentation is most likely to occur throughout various areas of the face.
8. A fetus’s fingerprint usually develops between the 10th and 19th week.
And that’s the fingerprint that they’re going to have for the rest of their lives.
9. A fetus can taste and smell the food that a mother takes in.
And studies have also shown that these senses actually help shape the tastes and preferences of the baby as they grow older.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Getting pregnant is such a beautiful thing. It’s always a blessing when you are able to bring a new life into this world. And when you get an opportunity to actually carry a fetus around for 9 months, you should consider that a huge responsibility on your end. You are going to want to be a responsible parent and you should make sure that you are doing everything by the book. Make sure that you are not putting yourself or your baby in any potentially dangerous scenarios.
At the end of the day, while it is a blessing to be pregnant, it’s also a huge responsibility. And it’s not the kind of responsibility that you can be taken lightly either.
