This article was originally published on WackoJaco
Pregnancy is a time of discovery for many parents-to-be, as they learn just how much can happen to a woman's body when she's expecting. Sure, pregnant women get a beautiful glow and their bump is adorable, but what about the fact that they may get a "pregnancy beard," leak every time they sneeze or laugh, or watch as their private parts turn blue? Yes, pregnancy can be magical, but sometimes, it's just plain weird - keep scrolling to find out more.
The Belly Isn't the Only Thing That Grows
Most of us have heard that pregnant women tend to deal with swollen feet, but did you know that sometimes their feet actually go up in size and never go back to normal, even after the baby is born? A University of Iowa study published in 2013 investigated the issue. They followed 49 pregnant women, measuring their feet at the beginning of their pregnancy and then again five months after they had their babies.
They found that for 60 to 70 percent of those women, their feet did indeed become longer and wider. The arch of their feet had flattened out, possibly due to the extra weight and the increased looseness of the joints associated with pregnancy.
Hope You Never Get to Experience 'Lightning Crotch'
This next weird thing that can happen to pregnant women is definitely not fun, but we kinda love the name: "lighting crotch." That's the colloquial term for a sharp sensation women may get in their nether areas when they are pregnant, and the reason why they refer to it as "lightning crotch" is because the pain is often described like an electric shock, or like a zap from the inside.
The feeling and the frequency in which it occurs vary from woman to woman (some of them don't even experience it at all), but it seems like it happens more often toward the end of the pregnancy.
You Might Not "Eat for Two," but You Produce Blood for Two
Here's something equal parts cool and scary, if you feel iffy about blood. Starting from the first few weeks of pregnancy, the blood volume in a woman's body increases significantly, and it keeps increasing progressively until the last month of her term. All that extra blood contributes to the optimal growth and development of the baby, and it's also supposed to protect the mother from some delivery risks, such as hemorrhages.
This varies from woman to woman, but it's estimated that the total blood volume increase in a pregnant woman can be up to 50% - isn't that amazing?
'Pregnancy Brain' Is Real - Don't Disagree Unless You've Made a Baby From Scratch
You may have heard pregnant women complaining about a "mental fog" that makes them distracted and forgetful - their struggle to focus on tasks or remember details is sometimes humorously referred to as "pregnancy brain," or "momnesia." There isn't a scientific consensus about whether or not "pregnancy brain" is real, but studies have shown that even though the capacity of the brain is unaltered in pregnancy, there is evidence that deficits in memory can happen.
It only makes sense. After all, memory lapses are 100% normal when the person is busy, stressed, or short on sleep, and pregnant women often tick all of those boxes, all of the time.
Pickles With Grape Jelly Are Among the Weird Combinations You Might Crave
One of the most famous pregnancy cravings is for pickles, so we weren't surprised when this woman was sharing her story and it started with a big jar of cucumbers in brine. But oh, we were not prepared for what was coming at us. According to the woman, when she was pregnant with her first daughter, she was babysitting some kids, and they asked for a snack. They loved kosher dill pickles cut vertically into two halves, and while she was preparing the pickles for them, she had a sudden craving.
She carved out the middle of her pickle half, turning it into a "pickle boat," and filled it with grape jelly! Thinking of it now, she says, "it sounds disgusting," but at the time, the combination of tangy, vinegary, sweet, and crunchy was "spectacular" to her.
You Develop a Superhero-Like Heightened Sense of Smell
This right here almost sounds like a superhero thing, but apparently many pregnant women develop an olfactory sensitivity - they have a heightened sense of smell and can smell things other non-pregnant people can't. This usually happens in the first trimester, and while it sounds cool, pregnant women will beg to differ, as what happens in reality is that their newly gained "superpower" can affect their gag reflex and make their morning sickness even worse.
This seems like such a random thing to happen to pregnant women, but it's been theorized that this is a product of evolution to help pregnant women avoid unsafe foods.
You Can Get Varicose Veins - Gasp! - Down There
Varicose veins are twisted and enlarged veins that almost always occur on the legs and feet, but apparently, pregnant women can get them on a very special area - down there. Yup, you heard us right. It's estimated that about 10 percent of pregnant women develop those bluish, purplish, lumpy and swollen-looking veins on their private parts, and sometimes, they get those on the upper inner part of their thighs, too.
The good news is that there are things women can do to minimize the symptoms, such as keeping active, avoiding being still for long periods of time, and changing positions when sitting or lying down.
Your Hair Gets Fuller and Thicker - But Sadly Not Just on Your Head
Some women will be happy to hear that pregnancy hormones affect their hair, making it grow faster and thicker; the only problem is that we're not just talking about the hair on the head - we're talking about the hair on the entire body. Ever heard of a little something called "pregnancy beard"? Not rarely, pregnant women grow hair in areas where they don't normally have hair, such as the face, chest, back, and belly.
All the extra hair typically goes away on its own within six months of giving birth, and that includes the body hair (yes!) and the hair on the head (no!).
Nosebleeds Out of the Blue Are a Common Occurrence
Apparently because of hormonal changes, nosebleeds are quite common during pregnancy, so that's another thing women can expect when they're expecting. Pregnancy hormones - is there anything they don't change in a woman's body when she's pregnant? But this one makes sense to us. Let's not forget that during pregnancy, the body creates more blood and increases circulation, and as the circulatory system expands, the tiny blood vessels inside the nose tend to burst more easily than before.
In fact, about 20 percent of people who are pregnant have nosebleeds - that’s 1 in 5! Getting a nosebleed might be messy and a little annoying, but generally, it's nothing to worry about.
Forget Kicking - Some Women Can Feel Their Baby Hiccuping in the Womb
So here's another weird thing we didn't know women could experience during pregnancy - fetal hiccups. Yes, apparently babies can have hiccups in the womb (we had no idea!), and sometimes women feel it when it happens. We can't believe we had never heard about this until today! This is equal parts cute and bizarre, which we suppose is a good way to sum up a lot of what happens during pregnancy.
Some babies get the hiccups several times a day, and others may not get them at all. Hiccups, no hiccups, in most cases this is considered just another normal part of pregnancy.
Your Private Parts Can Become Blue or Purple
Some of these facts about pregnancy are cuter than others. This one is just plain weird. As it turns out, an early sign of pregnancy, noticeable six to eight weeks after conception, is a change in color in a woman's private parts, which turn into a bluish, purplish-red hue. The name of that is Chadwick's sign, and it occurs because of the increase of the blood flow to the nether regions.
A lot of people probably don't even notice this change unless they're literally looking for it, but in any case, the bluish hue typically goes away during the pregnancy or soon after delivery.
When You Suddenly Crave Palmolive Dish Soap
You didn't think we'd do an entire article about things that can happen to women during a pregnancy and not even bring up the weird cravings, right? There are so many stories out there about pregnant women suddenly having really specific urgings to eat bizarre stuff, we could probably do an entire list just on that. One woman who opened up online, for instance, said that one day, she desperately wanted to put Palmolive dish soap on her cheeseburger.
And it wasn't just any Palmolive dish soap - she had a craving for the one in a pink bottle, and a pink bottle only. Thankfully, she was able to control herself, but "it sounded amazing," she said.
You Could Get Freckles, or Even a 'Pregnancy Mask'
Thanks to shifts in the hormones and blood flow, pregnant women can experience a number of changes in their skin, with hyperpigmentation being one of the most common issues. During pregnancy, the higher hormone levels can stimulate melanin cells, and many women report that their freckles become more pronounced, or that they develop something called melasma - tan or brown patches on the skin that are often called "mask of pregnancy" because they're so common among pregnant people.
Many women also develop what's called the linea nigra ("black line," in Latin), a dark line that runs vertically from the belly button down. The good news is that the hyperpigmentation usually goes away or at least fades after the baby is born.
Pregnancy Glow Is Really Just Constant Sweat
Many of us have heard about "pregnancy glow," and what do you know, this is apparently a real physical thing, and not just an "I'm glowing out of sheer happiness since I'm so excited about the thought of becoming a mom." Pregnancy glow may happen because the increased blood circulation that happens during pregnancy makes women's faces appear brighter and flushed. It makes them look great, but sometimes, it also makes them sweat a lot.
The increase in blood flow and metabolism makes the body hot, and it's really easy to go from "glowy" and "dewy" to just plain sweaty. In fact, excessive perspiring is one of the most common symptoms of pregnancy.
You Might End Up With Swollen, Sore, and Bloody Gums
Some of the things that can happen to women during a pregnancy at least sound cool, even if only in theory - we're talking about the heightened sense of smell and the glowy skin, for instance. But then you have the stuff that isn't fun at all, such as this thing called pregnancy gingivitis. Apparently, pregnancy hormones can make the gums more sensitive to plaque, while the increase in blood flow to the gum tissue makes it more prone to bleed.
Pregnancy gingivitis is most common during months two to eight of pregnancy, which is not exactly great news, since that's almost the entire pregnancy. The point is, pregnant ladies have to take extra good care of their teeth.
Onions Could Suddenly Seem Like the Most Delicious Thing Ever
Some pregnant women will have cravings for things that aren't actually edible, which is of course very weird, but others will have cravings for foods they previously hated, which can be just as bizarre. One woman who opened up online said she found herself wanting onions all of a sudden, when she had spent her entire life hating the vegetable. She mentioned this to a friend, who said, "Haha, maybe you're pregnant," and you can probably see where we're going.
She took a test, then another, and as it turns out, the friend was right. The tests kept showing her pink plus signs, and she was indeed pregnant.
Goodbye, Bladder Control! Hello, Leaking Accidents When Sneezing or Laughing
Here's another "fun" thing (not!) women can expect when they're expecting - pregnancy incontinence. Because the baby is developing in the uterus above the bladder, as he or she grows and the uterus expands, more pressure is put on the bladder. So at a certain stage, any extra pressure from physical movements such as coughing, sneezing, exercising, or laughing, is enough to cause a leak. This is normal, but it can still be disconcerting.
The fact that pregnant women are advised to drink even more water than people who are not pregnant definitely doesn't help. Thank goodness for panty liners!
That Extra Blood Flow Is Good for Bedroom Activities
The fact that the volume of blood in a pregnant woman's body can increase by a whopping 50 percent changes everything, and we mean, everything. Apparently, it's very common for pregnant ladies to feel like their private parts are full and heavy, and that's related to all the extra blood flowing in that particular area. Sometimes, the change is not even visible, but many women still report that they can feel it.
It sounds weird, but the upside is that some women end up getting a bigger "O" because the extra blood supply down there can increase sensation.
Some Women Actually Start Craving Sand
We had fun reading about the weird cravings women experienced when they were pregnant, and we wonder how many times pregnant women actually tasted the "forbidden foods" they suddenly thought looked delicious. In this story in particular, the woman didn't give in to her weird craving, but it probably happens, right? Anyways. This one woman said that when she was pregnant, she wanted to eat sand - like, straight from the beach.
When she mentioned this to her doctor, their only advice was, "Don't do it," and well, that's unsurprising. The woman said she wanted to grind salt between her teeth, and doesn't sound pleasant at all, but hey, most of these weird pregnancy craving stories don't sound nice.
Go Full Transformers as Your Body Rearranges Itself for Labor
The human body is amazing, but after learning about all the things that happen to women when they're expecting, we gotta say, the female body is extra amazing. In preparation for the delivery of the baby, the body begins to release a hormone called relaxin, which stimulates the separation of the public bone and relaxes the uterine muscle, among other things, opening up the pelvis - the body is basically rearranging itself for labor.
Here's the thing, though. That hormone can affect other joints in the body, which is why many pregnant women end up having joint pains. Back pain is also an issue, and the heavy load in the belly doesn't exactly make it easier on them.
When You Suddenly Find Yourself Sounding Different
Pregnancy hormones can affect a woman's voice! What? Apparently, the increase of oestrogen and progesterone can affect a pregnant woman's vocal cords, causing them to swell. What happens then is that they may gain the ability to reach lower notes, but also, they may lose the ability to reach higher notes. Actress Kristen Bell revealed that being pregnant made her voice deeper, and it was noticeable enough that she had to re-record some of her work in the animated movie Frozen.
Kristen, who voiced the role of princess Anna, said that when she was "extremely pregnant" there were more "womanly tones" to her voice, and that caused her to have to re-record some of her lines after she had the baby, because they weren't matching the character.
Nipples Can Change in Size and Color - And Never Go Back to Normal
The fact that a woman's breasts tend to become heavier and denser during pregnancy is quite common knowledge, but here's something not that many people know - a pregnant woman's nipples go through a lot of changes as well, and sometimes, those changes are permanent. During pregnancy, the areola may increase dramatically in size, and hyperpigmentation may cause it to grow darker in color. Some women also notice bumps around the nipple, which are supposed to help breastfeeding.
When the woman is done breastfeeding, the areola shrinks, the bumps go away, and the nipple tends to lighten in color, but sometimes, they stay darker than they were before.
Achievement Unlocked: Pregnancy Rhinitis
One of the weirdest facts about pregnancy is that it can lead to increased sneezing. That's right, being pregnant may make a woman start to sneeze more than normal. This is because of pregnancy rhinitis, which affects almost 40 percent of women during their pregnancy. What happens is that the increased blood flow to the mucous membranes causes the nasal passages to swell, leading to congestion and extra watery discharge - both of which can result in increased sneezing.
This congestion can last for six weeks or longer, so pregnant women may want to stock up on Kleenex, and work on that extra patience to deal with a blocked up, itchy nose.
You Could End up Craving Canned Corn All the Time
This woman who shared her own pregnancy craving story admits that her craving in itself wasn't particularly weird - canned corn. Indeed, canned corn sounds normal enough. We always have one or two cans of corn in our pantry, and there's nothing unusual about that. What makes this confession interesting, however, is how strong her craving was. For a couple of months, she was eating canned corn every day, and going through at least two cans a day.
That's a lot of corn. The funny thing also is that she didn't make anything with it - she only wanted it uncooked, straight from the can, eaten with a spoon. You do you.
That Weird Feeling When Your Uterus Expands Up to 500 Times Its Size
What happens to a woman's uterus during pregnancy is nothing short of amazing, and the organ changes so much, it can be hard to visualize what actually happens. Maybe this will help. Before pregnancy, a woman's uterus is typically the size of an orange. Around 12 weeks pregnant, it is roughly the size of a grapefruit. During the second trimester, it gets to the size of a papaya. And during the third trimester, it will reach the size of a watermelon.
After birth, the uterus gradually returns to its pre-pregnancy size and position, but this process of deflation is not instantaneous - it takes around six weeks for it to be complete.
Pregnancy Diabetes Could Be a Concern for Some
There were so many "special" things women could experience during pregnancy - pregnancy brain, pregnancy beard, pregnancy gingivitis, pregnancy rhinitis, and apparently, pregnancy diabetes. This condition, which sounds particularly scary, is not even that uncommon. It's estimated that each year it affects 10% of the women who are pregnant in the United States, meaning that yearly, there's a whole lot of women suddenly having to deal with their blood sugar levels becoming too high.
The good news is that gestational diabetes usually goes away after birth, but in any case, expectant mothers can and should always consult their doctor about any health-related issues.
Apparently, Everything Goes With Mango When You're Craving It
This woman who shared her weird pregnancy craving online said that when she was expecting, she only had eyes for mango, even using the word "addicted" to describe how she felt at the time. "I couldn't get enough mango. I literally ate 2-4 mangos a day." Well, at least her fixation was on something healthy, right? Mangos are delicious, and also good for you, as they are a great source of vitamin C and folate.
Fresh mango was this woman's favorite, but when it was out of season and harder to find, she switched to canned mango, mango desserts, and mango-flavored drinks. This lady definitely knew what she wanted.
Prepare to Become a Snorer, Even if You Weren't One Before
Even if they never snored before, women can begin to snore at night when they become pregnant. So finally there's something on this list that may directly affect not only the mother, but also the father of the baby. Snoring during a pregnancy is usually related to the hormones that cause the mucus membranes in the nose to swell, and the resulting nasal congestion only increases when the woman is lying down, which explains the snoring.
This issue tends to start in the second trimester, and it usually stops after the baby is born - if not immediately, at least until the mother has lost most of the weight she gained during the pregnancy.
If You Feel Like Everyone Is Avoiding You - This Might Be the Reason
Bad breath has got to be one of the most annoying weird things that can happen to a woman during pregnancy. Pregnant women are quite busy, you know, making a brand new person in their womb, and now they have to worry about their out of control breath? There are many factors that can lead to bad breath during pregnancy, and one of them is, you guessed it, pregnancy hormones.
Another lesser-known but fairly common cause may be an increased number of tonsil stones, those small balls that grow on the surface of the tonsils. They happen to be covered in bacteria, and they smell quite bad.
Frappuccinos With Dill Pickles Is an Acceptable Combination, Right?
This weird pregnancy craving story started with "Starbucks Strawberry Frappuccino," and we thought to ourselves, "but that's not weird at all." Milk, ice, and strawberry puree, blended to perfection and served with a splash of strawberry puree and a generous amount of vanilla whipped cream? Delicious and refreshing - yes, please! However, the woman wasn't done. She didn't just drink her Frappuccino like a normal person. Oh no, she liked her beverage with dill pickles.
She says she's disgusted thinking about it now, but when she was still expecting, she loved nothing more than to literally dip the pickle in the Frappuccino.
Baby Kicking Can Actually Break Your Ribs - Yikes!
This one is apparently rare, but if you go to your favorite search engine right now and type something like "Can a pregnant woman get her ribs broken by her baby kicking?" it won't be hard to find accounts of people telling their own experience (or sharing the experiences of women close of them) with this bizarre sort of incident. Yes, it seems like a baby can, actually, accidentally break their mom's ribs.
The people sharing their stories believe that this happens more often to small women carrying their babies high, and in cases of multiple pregnancy, and it actually makes a lot of sense.
You Could Crave Something Just by Seeing It on TV
This pregnancy craving story is actually really cute, because it involves one of our favorite holiday season movies - Elf. According to the woman who shared it online, she was watching the Christmas film when she saw the part where Buddy was making his spaghetti with candy, marshmallows, maple syrup, etc, and she thought it looked "AMAZING!" which is unusual because that's not the reaction adults usually get from that scene.
She didn't even know she was pregnant then, but two days later she tested positive, and her reaction to Buddy's spaghetti finally made sense. Hopefully during her pregnancy she didn't stick only to the elvish food groups of Candy, Candy Canes, Candy Corn and Syrup.
Prepare to Feel Like a Bloated and Flatulent Mess
You may look at a heavily pregnant woman and think she looks beautiful with her glowy skin and her elegant curves, but many times, the woman is feeling like a bloated and flatulent mess. This is something that happens to women in pregnancy - they tend to break wind when they had no idea they were about to. The culprit? The hormones relaxin and progesterone, which are supposed to prevent the uterus from contracting when it's not supposed to, but that end up relaxing other things along the way.
The growing baby slows digestion, which leads to a buildup of gas, which makes the moms feel bloated, and then they can't control when that gas will exit. Sounds fun!
You Could Get Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Just Because
Carpal tunnel syndrome is usually associated with works that require lots of repetitive motions (think sewing, or typing), but pregnant women can also be affected - in fact, it's estimated that somewhere between a third and two thirds of all moms-to-be develop this condition. It may feel like an uncomfortable tingling, pain, burning and numbness in the wrists, hands and fingers, and this is especially true for pregnant women who work in front of computers.
Most women start experiencing this in their last trimester, and the good news is that the symptoms usually disappear some time after delivery, as the pregnancy swelling slowly goes away.
Pizza Dipped in Icing Actually Sounds Delicious
Pizza has got to be one of the most versatile dishes out there, since you can use pretty much anything as a topping - red meat, sea food, any cheese ever, veggies, spices, even fruit. Yes, even pineapple. But this woman who shared her weird pregnancy craving story might have taken things a little bit too far. Her favorite treat when she was expecting? Pizza dipped in icing. She didn't specify the type of pizza, and we're too afraid to ask.
We know that some pizza places serve "dessert pizzas" topped with ingredients like banana and cinnamon, but we just have this feeling this woman wasn't referring to a sweet pie.
You Grow a Whole New Organ and Then Shoot It Out
Even adults are surprised to hear that women grow a whole new organ during pregnancy, but that's what the placenta is - an organ that attaches to the wall of the uterus (the umbilical cord arises from it) and that provides oxygen and nutrients to the growing baby. As you may know, when the baby is born, the placenta is like, "My job here is done!" and it gets expelled from the body, usually within 15-30 minutes of birth.
Fun fact to make your day even better, the word placenta comes from the Latin word for a type of flat cake. Enjoy your afternoon tea!
Your Damaged Tissues Can Be Miraculously Repaired by The Baby's Cells
The vast majority of the items on this list are about how everything changes in a woman's body when she becomes pregnant so that her baby will grow strong and healthy. But did you know that the baby can also do something nice for the mom? Apparently, through the placenta, fetal cells can migrate from the baby to the mother's organs, and they can help repair damaged tissues! Isn't that amazing?
Also, this sounds a little bit like the beginning of a sci-fi movie, but not that many years ago, researchers found fetal cells in mothers' brains, which suggests that the link between a mother and her child could be deeper than we thought.
You Might Find Yourself Thinking Sardines With Blueberries Are a Good Idea
With their superhero-like heightened sense of smell, many pregnant women can't stand being close to fish, which makes this pregnancy craving story weird right off the bat. This woman says one of the things she loved eating when she was expecting was sardines on Ritz crackers - wait for it - with blueberries. Pregnant women sure get creative with their food pairings, don't they? But that's not even the worst combination she used to like.
She says it sounds "disgusting" when she thinks about it now, but she also loved eating strawberries and cantaloupe - wait for it - topped with country gravy. Good lord!
Those Weird Cravings Might Have a Perfectly Good Explanation After All
Weird cravings go hand in hand with pregnancy, and while some people say they are a purely cultural phenomenon, all those women eating pickles with ice cream and thinking the stuff tastes delicious would beg to differ. Anyways, there may be a perfectly good explanation for weird cravings - hormonal changes. They can disrupt the smell and taste receptors, which could be the reason why pregnant women tend to go for such unusual food combinations.
Pickles and ice cream, potato chips and chocolate spread - these combos may not sound delicious, but hey, if you don't try you'll never know, right?
When Your Pregnancy Lasts for More Than Nine Months
There are a lot of weird things that can happen to women during pregnancy, and if we're being completely honest, most of them aren't fun. It's the truth, though, and all the items listed in this article show that pregnancy is not exactly a walk in the park. We can only imagine how hard it must be, then, for women who have unusually long pregnancies - and those are not that rare.
Pregnancies usually last for 40 weeks, or 280 days, but the longest pregnancy ever recorded, according to a 1945 entry in Time Magazine, was 375 days, which is more than one entire calendar year.