It would be incredibly dishonest of me to pretend I enjoyed everything about pregnancy. I had 3 complicated pregnancies (thanks, pre-eclampsia and hyperemisis gravidarum) and frankly couldn’t wait to see the back of being pregnant each time.
While some women truly glow during pregnancy, I looked like something out of a zombie apocalypse movie for the duration.
Nonetheless, even with my head over a toilet for the 17th time that day, I was often still able to appreciate how truly remarkable the whole thing is. So with that in mind, here are 8 lesser known facts about pregnancy.
Babies Can Cry in the Womb – Sort of
It sounds like something straight out of a sci-fi novel, doesn’t it? Research using ultrasound technology has shown that babies can exhibit behaviours similar to crying even before they are born. Around the third trimester, babies start to practise breathing, swallowing, and yes, even crying! They pull in their lips, open their mouths, and take irregular breaths which resemble crying. I know it’s hard to believe, but it seems like our ability to express ourselves starts way earlier than we thought!
Now, this isn’t crying in the sense of tears and vocal sounds, of course, but certainly resembles crying in newborns.
Pregnancy Can Change Your Shoe Size
Think pregnancy just affects your belly? Think again! Many women find that their shoe size increases during pregnancy, and sometimes it doesn’t revert back. This is due to the natural release of the hormone relaxin, which helps the pelvis expand for childbirth. Relaxin also loosens the ligaments in your feet, causing the bones to spread. So, if you’re wondering why your favourite shoes don’t fit anymore, blame the hormones!
Your Heart Grows Bigger
No, not just metaphorically because you’re so full of love for the little one on the way – your heart literally gets bigger during pregnancy. Your body’s blood volume increases by up to 50% to support the growing foetus, and as a result, your heart has to pump harder and grows in size to handle the extra workload. It’s like your body gears up its own engine to nurture and protect your baby. Quite incredible, don’t you think?
Superhuman Smell
Many pregnant women report having a heightened sense of smell, a phenomenon known as hyperosmia. This superhuman ability can turn once-pleasurable scents into overpowering odours. The evolutionary theory suggests this helps pregnant women avoid spoiled or contaminated foods to protect the developing baby. So next time you sniff out your partner’s hidden stash of snacks, you know whom to thank!
The Longest Human Pregnancy Ever Recorded
I didn’t make full term with any of my pregnancies. And yet even at 36 to 38 weeks (the gestation at which all my boys were born) I felt I had been pregnant half my life. So I do spare a thought for Beulah Hunter, an American woman who, in 1945, was pregnant for an astonishing 375 days—far exceeding the normal gestation period of around 280 days. This is the longest recorded pregnancy ever verified. Luckily, both mother and baby were healthy after what I can only imagine felt like an eternity!
Babies Can Taste Your Dinner
Here’s a fun one: whatever you eat during pregnancy might shape your baby’s palate. The flavours of the food a pregnant woman eats seep into the amniotic fluid, swallowed by the growing baby. Studies suggest that babies who have been exposed to certain flavours in utero are more likely to enjoy those flavours after they are born. So, if you want your future child to be a fan of veggies, start early!
Or, if you’re lucky to be able to keep a rice cake down, prepare for a baby who may develop a taste for the same bland rice cakes later 😂
More Than Just Kicking
When you think of babies moving in the womb, you probably picture the usual kicking. But babies are incredibly active—they hiccup, stretch, yawn, and even play with their umbilical cords. Some ultrasounds have caught babies doing what looks like smiling and dancing. It’s a full-on workout in there, and it seems the womb is a rather entertaining first home!
Dream a Little Dream
It turns out, foetuses dream in the womb! Babies enter REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, which is the stage where dreaming occurs, starting around the 23rd week of pregnancy. What do they dream about? We can’t be sure, but it’s comforting to think they might be dreaming about the soothing voices and stories they hear from the outside world.
So there we have it – 8 lesser known facts about pregnancy.
My youngest is just about 4 now but I’ve still not forgotten the any of the details of pregnancy. While it’s a beautiful experience for many, too much sickness kind of means some of my own personal experience was very much tarnished. And I can categorically say I never want to be pregnant again! Nonetheless, it’s pretty incredible what the body can do, eh?
