When it comes to pregnancy, nothing is easy. A woman goes through a lot of internal and external changes when she becomes pregnant. The result of the entire process is beautiful but the journey can turn out to be pretty taxing for some women. For most pregnant ladies, the first trimester is the hardest experience as they are busy figuring out what is going on with their bodies. The physical and mental stress is too much for a woman to take.
Let’s point out all the reasons that make the first trimester so hard and uncomfortable for some women.
#1 Morning sickness
Morning sickness is a misleading term for many women. As it turns out, many pregnant women feel sick all throughout the day – morning, afternoon, evening, and night during the first trimester of their pregnancy. Since their body is adjusting to the hormonal changes, it reacts in a different manner leading to that sick feeling.
Many health professionals suggest acupuncture or eating ginger products but it has never been proven that they work for sickness. Due to the sick feeling, women don’t feel like eating or drinking anything properly leading to other health issues.
#2 All-time sleepy / fatigue
When you are pregnant, your body produces progesterone in excess values. To tackle this surge, your heart pumps extra hard to increase your blood volume. As a result, you feel fatigued and exhausted for the most part of the day. Even if you don’t do any physical work, you will feel the need to rest all day long.
Also, because of all the puking and throwing up, your body becomes weak. You don’t have enough energy to carry out regular tasks like you used to.
#3 Constipation and bloating
One of the other side effects of growing a baby is to fight rising progesterone levels that wreak havoc inside your body. Progesterone can slow down the muscle contractions that are responsible for moving food through your system. It can also make bowel movements really difficult for you making you feel constipated and bloated all day long.
If you want a cure for constipation, talk to your doctor and take some medication. On your end, you must include more fiber in your food and drink fluids to move things more smoothly.
#4 Overly sensitive breasts
When you are pregnant, your breasts become really sensitive. Even the slightest brush or touch can cause great agony. It is because your bodies are already preparing them for breastfeeding your baby so that he/she is comfortable when the time comes. This idea supports the start of lactogenesis which allows the tissue in the breast to remodel to produce ample milk for the baby. The only way to deal with them is to find a soft and well-fitting bra that limits stimulation and discomfort to a great extent.
#5 No glow of pregnancy as such
In the first trimester of pregnancy, your body majorly experiences internal changes. It is far from physical changes. The glow of pregnancy that everyone talks about is also very far from here. When you are throwing up every morning and evening, you feel sicker than ever. It takes time for you to get used to all the changes inside your body.
#6 Overwhelming and worrisome
Well, pregnancy is not a usual thing to happen. It is entirely different from all the things that have ever happened to you in the past including periods. You go through several internal changes in the first trimester as hormones take over all the functions. You may find the situation extremely overwhelming in your first pregnancy and that might cause you to feel worrisome. How you are going to manage everything. How much will you be able to work?
Not only this, changes in hormones can lead you to feel depressed and anxious and heavily impact your mental well-being. Also, not to sound negative, but the first trimester of pregnancy carries the most risk of miscarriage. This can drive women into all-time mental exhaustion.
#7 When to eat and what not to eat?
Most of your time goes into the good old trial and error method of figuring out the things you can eat and the ones which will get you to vomit. Elders and doctors impose so many rules that you are always confused about your eating routine. Is it just one sort of dish made from a particular ingredient or do you need to avoid the ingredient in totality?
Which food is best to eat at what time so that it does not cause any reaction? Do you need to follow a special diet to take care of your health? There are just so many questions that don’t have any definite answers.
The first trimester is the most difficult stage to clear during pregnancy. Everything is new and everything is amiss. When you are past this stage, you are more or less acquainted with the entire process and ready enough to take on the upcoming challenges. The key is to keep your doctor and loved ones in the loop so that they know what you are exactly going through.