Common Side Effects And Symptoms Of Pregnancy

The problem with “feeling pregnant” is that everyone feels the effects of pregnancy differently. The following list from Obstetrics: Normal and Problem Pregnancies describes some of the normal side effects and symp­toms of pregnancy that one might expect:

- Appetite. You may experience an increased appetite starting early in the first trimester and possibly extending into the latter portion of the pregnancy—assuming you aren’t throwing up every five min­utes.

You may even want to eat crazy things like dirt, coal, or tooth­paste. If you don’t have a craving to eat newspaper, not to worry, a simple mild increase in appetite is normal.


- Constipation. You may feel constipated because of the colon increasing its absorption of water, the uterus obstructing the stool moving out of the rectum, and the decreased movement of the colon. Hopefully you are drinking at least eight glasses of water a day.

We ask our patients to remember the “golden” rule: If your urine is golden, then you’re not drinking enough water. We realize that after you take your prenatal vitamin your urine is an ecto-plasmic yellow, but later in the day, if you are properly hydrated, the urine should be fairly clear.


- Morning sickness. This typically occurs on an empty stomach, which for most women is in the morning and thus the reason for the name. Morning sickness occurs in 70 percent of pregnancies, so that means there are 30 percent of you out there wondering why you aren’t vomiting. Typically the sickness lasts from the first four to fourteen weeks.

The reason many women worry if they are not sick is because of the myth that a pregnancy with good levels of hor­mones will make you sick. There does not seem to be a connection between the maternal levels of pregnancy hormone human chori­onic gonadotropin and the degree of nausea and vomiting. This means you can have your cake and eat it too… well, at least 30 per­cent of you can.

Common Side Effects And Symptoms Of Pregnancy

- I can’t catch my breath. The sensation of shortness of breath will occur in 60 to 70 percent of normal pregnancies in the late first trimester; that means 30 to 40 percent will not have this sensation. This does not account for those women with asthma. If you have asthma, remember to take your medications as needed. Breathing is a very important part of pregnancy. We have patients ask us if they need to use their inhalers, and I remind them that breathing is essential.


- I can’t hold it any longer. Most women will experience the need to urinate more frequently once they are pregnant. As the blood volume increases during pregnancy the kidneys are responsible for filtering more waste, making you pee more frequently. If you are already used to drinking large amounts of water during the day, you may not notice an increased need to visit the bathroom.




- Bionic breasts. We had a patient who was only ninety-five pounds in the early portion of her pregnancy, and her breasts went from an A cup to a C cup in a matter of months. This was an obviously dra­matic change in her appearance and one of the reasons her friend (also pregnant) asked if there was something wrong with her own pregnancy, because her breasts did not attain the same quick growth.

We reassured the friend that breast growth is a response to increased blood flow and that breasts can change from 0 to 800 ml with the average being about 200 ml (little more than a half can of soda).

We also told her that her breasts would continue to enlarge with breast­feeding, but that she needed to remember that breast size decreases after breastfeeding; what goes up must come down.



- I need new contacts. Depending on the shape of your eyes, you may need to have them examined, because changes in the corneas due to fluid retention can be cause for your prescription to change.

The change in the eyes is only about 3 percent, so for most women this will not be a noticeable change. For those who have been putting off changing that prescription for years, however, they may need to have things looked at… literally.

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