A fit and healthy pregnancy - Changes to your bodyAfter years of living in a body that behaves fairly predictably, pregnancy can come as a shock to many of us, with our hair, skin, teeth and nails all suddenly changing. For many women, pregnancy hormones are the best natural beauty product ever invented – but some of the changes can be less welcome. It’s certainly worth re-visiting your usual beauty regime while pregnant. Here’s a short summary of what you can expect:
changes to your Hair during pregnancy
In pregnancy, your rising blood circulation and faster metabolism combined with all those hormones will speed up hair growth; you may not notice it, but the few hairs that you usually shed each day will probably stay put.
For lots of women, this means bouncy, thick, shining tresses that are just gorgeous. But, depending on your hair, it may also mean you end up with a few bad hair months! Too much hair may become unmanageable. Make an appointment with a trusted hairdresser who knows you are pregnant and get some advice on a manageable style for the rest of your pregnancy.
There’s lots of debate about the use of hair dyes and other chemical hairdressing treatments while pregnant. Most seem to be quite safe but if you’re unsure, talk to your doctor or just avoid them.
A mild organic shampoo and conditioner will probably give you the best results while pregnant.
Be warned – after your baby is born, all that wonderful extra hair will start falling out until you have returned to your pre-pregnancy hair state. Shedding so much hair can be pretty scary at first but don’t worry, you are just losing the hair that you would normally have lost over a nine-month period, over just a few weeks.
changes to your Body hair during pregnancy
While lots of extra hair on your head can be fun, the extra hair that may appear on your top lip, chin, arms, and legs is not such a welcome side-effect. Body hair may also become darker during pregnancy. Avoid bleach and depilatory creams and electrolysis during pregnancy if possible; plucking, shaving and waxing excess hair with natural products is a wiser choice.
changes to your nails during pregnancy
Another surprise bonus for many women is great nails - all that extra oestrogen in your body may make your fingernails grow faster and stronger. Enjoy! (and keep your calcium levels up with sensible eating to make sure those nails stay healthy).
changes to your teeth during pregnancy
All of the body’s soft tissues soften during pregnancy – and this includes your gums. You may notice increased bleeding when you brush your teeth. This can usually be reduced by a trip to your dentist for a professional clean – but do make sure you tell the dentist that you are pregnant and ensure you’re not exposed to X-Rays.
Once again, a healthy diet with plenty of calcium will help you minimise the negative side-effects that the hormones may have on your teeth and gums.
changes to your skin during pregnancy - pigmentation and chloasma
All those stories about pregnant women “blooming” probably refer to the effect of the extra hormones on skin. Your skin can often benefit from the increased circulation and for many women, their skin will also retain moisture and feel plumper and softer.
But unfortunately, that is not always the case; some women find that pregnancy hormones actually irritate their skin, sometimes causing an outbreak of acne or eczema, rashes and irritation.
Pregnancy also causes deeper pigmentation – so your nipples, genitalia, even armpits and inner thighs may get darker and you may notice that freckles or moles appear darker too. Many women also get a “linea nigra,” a dark line down the centre of your abdomen marking the separation of the rictus muscles in the abdomen.
You may be one of the rare women who suffers from “chloasma,” or “the mask of pregnancy,” which causes darker patches of skin on the face on neck similar to a birthmark. It can be hidden with makeup.
Your skin pigmentation changes will gradually fade back to normal after your baby is born.
In pregnancy, your skin will be more sensitive to sunlight; and although you may tan more easily, you may also burn more easily too, so do take extra care to be sun-safe, using sunscreen, covering your skin and wearing a hat where possible.
Although pigmentation may increase the darkness of all your moles, do keep an eye on other changes to moles as pregnancy triggers rapid cell changes in the body, including skin cancer cells.
During pregnancy, many women will also experience “spider veins,” little red veins on your face that become more noticeable when you are hot or cold – these, too, will fade after delivery.
Most pregnant women will also get a few stretch marks, as a result of the breakdown of protein in the skin. These often occur particularly across the “bump,” and breasts, though they can also appear on legs and arms. If you gain a lot of weight during pregnancy you may be more susceptible. Although stretch marks won’t disappear entirely, they usually become silvery and very faint a few months after your baby is born. Consider them a medal of honour for growing a whole new person in your body – what an amazing thing to do! By Fran Molloy – journalist and mum of 4
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