Little Known Facts About Pregnancy

Do you have kids and think you know all about pregnancy? You might. Test your knowledge to see how much you really know about pregnancy. For full disclosure, I only have one child, and I can no longer have any more (most likely), even though I am 29. So, what I think is a little known fact, may not be a little known fact for mothers who have many children. So, I apologize for that.

1.What does your baby drink when it is inside of the womb?

Yes, you may have already guessed it. Your soon-to-be baby drinks it's own urine. While this sounds disgusting, urine is actually quite clean and will not produce any negative health problems. It would actually be very bad if your baby didn't do this hydrating task. So, when your baby comes out, it may be hungry, but he or she will be quite hydrated. As for you, that may be a different story. If you have any questions, please contact your doctor.

2. Why do women get spider veins, or blue veins, especially in the lower extremities during pregnancy?

When a woman is pregnant, her body produces and needs to pump 50% more blood. All this extra work takes its toll on the veins, but one good way to reduce or eliminate the problem is through exercise, especially walking or running.

3. Who are most likely to have twins?

Individuals who are either over the age of 40, those who are overweight, or strangely, women who are over 6 feet tall.

4. What are the chances I will have a miscarriage?

This is a very sad statistic. It is estimated that most women will have a miscarriage sometime in their life. Most of these women will not even know that they are pregnant, and many don't even miss their period. Normally, most miscarriages occur sometime before the 12th week. Even if a women has a miscarriage or miscarriages, most of these women go on to have a happy and healthy baby.

5. What was the longest pregnancy that produced a healthy and alive child?

This one almost seems unbelievable, but I confirmed this with two different medical journals. In 1945, a 25-year old Beulah Hunter was pregnant for 375 days. Yes, Ms. Hunter was pregnant for one year and ten days. This was confirmed with her OBGYN who ran a pregnancy test when she was just a few weeks pregnant, and they kept her under observation for most of her pregnancy.

The doctors believe the reason why she had such a long pregnancy was her baby had a genetic disorder in which he only developed 3/4th the rate of a normal child. The child was born healthy, and of normal size.

6. How big does a woman's uterus grow?

The uterus is actually quite stretchy and resilient. The uterus normally starts out the size of a grapefruit, but by the end of the pregnancy, it can grow to the size of a watermelon; and that is only for a singleton pregnancy.

7. My husband was so happy that at the ultrasound our little boy look well-endowed.

Okay, this one is a little bit of an embarrassing fact. The truth is, little boys, even in utero can um, can have an increased blood flow to that region, if you know what I mean. Many mothers of little boys even have ultrasound pictures of their little boys, increasing the blood flow to that area themselves. Don't believe me? http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/201-lessons

8. People say that a woman glows while she is pregnant, what does that mean?

When a person says that a woman glows when she is pregnant, there are actually two possible meanings. First, if a person is incredibly happy and excited, then she might give off that glowing complection. The second fact is that a woman's blood flow will increase over 50% while she is pregnant, especially if the woman has very light skin, you can visually see the increased blood flow under her skin, especially in the face giving off a form of glow. Either way, they look absolutely stunning!

9. Does a woman's smell really increase when she is pregnant?

Yes! When a woman is pregnant, her smell really does increase. There is actually a very scientific reason for this. Women's smell increase so they can detect if a particular food could be potentially harmful to the unborn child. So, follow your nose!

10. Will contractions stop right after birth?

Yes, it is actually call after pains. They can be a little painful, especially if you breastfeed because breastfeeding does cause contractions. However, these after pains are vital. They help the uterus shrink back to its original state. Also, these contractions help a woman in having less bleeding after her delivery. These contractions only last for a few days.