Surprising facts every woman that has been pregnant should know!

Pregnancy; that magical time in your life when everyone says you’re glowing but you just feel like all you do is spend your time in the bathroom, either because you have to pee or you have to vomit!

Take a look and see how many of our surprising pregnancy facts you already knew!

If you are less than 12 weeks pregnant when you go for your first scan you run a very high risk of the scan being internal. While this might sound scary, it’s actually just slightly awkward and uncomfortable, especially if it’s something you’re not expecting.

While we’re on the subject of scans, as much as you want to see your baby bean as often as possible most women only get scanned twice during the entirety of their pregnancies. Once at 12 weeks and again at 20 weeks.

Obviously some instances will result in more scans. For example you may have dating scan if you don’t know how far along your pregnancy is or if your doctor or midwife is concerned the baby isn’t growing as he should be you will most likely received another scan later on in your pregnancy.

Baby brain is a real thing! Nobody puts their keys in the fridge and the milk down the toilet because they want to! But the most likely reason for the dreaded baby brain is simply fatigue. Pregnant women do not get nearly as much sleep as they actually need, so by all means use this as an excuse for an extra nap wherever you can.

While eating for two might seem like a fantastic side effect of pregnancy it’s not actually the case. What you will actually need during pregnancy is just an extra 300 calories. That’s the equivalent of 2 large bananas or three Freddo bars, so choose your calories wisely.

Morning sickness is a very common side effect of pregnancy and unfortunately the name can be quite deceiving. I guess morning, noon and night sickness just doesn’t have quite the same ring to it. But most women that suffer with morning sickness will tell you it can hit you at anytime of day! Be at bedtime, lunchtime or whenever they smell something that turns their stomachs.

Also on the subject of morning sickness you might have been to told that the sickness will go away or subside by the end of the first trimester, unfortunately I’m afraid for some women this is simply not the case and you will still be getting morning sickness all the way up until the day you deliver.

Have a birth plan but be prepared for your baby to have other plans! Being prepared is fantastic, if you know you want to use a birthing pool make sure you write it down and that your midwife is aware, or if you don’t want to use any painkillers, good luck to you, make sure the midwife and your birthing partner know what your plan is. But you also have to remember that you don’t know how your baby will be brought into to the world. With all the best intentions some labours end in an emergency caesarean, it might not be safe to use that birthing pool or it might hurt a lot more than you expect and you’ll be begging for an epidural! So be prepared and have a plan, but be prepared not to follow it to the letter!

A very common misconception is that women that suffer with heartburn will be birthing a hairy baby and will it be nice to know that the horrible heartburn with suffering is because their baby will be born with flowing locks, there is actually a much simpler and less satisfying medical reason. During pregnancy the valve between your stomach and esophagus relaxes, this allows your stomach acid to rise up into your throat and causes that painful burning sensation. This is why you will say so many pregnant women carrying a bottle of Gaviscon in their handbags at all times.

Which other facts about pregnancy surprised you?
Did we miss anything important out?
Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to like and share this with any other parents or expectant mothers !