Pregnancy is a crazy time of change for you and your little family.
Once baby arrives, there will be more changes to come.
Sure, you’ll beexhausted and a little sore, but the changes go far beyond that.
Most hospitals will provide helpful ice packs for new moms, so take advantage!
Sitting on apillow or soft surfacewill also help with comfort.
After childbirth, our pelvic floor muscles are weak, making it difficult to hold in urine.
Most women notice some kind of bladder control issue after pregnancy and childbirth.
“With time and pelvic floor work this usually resolves.”
Kegels are a new mom’s best friend.
Kegel exercises involve tightening your pelvic floor muscles to strengthen them again.
You’d immediately stop and hold your urine.
That’s what a kegel feels like.
Rosser recommends to her patients that they start practicing kegels immediately after birth.
What most women don’t expect is their feet changing permanently.
“Many designer shoes have been donated to smaller feet for this very reason.”
Your hips could get wider
Yikes!
Dr. Phillips told The List that some women notice their pelvises seem larger after birth.
“They may find that with subsequent pregnancies they notice pelvic discomfort a little earlier because of this.”
However, I was surprised to learn just how traumatic this change can be.
A study published inPsychosomatic Medicinestudied women’s eating habits and attitudes after giving birth.
Many of the mothers in the study reported their weight gain as very stressful.
“And seemed to precipitate a clinical eating disorder in a few cases.”
You won’t care about sex
Breaking news!
Shocking, we know.
Kaspertold The List that she encourages her new mom patients to “be selfish.”
“They are learning how to care for a new person.”
“A new mom should feel very comfortable asking for help.
What about the dads?
Thought you were the only one going through massive physical changes with the birth of this baby?
Nope, you’re partner actually experiences changes as well.
NeuropsychiatristLouann Brizendine, author ofThe Male Brain,shared some of the hormonal changes dads experience withUSA Today.
Cortisol is our body’s stress hormone and responsible for that fight or flight response.
This level goes back to normal as your pregnancy progresses.
“It is a cortisol surge that wakes our brains up every morning,” Brizendine said.
Take advantage of this time when your partner is on high-alert!
Maybe he can start getting the nursery ready while biology is on your side.
Another change men experience is rather surprising.
During your pregnancy, his testosterone level decreases while his prolactin level increases.
Prolactin is the hormone responsible for helping mothers produce breast milk.
This hormone goes up more than 20 percent in men, but scientists aren’t sure why.
These changes may be the body’s way of helping your partner adjust to his role as a dad.
Brizendine explains that your partner’s brain may “begin making the hormonal changes necessary for paternal behavior.”
Hormone levels start to return to normal once the baby arrives, except for one.
Dads who are more involved with raising their children have lower testosterone levels than uninvolved dads.
Scientists haven’t figured that one out yet.
