A list of the most common pregnancy side effects

There is a long list of potential pregnancy side effect that you may experience during your pregnancy. Don't get all worried now! I know that looking at this list may cause some worries. Take heart, with the suggested solutions to these pregnancy side effects, you will make it through these wonderful 9 months in one piece!

Morning Sickness:

Morning sickness generally lasts for the duration of the first trimester. There are some pregnancies where the morning sickness lasts the entire 9 months. Don't get worried just yet. There are ways to curb this nauseousness.

Morning sickness is one of the pregnancy side effects that is handsdown the most annoying and horrible side effect. Who likes to feel nauseous all day for weeks on end? Not me! I am sure you don't either, so follow the above link to find out more about morning sickness and it's cures!

Pregnancy Stretch Marks:

Of all the pregnancy side effects, I would say that most women worry about this one a lot! We worry because we have no idea how well our skin will take to all the stretching it has to endure for 9 months. We wonder if we'll have that "stretchmark-free" pregnancy that we always dreamed of. How do you prevent those stretch marks? How can you treat them? Follow the above link to find out more on this pregnancy side effect.

Pregnancy Weight Gain

No matter how much you enjoy being pregnant and having that cute preggo belly, most likely you will have those days where you feel like a big balloon. You may begin to wonder what sort of pregnancy weight gain is normal? and if you are within that 'safe pregnancy weight gain'.

We are women, and whether we are pregnant or not, or whether we want to admit it or not...we will always be concerned about weight gain. Follow the above link to read more on this pregnancy side effect.

Pregnancy Cravings:

Hair loss:

Yes...most women lose a good bit of hair post-birth. The amount of hair loss varies from woman to woman and from pregnancy to pregnancy.

I experienced this "receding hairline" of sorts when my hair started to fall out rapidly a few weeks after I had given birth to our first baby. I freaked out because I wasn't sure when it would ever stop falling out.

The hair loss did eventually stop and in the meantime I was able to get an amazing haircut and hide the tiny spiky little hairs that were growing in.

You WILL NOT GO BALD. Do not worry. Follow the text link above to find out ways to help prevent some hair loss as well as tips to deal with it.

Pregnancy Brain:

This refers to a stage of forgetfulness that occurs in women who are pregnant. I experienced this and still do to some degree even months after having my last baby.

There are things that you can do to minimize your pregnancy brain but unfortunately you can not prevent it. It is just one of those pregnancy side effects.

Frequent Urination:

All those trips to the bathroom do have a purpose! Especially the ones during the middle of the night. Frequent urination is simply one of the amazing things our bodies are doing to prepare us for this baby we will soon have.

Isn't it crazy how my body trained me to get up at regulated hours during the night in order to best prepare me for the baby's sleep schedule. Frequent middle of the night feeding, changing and rocking to sleep seemed easier because I had been getting up so much during the night to pee before the baby came.

Before pregnancy I was the hugest fan of not letting anything disturb my sleep. Nine months of midnight, 3 am and 5am trips to the bathroom changed all that!

In the long run I was thankful I had the work up training! You will be too. Hang in there and sleep in as much as possible! (for both of us ha ha!)

Sensitive Gums:

Don't be alarmed if you see blood in the sink when you brush your teeth! Bleeding gums is yet another pregnancy side effect. This one has it's benefits though. Dentists should go easy on your gums and teeth for your regular check ups because they don't want to cause your gums to bleed any more than they already are.

If this is a pregnancy side effect your are experiencing...you don't have to worry!!! Your bleeding gums should stop when your baby is born.

Heart Palpatations:

Pregnancy Emotions:

Nesting:

Now this is a very fun part of being pregnant. Well I guess the term fun depends on how much you love cleaning. Most woman don't spend every waking hour cleaning and if given the chance most of us would WISELY turn the offer down.

With your pregnancy comes another fun side effect which is nesting. This term basically refers to your obsessive compulsive cleaning, sorting, folding, re-folding and cleaning again of everything in your house!

Thank goodness that this obsession does not happen right away...but more so during the latter half of the Second Trimester.

Backpain:

Varicose veins:

If you are one of the "lucky ones" who happens to get varicose veins during your pregnancy, chances are they will most likely disappear or diminish significantly after the birth of your baby.

For some people, like myself, these varicose veins are hereditary. Luckily for us, there is treatment. During your pregnancy your body has 50 % more blood in it. Varicose veins appear as the body tries to pump the blood circulating thorugh your body back up to your heart. If the valves in your veins are weak and have collapsed the result will be those lovely varicose veins. They tend to appear mainly on the legs.

There is much that can be done to prevent or atleast reduce the severity of this pregnancy side effect.

Leg Cramps:

Restless Legs:

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