Becoming a mother will change a woman's body, and this is not a joke. After childbirth, a woman's body will show many changes. While some strange changes gradually fade away shortly after the child is born, some continue to cause trouble for women.
3 Weight gain
1/4 of women gained 5 kg or more in the year after delivery. Although the increase is not very large, in the "three-child era", this increase is quite considerable for women who raise more children.
Urgent incontinence
Although not every woman will give birth to an overweight fetus, unfortunately, delivery increases the risk of maternal incontinence or bladder loss. This is because vaginal delivery weakens the muscles needed to control the bladder and damages the bladder nerves and support tissue, resulting in a drop in the pelvic floor (prolapse). Caesarean section can also increase the risk of urinary incontinence. Women with urinary incontinence can strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor through Kegel exercises.
Stretch marks
Pregnant women will notice pink or red stretch marks on their skin during pregnancy. Of course, this condition is not unique to pregnancy. This skin texture will appear as long as the weight increases or decreases significantly. Over time, the color of stretch marks will gradually fade and disappear within a year or two. If a woman becomes pregnant again, or if her weight gains or loses again, stretch marks will become more obvious.
Varicocele and hemorrhoids
Some pregnant women will notice swelling, pain and blue veins on their legs, vulva and vagina, which are called varicose veins. When these painful veins appear on the rectum, hemorrhoids are easily formed. Varicocele and hemorrhoids are formed because the heavy weight and pressure of the uterus can reduce blood flow to the lower limbs. Varicose veins and hemorrhoids usually disappear within 6 to 12 months after delivery. Pregnant women who want to prevent varicose veins from worsening should exercise regularly, avoid sitting crossed legs for a long time, wear elastic stockings, and avoid constipation by eating foods with high dietary fiber content and drinking a lot of liquids.
Breast growth and reduction
Female breasts undergo some size changes during and after pregnancy. They get bigger at first because dormant adipose tissue in the breast is replaced by functional tissue, preparing for breastfeeding. However, breast size is not permanent. After breastfeeding is stopped, functional tissues will atrophy but will not be replaced immediately by fat. If a woman is very healthy and has not gained weight, her breasts will gradually become smaller and return to their original state. If the woman becomes pregnant again, the above process will be repeated.
33 Uterine slightly larger
Under normal circumstances, the uterus is about the size of a pear, but during pregnancy, this organ expands to the size of a watermelon. Premenopausal women with children have slightly larger uteruses than women who have never given birth to children.
Tooth loss
"Tooth loss will occur" is a real thing. A study of 2,635 women found that the more children women have, the more likely they are to lose their teeth. Aged between 35 and 49, women with one child lost two teeth on average, while women with two children lost four teeth on average.
Other oral problems include enlarged gums and increased bleeding from gingivals, which is caused by increased blood flow during pregnancy. If pregnant women have morning sickness, the acid produced by vomiting can also wear the enamel on their teeth. Changes in estrogen during pregnancy can also affect bacterial communities or microbiota in the oral cavity, so it is important to maintain good oral hygiene during this period. Women with poor oral conditions are more likely to be at risk of premature delivery of .
The risk of breast cancer is reduced
Although the breasts cannot resist the effects of gravity, there is an exciting news: Breastfeeding will reduce the risk of breast cancer in women's lifetime. If a woman breastfeeds a baby, her relative risk of breast cancer is reduced by 4%. In developed countries, if women give birth to as many babies as in developing countries, up to half of the risk of breast cancer can be reduced, 2/3 of which can be attributed to breastfeeding.
rectus abdominal muscle isolation
A permanent change related to pregnancy in women is postpartum rectus abdominal muscle isolation . All women will experience this phenomenon in the later stages of pregnancy, making room for the growing abdomen. One year after delivery, 1/3 to 2/3 women still maintain a certain degree of rectus abdominal separation.
becomes chimera
The body of a pregnant woman is filled with cells of growing babies, and these cells do not all leave the mother as the baby is born. At least some cells enter other parts of the mother's body through the placenta, and some cells stay in the mother's body for life. Gene sequencing found that there was male DNA in the brain of women, which proved that they had given birth to their sons.
Hip is wider
Some women will notice that their buttocks become wider after childbirth. This has something to do with relaxation hormones, but it is not the real reason yet. The wider hip is most likely due to fat deposits in this area. That is to say, some women's butts become bigger because of the accumulation of fat cells, not because hip bone becomes wider.
5The risk of diabetes is increased
Gestational diabetes has an incidence rate of up to 10% in pregnant women. However, the risk of diabetes for mothers does not end after delivery. After delivery, up to half of women with gestational diabetes will truly develop type 2 diabetes in their future lives. Women with gestational diabetes must maintain a healthy weight and diet, monitor their blood sugar, and be screened for diabetes for several years after pregnancy to know if they have diabetes. ■
