Everyone’s bodies are different, and that applies to women experiencing pregnancy too. Although people have different experiences, there are some common experiences that women share during their pregnancy. Some common things are morning sickness, heightened sense of smell, and hot flashes during pregnancy. There are some other things women experience too, and it’s good to know you aren’t the only pregnant woman going through them.

 Morning Sickness

Morning sickness is a fairly common thing people talk about when it comes to pregnancy. However, morning sickness can hit you at any time of day. It usually starts about six weeks into pregnancy and can settle around week 14. Some recommendations for morning sickness are:

• Drink small amounts of fluid often

• Try ginger tablets, ginger tea, or ginger ale

• Eat small amounts of food often so you don’t have an empty stomach

• Avoid fatty or spicy foods

• Avoid cooking foods with potent smells

Hot Flashes

Hot flashes during pregnancy can result from the fluctuation of hormones and body temperatures that happens during pregnancy. When you are pregnant, your hormone levels increase and release throughout your pregnancy. Also, as the fetus grows, it will give off heat and that can affect your body temperature. With the drastic changes happening in your body, it is not surprising for women to experience hot flashes during pregnancy and hot flashes after pregnancy. Although it’s difficult to treat hot flashes during pregnancy, you might find ways to help control triggers that include:

• Hot drinks

• Caffeine 

• Spicy food

• Anxiety and stress

<h2> Incontinence </h2>

Some women struggle with incontinence during and after their pregnancy. The best way to be able to control your bladder is to do pelvic floor exercises that help strengthen the muscles that are affected by pregnancy.

Heightened Sense of Smell

Heightened sense of smell is a common experience pregnant women have. Oftentimes, you are able to smell things you couldn’t really smell before, and all of a sudden some smells tend to bother you more than others. A lot of times this happens due to fluctuating human chorionic gonadotropin (hcG) levels in your body during pregnancy.

Flatulence 

Maybe this isn’t one many women talk about, but flatulence is common during pregnancy. The hormones relaxin and progesterone are responsible for relaxing the muscles, especially the ones in your intestine. Digestion tends to slow down and flatulence, bloating, and burping tend to be more common. It’s recommended to try exercising for 30 minutes a day to speed up digestion.

Heartburn 

Heartburn is one of the unfortunate experiences some women have while pregnant. As your body changes, your esophageal muscles and digestion change, leaving some women with heartburn and discomfort in the chest. Avoiding food that induce heartburn and eating smaller meals more frequently may help curb the heartburn.

Excessive Hair Growth

Excessive hair growth may be common for pregnant women. It is also caused by sudden hormonal shifts within the body. There really isn’t much to do about this other than keeping up with maintaining the hair as it grows. Or you can just sport it with confidence for the duration of your pregnancy.

Trouble Sleeping

Lots of women talk about how they had trouble sleeping while pregnant. There can be a lot of things that contribute to not being able to sleep. Some people are worrying about the things that come with being pregnant. Others have trouble sleeping due to the fact that they just can’t get comfortable due to aches, bloating, or nausea. Some ways that may help you sleep are putting your phone away an hour before bed to avoid the blue light from your device, ginger tablets, or taking a soothing bath. Just make sure the bath isn’t too hot for the little one in your belly!

Discharge 

During pregnancy, hormonal shifts are normal. Although hormonal shifts can cause things like hot flashes during pregnancy, they can also cause an increase in discharge. Also, your cervix and vaginal wall get softer, which leads to your body producing more discharge to keep infections away. It can be annoying having to change your underwear a few times a day, but it is actually a great defense mechanism your body does naturally to protect your little one. Just try to keep some panty liners in your purse for when you are on the go.

Lightning Crotch

You may or may not have heard about pregnant women talking about lightning crotch pains. This feels like a shooting pain in the pelvic area that may happen when you are moving or when the baby is moving. As the baby moves into the birth canal, it puts pressure on your pelvic area and can cause the sharp pains known as lighting crotch. Some people say that doing active things like swimming can help.

What Pregnant Women Experience 

Despite bodies being different, there are many common experiences women have while they are pregnant. Whether it’s discharge, hot flashes, or lightning pains, it’s safe to say you are not alone in experiencing these common things for pregnant women.