Corbis
If your partner wants kids and you don’t, here are some facts that could get him on your side. If you’re already pregnant, these are just possibilities you should know about, but no need to freak out. Here are creepy things that can happen during pregnancy.
shutterstock.com
Blotchy skin
Hormones surging through your body during pregnancy can cause something informally called pregnancy mask. Essentially your skin becomes over pigmented and you’ll see blotchy spots.
Image Source: Shutterstock
What you can do
Luckily the condition goes away after pregnancy, but there are a few things you can do to help prevent pregnancy mask or stop it from getting worse. Stay out of the sun, use a gentle cleanser and, of course, apply a good concealer.
Shutterstock
Jacuzzis and your baby’s brain
A woman’s body temperature is very important when she’s with child. Raising it as little as four degrees can put the baby at risk of being born with all sorts of life-altering conditions.
Source: Shutterstock
What you can do
Stay out of hot tubs! Don’t worry; there is usually a lifeguard nearby to remind you, or at least other hot tub guests with judgmental eyes.
Source: Shutterstock
Incompatible blood types
To put it simply, if your partner has a plus sign at the end of his blood type and you have a negative sign at the end of yours, you could have an issue. The likelihood is that your fetus will have a blood type that is positive. In response to this, your body can develop antibodies that could reject future fetuses who also have a positive blood type.
Shutterstock
What you can do
Luckily, if you and your partner do simple blood work before conceiving to figure out your compatibility, you can just take shots to prevent your body from developing the aforementioned antibodies. Translation: you can reproduce at ease.
Shutterstock
A needle in the belly
Like, a big one. If you’re prone to having certain complications during pregnancy, or have a family history of complications, a good way for your doctor to test for potential risks is by analyzing the fluid your baby floats in. And he does that by sticking a big needle directly into your tummy.
Shutterstock
What you can do
You can get a local anesthetic injection. But some women complain that injection is more painful than the procedure itself.
Shutterstock
Pregnancy diabetes
The hormones circulating in your body to help grow the placenta during pregnancy can actually make you develop an insulin resistance. This version of diabetes will only last the duration of your pregnancy, but it puts your baby at risk of coming out very large.
Shutterstock
What you can do
There’s not much you can do about the diabetes other than treat it, but you can get a cesarean if the baby is too large to deliver vaginally.
Shutterstock
Inter-uterine feces
Basically your baby might make his first poop while still inside of you. This is pretty uncommon, but the poop will stay in there until you give birth, which puts the baby at risk of a respiratory condition.
Shutterstock
What you can do
There is an emergency treatment that will take place if, when your baby is born, it’s apparent he did release feces before being born. Talk to your doctor if you have diabetes or hypertension as these can put you at higher risk for this situation.
Shutterstock
Mid-labor water examination
If your doctor suspects problems once labor has begun, but your water has yet to break, he’ll need a way to analyze said water (otherwise known as your amniotic fluid.) This is when he might do something called an amniotomy, which basically involves putting a hook up your cervix to take a look around.
Shutterstock
What you can do
Don’t look down, that’s for sure.
Corbis
Things turn inside out
By things we mean your colon or your uterus. The straining involved in labor causes a small percent of women to weaken the ligaments in certain muscles down there so much, that the colon or uterus essentially droops out of the body.
Shutterstock
What you can do
There is a surgery to repair the damage, thank goodness. As for preventative measures, know that certain conditions like constipation, an ongoing cough, or an overweight fetus can heighten the risk of this condition. So talk to your doctor early during pregnancy if you’re experiencing any of these.
