Pregnancy has a remarkable impact on the mother's body, both physical and psychological. Today I want to show you an interactive graphic made by the Museum of Science and Industry of Chicago that although it is not new, it is the one that best teaches us how the mother's organs move during pregnancy to leave the baby.
As the uterus increases in size, internal organs move slightly of your position. In turn, postural skeletal changes occur that adapt to pregnancy and prepare for childbirth.
The skin stretches up to ten times its size to adapt to the change in the volume of the belly. Hence the importance of keeping it well hydrated from the beginning of pregnancy to reduce the appearance of stretch marks.
The weight gain in pregnancy is, on average, about 12 kilos, but obviously not all the weight corresponds to the baby. It is also caused by the baby's own weight, the placenta and the amniotic fluid, as well as the increase in the size of the uterus, the breasts and the extracellular fluid.
In addition to the more obvious physical changes such as weight gain and gut growth, there are others less visible, largely responsible for the most frequent discomforts in pregnancy such as edema, back pain, skin changes and constipation
There are modifications at the hormonal level, but also at the respiratory, hormonal, digestive, circulatory, renal, bone and nervous levels.
In Babies and more How the belly grows during pregnancy, trimester to trimesterThis is how organs move
The uterus is expanding and making its space inside the mother's womb. The surrounding organs move upwards, and even from the beginning of pregnancy changes begin to occur.
During the first weeks, the bladder It already begins to be compressed by the uterus that begins to grow, which causes the pregnant woman to need to urinate much more frequently.
From week 10 on large intestine and small intestine They move up and compress as the uterus increases in size and the stomach rises to the same level as the intestines. That is why the digestions are becoming slower and heavier, producing acidity. Towards the end of pregnancy, the appendix It rises to almost the height of the ribs.
The digestive system rises, also compressing the lungs. Hence the feeling of "shortness of breath" and gasping that occurs towards the end of pregnancy.
Once the baby is born, the organs rearrange gradually returning to its size and natural location. The uterus also retracts in a process of uterine involution that usually causes the annoying postpartum entourage, contractions sometimes quite painful, that favor the uterus to return to its original size.
Pregnancy is a perfect and extremely complex process in which amazing changes occur in the woman's body that give rise to a new life.
