Your Body Is Amazing - Pregnancy Edition

Written By Alana Asch

I don’t remember where I originally saw this tweet or post, but it said something along the lines of, “literally all my friends are getting engaged, or already married and having kids and I’m over here content af and just like, ‘I love my dog.’”

Nothing has ever resonated so deeply with me.

I mean, look at my dog…

I absolutely love her.

To everyone who is currently pregnant or recently had a kid, congratulations. You inspired this blog article. Some of my pregnant friends and I have discussed how fascinating it is that their bodies are growing a little human. I thought I would take the opportunity to share some of the even more, detailed fascinating things I’ve learned from those conversations.

  1. Some of us may know that the placenta acts as a nutrient, blood, and oxygen transporter from the mother to the growing fetus. Basically, the placenta is the baby’s lifeline. What blew my mind is that in the early stages of pregnancy, before the placenta is the placenta, it is this bubble-protection thing that grows around the fetus. Without this, the mother’s body would attack the fetus as foreign object. As this bubble-protection things grows into the placenta, it sustains the growing fetus’s life throughout the pregnancy. And you didn’t even have to think about it. Your body took care of that one for you. Thanks, body.

    Side note: on Miayim Bialik’s (Amy Farrah Fowler from The Big Bang Theory) awesome mental health podcast, Bialik Breakdown, she discusses the benefits of eating that nutrient packed thing during the episode with Danica McKellar (Winnie Cooper from Wonder Years). #eatorganmeat

  2. When you are giving birth, your body naturally produces more and less of certain hormones. One hormone that your body produces more of is called relaxin. The increase in relaxin allows the bones in your hips and pelvic region to soften, so that area can expand as you are pushing a little human out. Your body knows how taxing giving birth is going to be. So it has mechanisms, like this one, designed to happen in order to make it just a little bit easier. And you don’t even have to think about them. Your body takes care of them for you. Thanks, body.

  3. Your body not only creates a little human, but can sustain that human for months afterward with its own resources. Breastmilk is very nutrient dense. It contains antibodies to help build the infant’s immune system, cells to help grow little infant organs, and special proteins to help the infant’s little intestines fight against bacteria. Breastmilk can actually change based on the needs of your growing baby, and based on what you eat. And you don’t even have to think about creating your own breastmilk. You can just focus on bonding with your little one. Your body’s got it from here. Thanks, body.

  4. Speaking of breastfeeding, your body regulates milk production mainly by a hormone called prolactin. Having more prolactin around tells your body to stop menstruating. My friend who recently became a mom and myself discussed this. We talked about how your body must know that having kids back to back would be way too taxing. For instance, she thinks she has a new mom mode that her body, and her mind, has kicked into because normally she would not be sane right now with the small amount of sleep she has been getting. She is breastfeeding her kiddo, so her body is trying to stop the ability for another kiddo to come. Yes, we know this isn’t full-proof. It is just something you don’t have to think about, that your body tries to take care of for you. Thanks, body.

  5. This one is dedicated to Kya’s puppies that I never met. Yup, she’s a mom. She gets it. Did you know that dogs’ pregnancies are usually only about 63 days. That’s it. It takes a little over two months to create a whole, adorable liter of puppies. 63 days. An average human pregnancy takes 280 days.

P.S. Thanks, Mom. For growing me, taking care of me, bringing my cleats/shinguards to school on all the days I forgot them at home, for helping me find a chair for Kya in the new digs, and for everything else. I love you way more than any blog post could express.

If you are located in central New Jersey and ready to reach beyond what you thought your body was capable of, please use the form to ask about my strength and conditioning services.

If you are not located in central New Jersey, but still ready to reach beyond what you thought your body was capable of, please use the form below to ask me about my remote strength and conditioning services.

And coaches! I make graphics and edit videos. Please use the form to get in touch with me if you would like help.

Alana Asch
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