“It’s a great thing about being pregnant – you don’t need excuses to pee or to eat".- Angelina Jolie
Pregnancy still creates an aura of mystery and wonder for some. After all, how many people were once told th
at a stork was responsible for their existence? Many question why women who endure being pregnant give off an unearthly glow, make frequent trips to the lavatory, and enjoy strange cravings. Life is stranger than fiction, and there are definitely some weird and wonderful tidbits about the miracle of life.
1. An Extra-Late Delivery
The year was 1945. At age 25, a normal healthy woman named Beulah Hunter didn’t give birth until after 375 days. That’s a little over year being stuck with a bun in the oven!
2. Test Tube Miracle
After trying to conceive a child unsuccessfully for nine years, a couple turned to science. The result was the birth of the first successful “test tube baby". Louise Joy Brown was born in Great Britain in July 1978, after her mother Lesley Brown used Dr. Patrick Steptoe’s now widely accepted, experimental fertilization procedure. This is now commonly known as IVF, or In vitro fertilization.
3. A Surefire Way to Twins
Ladies be advised. Women who are overweight, very tall, or over the age of 35 are more apt to have twins. Also, the rate of twins being born is on the rise thanks to IVF treatments.
4. Giving Meaning to Being Fruitful and Multiplying
The wife of a Russian farmer named Feodor Vassilyev, gave birth to an astonishing 69 children in the 18th century. 67 of their offspring managed to survive, and several medical journals were intrigued by the results. The mother successfully gave birth to 16 sets of twins, 7 sets of triplets, and 4 sets of quadruplets!
5. No Worries, Just Push the Pause Button
Kangaroos are one of the only animals on the planet that is typically, almost always pregnant. Luckily for these marsupials, they can pause their own pregnancies and delay birth. Guess that leaves some room in that pouch for other stuff, when a Joey isn’t around.
6. Eat This for Twins
Among the Yoruba people, who are found throughout Nigeria, Benin, and other West African countries, the consumption of yams leads to a greater likelihood of being pregnant with twins. Apparently, yams contain certain chemicals that encourage the release of more than one egg, and increase the overall chance of having twins. Benin has one of the highest rates of twin births in the world. There are 27.9 twins born every 1,000 births in the country. The town of Igbo-Ora, in Nigeria, is known as the Twin Capital of the world. Move over fertility pills, pass the yams please!
7. Baby to the Rescue
If a pregnant mom suffers damage to her organs, stem cells of the fetus can migrate to the mother and repair damaged tissue. Babies are a mom’s hero.
8. Baby is not the Only One Growing
In addition to baby’s growth and development, a pregnant woman’s uterus increases up to 500 times its original size. Also, a pregnant woman typically experiences an enlarged heart, increased chest size, and a growth in their shoe size too. This is usually reversed after the baby is born, and things go back to normal. Some ladies do end up with permanently larger feet though. Don’t you dare call them boats or clown shoes.
9. The Tooth Fairy Can Come Early
Believe it or not, sometimes babies are born with teeth! 1 out of 2,000 to 3,000 births ends up with a little bundle of joy sporting a new chomper. Unfortunately, the tooth usually gets removed early. Guess it’s time to call the tooth fairy for an early payment.
10. Talk to the Bump
Babies can hear and feel what is going on around them in the outside world, which means that they actually can respond to parents talking to the baby bump. Babies start picking up on their mother tongue as early as 6 months in the womb. Babies also enjoy moving around to music, and react to their mom’s movements too.
11. Oh-Dear! What’s That Smell
There’s a reason why women who get pregnant have an uncanny and seemingly over-developed sense of smell. No, that mom-to-be is not imagining things, that stinky cheese and fish sandwich smells really potent. This is a biological feature, ensuring that the mother uses her sense of smell to avoid food and other dangerous items, which could cause harm to her unborn child.
12. Pass on the Pain Management Please
In the 1900s, doctors got the zany idea to put ladies to sleep during childbirth. This was to cut down on the amount of hysterics from pregnant ladies thrashing around when being strapped down during labor. It was a standard practice for the time. Unfortunately, the “Twilight” treatment had a downside. Sometimes the ladies and the babies being delivered never managed to wake up.
13. It’s Not Make-Believe, I’m Really Pregnant, Check the Bump
Shockingly, there really is such a thing as hysteria pregnancy. Apparently, a woman can bring on all of the symptoms and display of a faux-baby bump, thanks to the will of the mind. Women have experienced weight gain, cravings, an expanding abdomen, sensitive chest, and morning sickness without actually being pregnant. Some ladies even make it to the 9-month mark with a childless labor and delivery process. The brain is a powerful thing.
14. Morning Sickness Doesn’t Just Happen in the AM
Contrary to the common name, morning sickness can strike a pregnant lady at any time of the day or night. The queasy stomach, nausea, dizziness, and all-around malaise is complements of pregnancy hormones. The worst is usually over after the first trimester for most moms, but some ladies enjoy morning sickness from the beginning of their pregnancy until the child is delivered. Keep those antacids close by, and a bucket.
15. Don’t Want to Drink to That
When a baby is developing in its mom’s womb, it is surrounded by an amniotic sac filled with fluid. The fluid filling this sac is predominantly sterile urine. Babies wee about 1 liter of urine a day, and they end up drinking that fluid, weeing it out, and repeating the process. At least babies keep their gross habits hidden from view, until birth at least.
16. Don’t Fear the Big O
It is perfectly normal and safe for most pregnant ladies to still get it on while pregnant. Having an orgasm can bring on contractions, but they most likely will not induce labor. Surprisingly, nipple stimulation is the only proven “soft induction method” to bring about a delivery.
17. Not Just An Old Wives’ Tale
Women who are pregnant and suffer heartburn are more likely to deliver a baby with a full head of luscious hair. Hormones during pregnancy trigger this fascinating phenomenon.
18. Placenta Cake Anyone?
The word placenta is rooted in the Latin language, meaning “flat cake". Most mammals ingest the placenta after giving birth.
Does this mean you should eat your placenta? Not necessarily.
Many women claim that eating the placenta provides a myriad of health benefits, but most people don't realize that it actually has not been proven to do so at all. Placenta-eating advocates have claimed a myriad of benefits, ranging from increased energy level, faster healing, and the provision of needed hormones.
These claims have not been fully tested, and currently there's no proof that it does anything at all. There have also been risks indicated: the risk of contamination that could potentially result in infections or harmful substances ingestion. Additionally, the high cost of placenta supplements or preparation can act as a deterrent for some.
The jury is still out on this one--most experts simply say that we need to continue to test and evaluate the risks and benefits.
19. Sympathetic Pregnancy is Real
The partners of pregnant ladies can really “feel” the ups and downs of pregnancy too, minus the baby kicking around. This phenomenon is known as couvade syndrome. In all seriousness, males in a relationship can display weight gain, cravings, and even come down with morning sickness.
20. Please Excuse Me, It’s Just My Mommy Brain
The phenomenon nicknamed “mommy brain” is a real thing where hormones can actually cause a mother to forget things more easily. Even after giving birth to her child, a mom still might deal with fuzzy memory and rampant forgetfulness.
21. One Big Baby
The largest baby girl to ever survive delivery in India, weighed in at a whopping 15 pounds. This is the same weight as a 6-month old. The child was born in 2016 and delivered via a C-section. The world record for the heaviest baby ever born goes to Carmelina Fedele in Aversa, Italy. She gave birth to a baby boy weighing 22 pounds and 8 ounces in 1955. Surprisingly enough, the size and weight of babies has been increasing in the past twenty years.
22. World’s Smallest Surviving Baby
In 2006, Amilia Taylor beat the odds when she managed to survive being born at a mere 21 weeks and 6 days. Her mother, determined for her child to survive, lied to doctors that she was further along and closer to 23 weeks. Amilia was born with tiny pink-brown translucent feet and weighed less than 10 ounces at birth!
23. Never too Old to be a Mom
Rajo Devi Lohan, of Hissar, India, used IVF treatments at the age of 69 years of age. She nearly succumbed to delivery complications, but both she and her daughter survived. Rajo was determined to have a child, and she successfully gave birth to a healthy girl, named Naveen.
24. Cravings for Paper and Dirt
“Pica” is the name given to describe the desire to consume non-foods. This happens a lot to some pregnant women, who may not realize that their craving for paper, shampoo, dirt, or another non-food item is because of a possible nutrient deficiency.
25. But Wait, I’m Already Pregnant
It is possible, albeit a rare incidence, that a pregnant woman can become impregnated again. This occurrence is called superfetation. Sometimes a woman releases more than one egg at a time, and after one is fertilized and begins developing, the other egg gets fertilized a little bit later. Superfetation occurs most often in badgers panthers, buffalo, and the European brown hare.
26. Not Always an Arrival to the Finish Line
Sadly, 10 to 25% of pregnancies actually end in miscarriage. Usually, a woman may not even realize she was ever pregnant. A miscarriage can take place within the first twelve weeks of pregnancy.
27. Milk on Tap
Pregnant women and recent mothers will nearly always automatically produce milk when they hear an infant crying. Mother Nature’s way of not making a baby have to wait too long for the food, right?
28. Busy Keeping it Moving
Babies don’t just spend their time eating, drinking, and sleeping in mom’s womb. Babies practice crying, waving, and even engage in self-exploration. Maybe Freud was on to something.
Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17
