Of course, having a baby’s a wonderful thing – some may say there’s no better feeling, emotions are indescribable. It’s a joyous occasion when your baby’s born and you hold your little one in your arms for the first time. All the pain that you’ve endured during the birthing process and possibly during pregnancy, all the changes your body’s gone through to adapt to the rigors of pregnancy and childbirth have been worth it. It’s pain followed by pleasure, that’s how you’re likely to remember the day your baby’s born, and in such an instance, pleasure trumps pain hands down. You’ll be riding on that high for weeks, and possibly months and years after you give birth.

But during this period, you’re going to have to come to terms with the fact that your body’s changed, that your pre and post-pregnancy bodies are totally different from each other. Now of course, there are some lucky buggers out there for whom pregnancy has no effect on whatsoever; once that initial period post-childbirth has passed, their bodies get right back to where they were before the pregnancy.

People look at these individuals and have no clue that they’ve just had a baby. But the majority of women aren’t that lucky. Depending on how smooth the childbirth process was, you’re going to have to get accustomed to changes in your body. These may be physical or phycological changes and could have a lot to do with how traumatizing the birthing process went. Some wounds – physical or psychological – will heal over time, but some will unfortunately remain with you, on or in your body, for life.

15 The Dark, Discoloration Of Skin

Dark patches on the skin, particularly on the forehead or on the neck, is known as the mask of pregnancy. It’s all courteously of the hormone, melanin, also known as the tanning hormone. A lot of women would seriously love to get a tan on, and naturally at that, but it’s safe to say they wouldn’t want to get tanned in patches, and that to in visible areas on the body.

Excess melanin is produced during pregnancy to help protect your body from UV light. Women with darker skin are more susceptible to having these dark patches appear than women with lighter skin – you’d expect it to be the opposite way around, but hey hoe, it’s just the way things are.

These dark patches could begin to appear during pregnancy but could last for years after you give birth. Sometimes they may not disappear at all. If this is the case and you’re feeling self-conscious about the marks, pay a visit to a dermatologist and get something to make those patches fade.

14 Swelling

Swelling during pregnancy is one of the aspects of pregnancy women least look forward to. Swelling in certain regions of the body is normal and is actually quite common. You can expect to experience swelling of the feet, legs hands, ankles – this types of swelling is to be expected and is normal, to a certain extent that it. But swelling around the face and eyes is not – this is when you need to consult a physician.

For many women, this type of swelling is a temporary thing – it happens during pregnancy, and then like most things during pregnancy, gradually eases once you give birth and the body gets back to its pre-pregnancy state. But for some unlucky individuals that isn’t the case. A certain amount of swelling remains for years and years after giving birth, possibly even for life. It’s due to the fact that the ligaments have been widened during pregnancy to help the body get through the birthing process. So, bigger feet could be an issue – or a plus point depending on how you look at it, as it means shoe shopping! – after pregnancy.

13 Skin Tags

“Err, what the hell are skin tags?” is what you’ll probably be thinking. They don’t sound like a particularly nice thing to have, and they’re not. They’re small skin-colored growths that protrude out and can hang off the skin – a bit like a wart or a nasty little growth of some sort that you just want to pinch and snip off. Obviously, don’t do that yourself, but the good thing is that they can easily be taken care of.

Skin tags – they may be growths or skin folds – are typically found in the folds of the neck, in the underarm region, and even down below. They occur due to changes to the skin that occur during pregnancy; a combination of hormonal changes, changes to loose collagen fibres and blood vessels which are surrounded by the skin. They don’t usually cause people discomfort, although they can be rather unsightly and many woman choose to have them removed rather than put up with them for life, which could be the case.

They can be frozen off, much in the same way that warts are, and it’s a relatively quick and painless procedure.

12 Eye Problems

This one may seem a little weird. How are eyes going to be affected during pregnancy? Again they could be affected due to those weird and wonderful chemical messengers we have in our bodies – hormones. Changes in hormone levels, in addition to a ton of other things, could affect your eyesight during pregnancy.

Metabolism, fluid retention, and blood circulation during pregnancy could also have a part to play during the rigors of pregnancy. The retention of water for example could lead to the thickening of the cornea which could affect the curvature of the eye. This in turn may affect your vision. It could also result in blurriness and irritation – make you want to scratch out your corneas. These subtle changes could have major effects. Most are temporary, but sometimes the changes could take years to get back to normal. In some instances, the changes to eyesight are permanent, so a visit to the optometrist will be in order.

11 Lack Of Bladder Control

During pregnancy, the frequent need or urge to urinate and lack of bladder control are common issues. As the stomach protrudes out, the womb gets bigger and the uterus grows to accommodate the growing fetus, all of this is putting a lot of pressure on the bladder. Add into the mix the fact that the kidneys begin producing more urine during pregnancy, and it’s understandable that you’re going to be visiting the bathroom a lot during pregnancy.

But some women still experience these same feelings long after giving birth, which understandably can be quite embarrassing and quite a troubling experience and sensation. It’s because, although the fetus is no longer pressing down on the bladder, due to pregnancy and childbirth, the muscles involved in bladder control could be severely weakened or even partly destroyed (although that’s very rare).

So, if you still find yourself dashing to the loo all too regularly, approach it like rehab – you’ve got to strengthen those muscles up. Kegel exercises are great in this instance, but if you find that nothing’s working, don’t live with the issue; visit your doctor and try and get it sorted.

10 Pain And Scarring Down Below

The extent of the pain and the amount of scarring you experience after pregnancy largely depends on how the birthing process went. If childbirth was particularly traumatic and there were a number of issues, the pain’s likely to last longer than if you’d just sailed through it serenely. It could last for days, weeks or even months after pregnancy. For some unfortunate women there’s always going to be a bit of pain down there. After a childbirth procedure involving cuts and tears, the first time you have sex, even if it’s months down the line, could be excruciatingly painful. If the pain’s still there years after childbirth, it could be due to an infection, in which case get checked out immediately. In most cases the pain will gradually begin to subside as the wounds begin to heal, but the scarring will remain.

Scars may fade and there are certain creams and solutions you could use to help the process, but unfortunately scarring in permanent. This can make many women feel self-conscious, but there’s no definitive solution.

9 Sensitivity

Pain due to childbirth will probably eventually subside, scarring may fade but will still remain, but sensitivity could be a sensation that stays with you for life – not a particularly nice one at that. Although having said that, sensitivity – I’m talking about down below of course – could actually make things feel more pleasurable. For instance it could be quicker and easier to reach an orgasm during sex; some women have reported just this – that is if pain’s not a factor.

Other regions of your body may also be more sensitive to certain touches, certain sensations, potentially long after pregnancy or even for life. Breasts are likely to feel tender and sensitive, although this feeling will probably ease once you stop breastfeeding.

The skin may be sensitive for some time and you might experience itching or rashes, but again, this will probably change once your hormone levels get back to normal.

8 Post-Baby Hips

This is a huge issue that many women experience post-pregnancy, and not just a few months after pregnancy, for life after pregnancy.

It’s a strange one because it largely depends on the body you have. Some women are ridiculously lucky; they sail through pregnancy and childbirth without any dramas, and then a matter of months later, you see them and wouldn’t have been able to guess that they’d had a baby. Their stomachs are tight, hips look normal and they just look in top condition – it makes you want to scream into a pillow at the injustices of it all, because in the meantime you’re feeling fat, frumpy and your hips are wider than a house. Unfortunately, it’s just the way things work for some women. Every woman’s hips widen during pregnancy, but some widen more than others’; it’s a natural occurrence so the baby can be passed through the birth canal, but for some, wider hips is something they’ll have to contend with for life.

7 Stretch Marks

Pretty much everyone hates stretch marks, and unfortunately there’s not a whole lot that can be done about them. It’s impossible to get rid of them completely, although like scarring – that’s essentially what stretch marks are; they’re scarring on the skin – there are things you can do, creams and lotions you can apply, which could lessen those pink or purplish streak-like tinges on your skin.

The likelihood is that you will get some stretch marks post pregnancy. They usually become apparent around the stomach, on the thighs or the breasts; it’s as a result of the body changing and that baby bump growing. All of this stretches the skin, hence you get stretch marks.

Post pregnancy, the stretch marks should gradually begin to fade away on their own. The pinkish marks may fade into white scarring and become less noticeable, but – again, it’s important to reiterate – that they won’t fade away completely.

Stretch marks aren’t harmful and shouldn’t cause you any pain. They may cause you distress due to cosmetic reasons, but that’s about it.

6 A Small Brain Shift

By saying this, don’t get freaked out. I’m not saying your brain with literally shift and the different hemispheres will shift about – pregnancy isn’t a horror movie. All I mean is that due to what you went through during pregnancy, your thought patterns might change, you may adopt a new approach to certain things, have a new thirst for life – or things might go the other way.

One thing’s for sure is that you will get pregnancy brain, and then after childbirth, mommy brain. Mommy brain for some moms, will last when your child’s still a child, but of course there’ll still always be that mothering instinct, even when your little one grows up.

Your experience but also hormones will have a part to play in the way you begin to think. Ever heard the saying that your thoughts govern your actions, what your body does – or something along those lines? Well changes in thought patterns – for life – could in turn influence the way your body behaves or reacts to certain things – for life. It’s just part and parcel of motherhood.

5 Varicose Veins

Varicose veins are normally associated with old age and an unhealthy lifestyle – being overweight – but they’re also common place in pregnancy. That’s because during pregnancy, you are essentially carrying extra weight, so this will have pretty much the same effect on your body as excess fat would have on an overweight person. Many women find they develop varicose veins during pregnancy and that the situation gets worse as they progress through their pregnancy. But for many, it’s a permanent thing; not the varicose veins as such, but veins that are similar in appearance – spidery veins that are pretty prominent and – many women find – unattractive.

Veins contain valves which stop the backflow of blood. If we didn’t have these valves in the veins in our legs for example, all the blood will just pool together to the bottom towards the ankles and feet. Well, varicose veins occur when the valves lose some functionality, so there is some backflow of blood, hence the vein gets a tad swollen.

Apart from being unsightly, varicose veins don’t really present serious health problems. There are things you can do to try and reduce the spider veins, but some people will just have to live with them.

4 Cup Size 

I’ve mentioned how certain parts of the body get bigger during pregnancy due to swelling and stretching, and sometimes, this remains the same after pregnancy, for life. Breasts are one of those body parts that commonly swell.

Breasts will get bigger during pregnancy because of hormonal changes. These changes will result in increased blood flow to the breasts, causing them to swell and be tender to the touch. After pregnancy, your breasts may grow because your body’s getting ready for breastfeeding – they won’t always return to their pre-pregnancy size.

On the opposite end of the scale, it’s quite possible that after pregnancy and the breastfeeding period, your boobs may sag. In fact, many women report that the bigger breasts are during pregnancy, the more they sag later on. Having a high BMI can also cause your breasts to droop, due to the extra weight. Sometimes these undesirable changes can’t be reversed, but there are things you can do to help matters.

3 Back Pain

Back pain during pregnancy is very common, particularly towards the end of your pregnancy. As the fetus begins to get bigger, certain organs begin to shift about and things get bigger. After about four months, the uterus will begin to stretch and the stomach will protrude out, showing that baby bump, in order to accommodate the growing fetus. These changes are going to take some getting used to and are going to affect multiple different physiological processes and skills, including coordination, balance, etc. To put it simply, as things get bigger around the front, there’s going to be more pressure on the spine and the lower back. Think about someone who’s got quite a paunch – they’re likely to experience some type of back pain due to all that excess weight.

Again, hormones also play a part. The hormone relaxin relaxes and loosens certain ligaments and joints in the pelvic region to get your body ready for childbirth. This can also cause certain ligaments that support the spine to loosen, hence the back pain.

More often than not, post-pregnancy your ligaments, joints and muscles will strengthen and so the back pain will slowly subside. But that’s not always the case. Depending on how the childbirth went, certain ligaments and muscles might be severely damaged and may not heal back to their full strength. This means that back pain could potentially be long-lasting.

2 Cellulite

Cellulite’s one thing that women tend to hate. It’s not a serious thing in terms of actual health, it’s just that many women find those dimples and bumps of fat under the skin to be unsightly. Many women therefore want to get it sorted, purely for cosmetic reasons. Thankfully, cellulite doesn’t always last – it can go away naturally – but there are also many treatments available, tackling cellulite on different regions of the body.

Why do a lot of women get cellulite during and after pregnancy? Once again, it’s about the hormones. Changes in estrogen levels could result in decreased circulation to certain areas. Consequently, fat cells become large and become noticeable through the collagen, resulting in a bumpy layer or dimple of fat – cellulite.

Naturally getting rid of cellulite can occur through dietary changes and exercise. But for some it can remain, particularly if you’ve had several kids and find it hard shifting that baby weight.

1 Different Foods, Different Tastes

You’ve probably heard about all the weird pregnancy cravings women can get; pickles with ice cream, chalk and cigarette ash – you’re at the mercy of your taste buds whilst pregnant. Now, it’s unlikely you’re going to continue indulging in these weird food combinations after your pregnancy, but it’s not uncommon for taste buds to change permanently. You may fall in love with a new food, and something that’s previously your favorite may now make you reach for the sick bucket.

This is mainly due to what happened during morning sickness. At this time, even the slightest smell of something could set you off and cause you to heave up the contents of your stomach. The premise is is that being sick will make you avoid the foods you threw up, because from that moment on you’ll associate sickness with that type of food. This could cause you to be haunted by certain foods for life.

Sources: DailyMail.co.uk, NCBI