What are five common symptoms of pregnancy?
Morning sickness: This nausea and desire to vomit can occur just two weeks after conception.
Constipation: Many moms-to-be have trouble moving their bowels during pregnancy.
Weight gain: You are likely to gain an average of 25 to 35 lbs (11.5 to 16 kg) throughout your pregnancy.
Swelling: Your hands, feet, ankles and perhaps even your face can start to look and feel puffy.
Blood pressure changes: You may develop gestational hypertension (high blood pressure during pregnancy) or have low blood pressure.
Why do they occur?
Your body starts preparing to nurture your baby since the moment of conception. Hormonal changes are likely to result in symptoms like morning sickness, constipation, pregnancy swelling, and low blood pressure.
Physical changes in your body, such as your growing baby and retention of fluids also contribute to the occurrence of symptoms, such as swelling and weight gain.
It’s important to know how to manage these symptoms. For example, it’s unclear what causes gestational hypertension, but it can lead to pregnancy complications such as pre-eclampsia.
How can you ease these symptoms?
Ginger, like those found in tea, sweets and as dishes, can relieve morning sickness.
Having at least 20-25 grams of fiber daily decreases your risk of having constipation.
Stick to a healthy diet containing essential nutrients to moderate your weight gain.
Reduce your salt intake because it raises blood pressure if yours is already at an unhealthy level.
Drink more water to increase your blood pressure if it is too low and flush out excess fluids that cause swelling.
See your doctor if any of these symptoms are causing you a great amount of discomfort.
- PDRI 2015