Pregnancy is a life-transforming journey and while there is so much changes that happens during this time, you cannot always be prepared for everything. Here are 10 surprising facts that you did not know were true during pregnancy.

The Nesting Instinct

If you have seen animals look for paper scraps, or take fur out of their own body or collect small twigs and stem to build a nest for their upcoming babies, even if the animals are domesticated, humans do the name. Humans do not take fur or hair out of their body, but we too experience a powerful urge to prepare our home for the baby. We clean it, decorate it and thanks to modern homes, we can now baby proof it do!

Mommy Brain

This happens in the first trimester, when tiredness, morning sickness and other symptoms can make the mother feel worn out and mentally fuzzy, often called the mommy brain. The National Institutes of Health also notes that cognitive function decline in the third trimester of pregnancy, leading to memory problems.

Mood Swings

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and pregnancy share several symptoms, such as breast swelling and tenderness, hormonal fluctuations, and mood swings. If you’ve experienced severe mood swings due to PMS, you may notice an intensification of these emotions during pregnancy. It's common to feel joyful one moment and tearful the next as your body adjusts to hormonal changes.

Breast Growth

An increase in breast size is one of the earliest signs of pregnancy apart from your missed period. It happens in the first trimester due to the higher levels of hormones like estrogen and progesterone. The growth continues throughout pregnancy.

Skin Changes

Have you heard about pregnancy glow? This happens because pregnancy women have an increased blood volume, this happens to provide extra blood flow to the uterus and other organs, especially the kidneys. This greater volume brings more blood to the vessels and increases oil gland secretion.

Hair and Nails

During pregnancy, many women notice changes in their hair texture and growth. Hormonal shifts can make hair grow faster and reduce hair loss. However, these changes are typically temporary, and many women experience some hair loss during the postpartum period or after they stop breastfeeding. In some cases, hair growth may also occur in unexpected areas like the face, belly, or around the nipples. Additionally, hair texture can shift, becoming drier or oilier, and some women even notice a change in hair color.

Nails can also undergo changes during pregnancy. Increased hormone levels may cause nails to grow faster and become stronger, but for some women, nails may become more brittle, splitting and breaking more easily. Like hair changes, these nail changes are usually temporary. If your nails are more prone to splitting or tearing, it’s helpful to keep them trimmed and avoid exposure to chemicals in nail polish and nail polish remover.

Your Feet Grow

If you have heard about it, then you already know that it is not just the clothes that do not fit you, it is your shoes too. Extra fluid in the pregnant body also leads to swollen feet. The joints also tend to be looser during pregnancy.

Joint Mobility

Your body also releases hormones like relaxin that prepares your body, especially the cervix for the birth. This loosens the ligament in your body, which may make you less stable .

Varicose veins, constipation, and hemorrhoids

Varicose veins, common in the legs and genital area during pregnancy, result from blood pooling in veins enlarged by pregnancy hormones. They often disappear after delivery. To prevent them, avoid prolonged sitting or standing, wear loose clothing and support hose, and elevate your feet when seated.

Hemorrhoids, which are varicose veins in the rectum, may develop due to increased blood volume and uterine pressure. They can cause pain, itching, bleeding, or stinging, especially during bowel movements. Constipation, caused by hormonal changes and uterine pressure on the large intestine, can worsen hemorrhoids by straining during bowel movements.

Prevent constipation and hemorrhoids by eating a fiber-rich diet, staying hydrated, and exercising regularly. If needed, consult your doctor about stool softeners, laxatives, or creams for relief.

Labor and what goes out of your body

When you are in labor, your amniotic sac, that has fluid that surrounds the baby, breaks or ruptures, which is what is also known as water breaking. For most women contractions start before their water breaks, if not, then the doctor may have to rupture the amniotic sac, in case the cervix is already dilated. Some women may feel the urge to pee, while for some it may feel a trickling their leg.

Too much about Danish parenting is already out in the discussion, but there is something new, yet again. The rulebook to Danish parent, and its first rule is: Children Always Make Sense.

The New Danish Parenting or NDP is based on a concept which relies on the Internal Family System or IFS, an attachment theory that in Denmark is called the New Child View. This is a shift from the old ways of parenting, to a new method, which follows equality, integrity, authenticity, and accountability.

The new child view is based on the work of Danish Family Therapist Jesper Juul, Family-lab, and Blackbird Institute.

Danish Parenting: Why Is It Important?

The Old paradigm of parenting was based on fear, control, abuse of power and inequality between the parent and child. Even though parents know how children behave, the old way is ingrained into our brains so much, that it is hard to follow through in practice. The new method thus compels parents to be with their own wounded parts or the inner child. This is when it becomes even more important to be with the actual child the parent is taking care of.

Also Read: What Is Denmark's 'Cry It Out' Method Of Putting Babies to Sleep?

Danish Parenting: Why Is It Unique?

At the foundation of New Danish Parenting is attachment. It is through the attachment of oneself from within can one take care of the actual child. The new way encourages to form a sense of safety, security and attachment between the self and parts of our inner children.

The system this bases focuses on healing modality. The focus lies on feeling safe, being the parent our child wants us to be. The new method has this New Danish Parenting, the first rule is: Children Always Make Sense. Let's talk a bit about that before moving on to the other rules.

Danish Parenting Rule No. 1: Children Always Make Sense

As human beings, we live on a spectrum between integrity and cooperation. Integrity means being true to what we feel on the inside and expressing it honestly on the outside. Cooperation, on the other hand, is about fitting in, belonging, and maintaining relationships with caregivers, family, and society. Both are essential for healthy living, but the balance between them can easily tip.

We are born deeply connected to our integrity. As babies, we cry when we are hungry, uncomfortable, or scared. We turn toward connection when we need it and turn away when we’ve had enough. This isn’t weakness. It’s competence. Babies instinctively know how to communicate their needs and boundaries.

The bond between a baby and caregiver is a two-way relationship. When a baby makes a sound or facial expression and a caregiver responds with a similar one, both are engaging, learning, and growing. These small moments shape the brain and nervous system of both child and adult, building connection and trust.

As we grow, we naturally adapt to our environment. This helps us survive, belong, and feel loved. We learn to share, wait, cooperate, and consider others. In supportive environments, children learn how to be themselves while staying connected to others.

But no environment is perfect. This is where over-cooperation begins. Over-cooperation happens when children learn that certain feelings, needs, or boundaries are not acceptable. A child may hide sadness behind a smile, ignore discomfort during unwanted touch, or eat past fullness because stopping isn’t allowed.

What often looks like “bad behavior” is actually a child struggling. Children are not being difficult; they are having a difficult time. Their behavior always has meaning and usually comes from a place of self-protection.

When adults meet children with curiosity instead of punishment, children feel seen and safe. This helps them understand themselves better and slowly return to a healthier balance between integrity and cooperation.

Meghan Trainor, an American singer-songwriter and television personality opened up about her third child through surrogacy. In an interview with PEOPLE she said, :"It wasn’t our first choice, but we had endless conversations with our doctors on this journey, and this was the safest way for us to be able to continue growing our family. We are forever grateful for that option."

Trainor, 32, and her husband Daryl Sabara, 33, welcomed their daughter Mikey Moon via surrogate on January 18, and are also parents to their sons Riley,4, and Barry, 2.

What Did Meghan Trainor Say About Surrogacy?

"Our surrogate is one of the most selfless, strong and loving people I’ve ever met. We felt so connected throughout the entire journey, and I’ll always be grateful for the care and love she showed our daughter. She gave us the greatest gift of our lives. She graciously answered our many check-in texts to make sure she was doing okay."

Meghan also said that she wants people to know that surrogacy is just another beautiful way to build a family. "It is not something to whisper about or judge. It is rooted in trust, science, love, and teamwork. Every family's journey looks different, and all of theme are extremely valid."

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Why Did Meghan Trainor Choose To Have A Child Through Surrogacy?

Trainor wrote Dear Future Mama, a pregnancy and parenting book in 2023, where she talked about her struggles during her first two pregnancies. She mentioned how traumatic was it for her after Riley's birth, when she also faced post-traumatic stress disorder, when her son was rushed to the NICU. At the same time, Trainor was being treated on the surgery table. "Usually when you're being sewn up for 45 minutes, you're like, 'Look at my gorgeous baby. We did it. This is everything.' But I was laying there alone."

She said in that very moment she was so drugged that she called her mother and cried. She had to learn how traumatic that was for her. She also told PEOPLE that she had reached a "breaking point" and struggled with her mental and physical health after Barry's birth. In an essay for Today.com, she wrote: "I was alone with Barry and he would not stop crying and then I was crying. I was having a panic attack and I was just over-exhausted, but I felt like I was dying. I felt if I stood up, I would pass out. I didn’t feel safe holding the baby and at the same time I felt like my body was giving up on me."

With the past medical reasons, especially the impact on her mentally, and other complication, after medical consultations, Trainor chose to go for surrogacy.

Also Read: Parents Are Now Preferring Girls Over Boys; What Led To This Shift?

What Is Surrogacy?

As per Yale Medicine, surrogate mothers are impregnated through the use of in vitro fertilization or IVF. In this process, doctors create an embryo by fertilizing eggs from the intended mother or an egg donor with sperm from the intended father or a sperm donor. Since the surrogate mother does not provide the egg, she is not genetically related to the child.

Emre Seli, MD, a reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist tells Yale Medicine, “Gestational surrogacy is a great option for people who really want to be parents but have faced long odds."

Should teens be lifting weights? This is a question many people wonder, and Cara Natterson, a pediatrician, finally has answers! "Tweens and teens should not be lifting heavy weights, but they absolutely can do resistance training. There is an important difference between the two," she says.

In an Instagram video, shared by the account @less.awkward, which is ran by Natterson, and Vanessa Kroll Bennett, Natterson explains that during puberty, "the body is flooded with hormones like testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, and growth hormone, which together trigger the release of IGF-1, a key driver of growth spurts and cartilage development".

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So, What Happens When A Teen Trains?

“When kids are growing rapidly, the cartilage around their bones is actually weaker than the bone itself, which makes them more vulnerable to injury during weight lifting," she points out. She further explains that in peak growth phases, bones are still mineralizing. They form a scaffold first and fill in later, which means the bones are porous and easier to injure at this stage.

“The most vulnerable part of a growing bone is the growth plate, which sits at the ends of long bones and is the weakest point when it comes to fractures.” Natterson says that if a child gets injured during weight lifting or even sports, the growth plate is often where that injury occurs. This is why kids should not be bearing heavy weights until they are done with their growth spurts, she says. However, she points out that this "does not mean they should avoid strength-building altogether".

“Resistance training, where children use their own body weight, is not only safe but encouraged. Even five, six, and seven-year-olds can do it," she says.

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What Is Resistance Training?

Exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, squats, and anything that makes one use their own body weight is safe. Natterson says, “Exercises like push-ups and pull-ups strengthen muscles and improve bone density without putting excessive pressure on weak cartilage, thin bones, or growth plates.”

For more impact, one can use resistance bands. While people also use dumbbells, barbells, and kettlebells, Natterson recommends to avoid any weights during the growth spurt.

Here Are Some Examples Of Resistance Training That One Can Do Without Lifting Weights

Chest Press

• Wrap your resistance band behind your back.
• Hold both ends with your hands and start with your arms at your side.
• Bend your elbows and push the band in front of you.

Bicep Curls

• Stand on the resistance band and hold both ends in hands.
• With your arms extended by side, pull your hand up, keep elbow bent at side.
• Do it with one or both arms.

Squats

• Stand on your resistance band and grab both ends with your hands.
• In a squat position, hold the bands but do not lock your arms.
• Extend your knees until you are in a standing position.

Pull Ups

• Grip a bar with hands shoulder width apart.
• Start with a full hang, then pull your body up by squeezing your shoulder blades down and back until your chin clears the bar
• Then lower down the control and keep your core engaged.

Push Ups

• Start is high plank with hands wider then shoulders.
• Keep your core tight and body in a straight line from head to heels.
• Lower your chest towards the floor by bending elbows to 90 degrees.
• Push back up powerfully to the starting position, maintain a rigid core and straight back throughout.