the arch of the foot to lose its strength and the tissue on the bottom of the foot, the plantar fascia, to stretch. All of this makes the foot grow wider and flatter during pregnancy. The feet can even grow by more than one shoe size.
After delivery, the body begins to return to normal and many of these changes reverse themselves. If the changes were extreme during pregnancy and the ligaments were significantly stretched, the increased shoe size could be permanent.
WHY DID RABBITS DIE IN OLD PREGNANCY TESTS?
Hopefully most of you have forgotten the 1978 film
Rabbit Test,
directed by Joan Rivers, starring Billy Crystal as the world’s first pregnant man. If you haven’t heard of it, know this, it should have died like the rabbits in the early pregnancy tests.
The original pregnancy test really was a “rabbit test” and the rabbit always died. In the 1920s, scientists discovered a hormone known as human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) that was produced early in pregnancy. It was also discovered that when injected into certain animals, the hCG would cause changes in animal ovaries. The first test, discovered by Selmar Aschheim and Bernhard Zondek, was performed on mice. In 1931, Maurice H. Friedman refined the test by using rabbits, and the rabbit or Friedman test was born. Human urine was injected into a rabbit and forty-eight hours later, the rabbit was killed and its ovaries were examined to determine if the person was pregnant or not.
Modern pregnancy tests are still based on measuring the amount of hCG present in urine or blood, without the use of a rabbit. The first home pregnancy tests were approved in 1976. Raucous celebrations were held in many rabbit families.
WHY DO YOU GET HAIRIER WHEN YOU ARE PREGNANT?
Many women notice that the hair on their head is thicker during pregnancy. They also may notice some new growth on their chin, upper lip, cheeks, breasts, belly, arms, legs, and back. Don’t worry, this growth is often subtle, and you won’t end up looking like a Wookie.
Pregnancy-induced hair growth usually develops during the first trimester. Just like most pregnancy changes, it is caused by a change in hormones. This growth usually abates six months after delivery. Some women may notice increased shedding of hair during this period. This is simply your body adjusting as hormone levels return to normal.
DO PREGNANT WOMEN REALLY GLOW?
If a pregnant woman asks her husband, “Am I glowing?” there is only one answer: “Yes, dear.”
Don’t worry about lying; the pregnancy glow actually exists and has a biological basis. In pregnancy, blood volume increases by almost 50 percent. This increased blood volume causes the cheeks of women to take on a reddish blush. Pregnancy hormones also cause increased secretions from the oil glands, and this leaves the face nice and shiny. The end result…a beautiful glow.
But not all of pregnancy’s dermatological changes are pleasant. We already mentioned that you can get hairier. You also may develop spider veins in your legs from the increased blood flow and hormones.
Skin over the stretching abdomen can become very itchy, and you also may be unlucky enough to develop PUPP or pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy. This is a fancy term for itchy bumps that develop in the second half of pregnancy on the abdomen, thighs, butt, and legs of about 1 percent of pregnant women.
WHY DO YOUR NIPPLES TURN BROWN IN PREGNANCY?
If you have dark skin, you may have brown nipples before pregnancy, but many pregnant women of all complexions notice that their nipples have become somewhat darker.
As we keep mentioning, pregnancy causes changes in hormone levels, duh! In this case, an increase in estrogen levels and melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) levels causes the changes. MSH acts on melanocytes. These are cells within the skin that determine the degree of pigmentation. The face and the belly are two areas where darkening of the skin can be most
After delivery, the body begins to return to normal and many of these changes reverse themselves. If the changes were extreme during pregnancy and the ligaments were significantly stretched, the increased shoe size could be permanent.
WHY DID RABBITS DIE IN OLD PREGNANCY TESTS?
Hopefully most of you have forgotten the 1978 film
Rabbit Test,
directed by Joan Rivers, starring Billy Crystal as the world’s first pregnant man. If you haven’t heard of it, know this, it should have died like the rabbits in the early pregnancy tests.
The original pregnancy test really was a “rabbit test” and the rabbit always died. In the 1920s, scientists discovered a hormone known as human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) that was produced early in pregnancy. It was also discovered that when injected into certain animals, the hCG would cause changes in animal ovaries. The first test, discovered by Selmar Aschheim and Bernhard Zondek, was performed on mice. In 1931, Maurice H. Friedman refined the test by using rabbits, and the rabbit or Friedman test was born. Human urine was injected into a rabbit and forty-eight hours later, the rabbit was killed and its ovaries were examined to determine if the person was pregnant or not.
Modern pregnancy tests are still based on measuring the amount of hCG present in urine or blood, without the use of a rabbit. The first home pregnancy tests were approved in 1976. Raucous celebrations were held in many rabbit families.
WHY DO YOU GET HAIRIER WHEN YOU ARE PREGNANT?
Many women notice that the hair on their head is thicker during pregnancy. They also may notice some new growth on their chin, upper lip, cheeks, breasts, belly, arms, legs, and back. Don’t worry, this growth is often subtle, and you won’t end up looking like a Wookie.
Pregnancy-induced hair growth usually develops during the first trimester. Just like most pregnancy changes, it is caused by a change in hormones. This growth usually abates six months after delivery. Some women may notice increased shedding of hair during this period. This is simply your body adjusting as hormone levels return to normal.
DO PREGNANT WOMEN REALLY GLOW?
If a pregnant woman asks her husband, “Am I glowing?” there is only one answer: “Yes, dear.”
Don’t worry about lying; the pregnancy glow actually exists and has a biological basis. In pregnancy, blood volume increases by almost 50 percent. This increased blood volume causes the cheeks of women to take on a reddish blush. Pregnancy hormones also cause increased secretions from the oil glands, and this leaves the face nice and shiny. The end result…a beautiful glow.
But not all of pregnancy’s dermatological changes are pleasant. We already mentioned that you can get hairier. You also may develop spider veins in your legs from the increased blood flow and hormones.
Skin over the stretching abdomen can become very itchy, and you also may be unlucky enough to develop PUPP or pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy. This is a fancy term for itchy bumps that develop in the second half of pregnancy on the abdomen, thighs, butt, and legs of about 1 percent of pregnant women.
WHY DO YOUR NIPPLES TURN BROWN IN PREGNANCY?
If you have dark skin, you may have brown nipples before pregnancy, but many pregnant women of all complexions notice that their nipples have become somewhat darker.
As we keep mentioning, pregnancy causes changes in hormone levels, duh! In this case, an increase in estrogen levels and melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) levels causes the changes. MSH acts on melanocytes. These are cells within the skin that determine the degree of pigmentation. The face and the belly are two areas where darkening of the skin can be most
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