5 Ways Pregnancy Changes Your Body for the Better

I know what you’re thinking as you begin perusing this post. Is that title accurate? Did she mean to say “5 Ways Pregnancy Changes Your Body for the Worse”? It’s a shocking idea to suggest that pregnancy changes your body in a positive way.

You may be searching about how pregnancy changes your body because you are pregnant or trying to conceive. Or perhaps you have already had your baby and you want to know what is normal for a postpartum body.

In any case, you already know that pregnancy changes a woman’s body. It’s pretty obvious by the basketball you see protruding from a woman’s midsection when she is 8 months pregnant.

And you probably already know there are some physical struggles that are encountered during pregnancy, some of which permanently alter a mother’s body.

Mamas often lament the woes of how their bodies have suffered – both in function and appearance – as a result of pregnancy. But you probably haven’t heard much about the beneficial ways in which pregnancy changes your body.

But trust me, there are indeed positive changes that happen to your body during pregnancy. If you’re worried about the physical journey that lay ahead of carrying a baby for nine months or you are frustrated by your postpartum experience, read on for some encouraging news.

5 Ways Pregnancy Changes Your Body for the Better

1. A Part of Your Child Will Always be With You

One of the bittersweet parts of being a mom is watching your child grow, become independent and need you less. This gradual separation that begins with the birth of your baby is healthy and good but also, at times, painful.

The good news is that your body does something amazing during pregnancy that forever marks you as your child’s mother.

New research is building upon a nineteenth century discovery that during gestation, fetal cells are transported via the placenta throughout a mother’s body. These fetal cells, at least in some women, remain in the mother’s various tissues for her entire life (for more info on the history of this amazing scientific discovery, check out this article).

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Although the effects of these fetal cells on the woman’s body are not yet known, I would bet there is a good reason God designed our bodies to keep a piece of every life created inside of us.

I find it mind-blowing that I literally have a part of the precious daughter I gave birth to (read her birth story here) and my beloved miscarried child (read my miscarriage story here) inside my body right now.

Wow.

2. Your Brain Prepares You to be the Best Mom Possible

Many first-time expectant mamas have at least a little anxiety over their upcoming promotion in the career of motherhood. It’s understandable that such an important job would carry with it some fear of failure or falling short.

I can assure you that your baby won’t expect much from you in those first few months. But sometimes the sheer weight of holding a feather-light infant’s life in your hands is overwhelming.

However, once again, God’s design of nature has provided our bodies with everything we need to be able to provide for and protect our little ones.

Science is revealing that there are physical changes that occur in a pregnant woman’s brain. These changes last for at least two years and are thought to aid a mother in bonding and caring for her young child.

Researchers in the Netherlands and Spain explain that the decrease in grey matter during pregnancy which was proven on MRI scans of women before and after a first pregnancy was found in areas of social processing and is responsible for the ability to empathize.

They note that this decrease does not mean mama is losing brain cells. It actually means her brain is learning to specialize in particular, focused areas – areas that contribute to her abilities as a mother.

Are you convinced yet that sometimes pregnancy changes your body for the better?

There are women who passionately lecture about equalizing the sexes, wishing the burden of pregnancy and labor could be passed off on the husband.

But I, personally, feel extremely honored to be entrusted and blessed with the incredible gift of bearing children, a feat no man will ever accomplish.

3. Your Cancer Risk Decreases

It seems that cancer-causing ingredients and pollutants are everywhere. We can hardly buy a hair product without coming across a cancer risk warning about the chemicals it contains.

Therefore, it should come as a welcome relief that something as natural as growing a baby inside your body can help mitigate some cancer risk.

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), women’s risk of breast cancer is reduced by both pregnancy and breastfeeding (read here to discover 5 breastfeeding myths that will shock you!).

The theory is that pregnancy and lactation give the body extended rest from ovulating, a process which involves a frequently high level of exposure to hormones that contribute to breast cancer risk.

NCI further notes that women who have born children are also less likely to develop ovarian and endometrial cancers. The risk continues to decline with each subsequent full-term pregnancy.

How’s that for a positive way in which pregnancy changes your body?

4. You May Experience Less Symptoms from Disease

For women who have certain health conditions that cause them painful or uncomfortable symptoms, the idea of additional pregnancy symptoms may feel like too much to handle.

However, many women with autoimmune diseases actually experience fewer of their normal struggles while pregnant. While this is usually only for the duration of gestation, some women receive permanent healing as a result of pregnancy.

Conditions such as psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis may become non-existent or lessen during pregnancy and possibly beyond (Source).

The reason behind this is that a mother’s body must lower its immune system enough for it to accept the “invasion” of a fetus. Consequently, women who’s bodies are suffering with overactive immune systems may find rest while growing a child.

Although I sincerely hope this is the case for you if you struggle with a hindering disease, please consult your doctor about your health conditions and medications before trying to conceive too make sure pregnancy is safe for you.

And if it is, how amazing would it be if this is one of the ways pregnancy changes your body for the better?

5. You Get a Break From Aunt Flo

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the most obvious positive way in which pregnancy changes your body. Pregnancy means no more monthly cycles for a while. Most women find this cause for celebration.

The added perk is that you can potentially avoid your period for two years (sometimes longer) if you practice ecological breastfeeding.

According to Kelly Mom, the average ecologically breastfeeding woman resumes her menstrual cycle 14.5 months after giving birth. Or, like yours truly, you may have a break that lasts farther into your baby’s toddler days.

But even if you don’t breastfeed or you start your period soon after birth despite breastfeeding (or you feel like you’re on your period without any bleeding), you are at least guaranteed 9 months of freedom.

You may even get a bonus when your periods do return. While this is not the case for every mama, periods are sometimes less painful after giving birth.

Cleveland Clinic notes that women with endometriosis may also experience relief of menstrual pain following childbirth, although it may not be permanent.

The distraction of pregnancy symptoms may keep you from thoroughly enjoying your break from Aunt Flo. But I think we can all agree that we are thrilled to not have to deal with the pain and mess of periods on top of morning sickness, exhaustion, bladder leaks, swelling, backaches, and … well, you get the picture.

I can confidently say that not having a period for at least nine months is a wonderful way pregnancy changes your body.

Pregnancy Changes Your Body to Bring Beauty

While writing this post, I was impressed by the fact that the positive ways pregnancy changes a womans body range from practical to down-right astounding.

I love how we are continually discovering incredible things about the human body that have been there all along, providing us with exactly what we needed in different stages of life.

Yes, there are some frustrating physical changes that go on during pregnancy and follow us through motherhood. But there are also some pretty awe-inspiring things our bodies do while growing a little human.

So while you rub that aching and strained back (find out my top 3 tips for relieving back pain in pregnancy here) or grunt with dismay over your stretched and sagging belly, remember also the beauty in a body that has housed a child.