Hormones during PregnancyOne of the very early symptoms of pregnancy is the increase in the number of hormones raging around inside of our body. This is perfectly natural and without them, the changes within our body would not enable us to be able to grow and protect our baby during the nine months of pregnancy. Unfortunately, the very fact that hormones are inside of our body often means that our partners or loved ones have difficulty comprehending the sudden mood swings or emotional changes that inevitably arise from the different hormones during pregnancy. This is why it is important for women to be aware of the impact of the different hormones and share the different side affects and symptoms as much as possible. With knowledge comes understanding, which during a stressful pregnancy is much more preferable than frustration and petty annoyances. The two more well known hormones during pregnancy are estrogen and progesterone, both have different and important roles to play, right up until it is delivery time. We've taken the opportunity to provide a more in depth analysis of each of the hormones and their role during pregnancy below: Estrogen Estrogen and progesterone are two firm friends, estrogen is the more responsible of the two and will help to keep in check the production of progesterone. It's also interesting to know that without estrogen, there would be no kidneys, liver and lungs. In a way, estrogen should be considered the Miracle Grow as without it, there would be little development in the foetus. Progesterone Progesterone is responsible for warding off unwanted or dangerous cells that might infect the placenta. If you wanted to visualise the affect of progesterone, it would be as the tough minder keeping out invaders, whilst the more erstwhile estrogen takes care of the clever business. That is not to say that progesterone is not important in its own right, without it our breasts would not develop fully enough to be able to produce milk and our cervix wall would be too weak to give birth without lasting damage.The downside of hormones during pregnancy is the affects on our moods, they can make us feel sleepy, irritated and moody, they also affect our cravings and for many women our sexual appetite. During pregnancy there is not an awful lot we can do to combat this, apart from recognise that these changes are happening inside of our body, and a few short months of discomfort is a small price to pay for the honour and privilege of having a baby. If you find that it is difficult to cope with your own hormones during pregnancy, then we recommend that you discuss this with your medical doctor. They will have a lot of experience and be able to recommend ways to reduce the more severe side effects. Our advice on the topic is simple, expect to have some kind of impact and make yourself aware, hormones during pregnancy should not mean you are a slave to your emotions. |