Positive health 'things'..

[ohthegoats]

.. we all moan quite a lot about the negative health stuff that goes with being pregnant, but has anyone got any positive ones?

I've got three main ones:

No hayfever at all this year. I've been a sufferer since I was a kid, really badly - usually have acupuncture to cope with it, and medicated from late April until end September. This year = nothing. Yet anyway.

I have a wheat allergy. Last year I was going through all the checks for coeliac etc, and while I came back negative, my dermatology consultant and the gastro bods just said 'give up wheat, it's clearly an issue for you'. I'd been off wheat (apart from when I had to eat it prior to biopsy stuff) for almost 4 years. Now I can eat it all with no effect. No major rashes, no stomach problems. The bread aisle is SO exciting... I'm making plans about what I want to eat for the next 12 weeks. Brioche... loads of granary bread, fruit loaf.. mmmmm...

My skin is lovely. One of the first things I noticed when I got pregnant (probably the thing that gave me the idea), was that I didn't get the normal pre-period breakout of tiny spots on my nose. I haven't had one spot or rash or cold sore or thing on my face for months. Lovely.

Basically my immune system seems to be working at a shit hot level. Ace.

Wow I wish I had those benefits :p
My hayfever and eczema is worse than normal and seems almost untouchable.
My spots are finally starting to clear up at 19 + 4.

Good things are that I seem to be able to eat tonnes and I'm only putting on weight in my bump, boobs and bum and have only gained 6 pounds in total which is within the recommended range. And I now don't have to worry about how my belly looks because I have a lovely round bump :p
I have thicker hair on my head but unfortunately more on my body as well -.-

Goats yes weeird... my DH is streaming with hayfever, not a jot for me!

My chronic back pain has vanished. Not sure if that's the pregnancy itself or the aspirin (I read on the Hughs syndrom website that if you get back pain through the syndrome, try aspirin) but either way it works!

I have a patch of eczema on my foot, but it's about 5cm in diameter. Normally I have it all the way up my legs and arms, so you know... yay! It's much more itchy, this tiny little bit, but it doesn't look nearly so ugly, so yay again.

Have noticed the same with wheat ohthegoats, although it does make the heartburn worse no bloating/cramping. Just got to wean off again once LO is here. :(

What a lovely thread! I'm off work today with a uti and some other grim pregnancy ailments.

But my skin is so clear, no break outs in months and my hair is lovely and thick and doesn't get greasy as quickly. So there are some perks .

Just posted on another thread, being pregnant got rid of the verrucas I had battled with (largely without success) for years and years. 2 years later no recurrence! Amazing!

I have HMS and I find that my joints are better during pregnancy. Less pain in my knees, etc. It's such a relief.

Not a health thing as such but I've found my hair has become a lot less greasy since being pregnant and I've done nothing differently. I hope it continues after the baby is born as I'll have even less time to wash my hair
I've also had a lot less with spots/blackheads.

Another pregnant friend suffers with hay fever terribly every year and hasn't had it at all this year whilst pregnant so she is delighted with that!

I've also noticed my hair is less greasy. Washed it once a day pre-pregnancy and now happily go 2 or 3 days... hope it lasts :)

although it does make the heartburn worse

Ahaaaa.. so that's IT! I couldn't work out why I was getting random heart burn (not much, just a couple of times) - it's since I noticed the wheat thing wasn't making me so ill in the normal ways. Maybe I should wean myself back off now... after I've eaten my own weight in brioche anyway..

My skin is fantastic. Lines have disappeared and I look about 25! I've only put on 11 pounds at 31 weeks, I think being off the wine has made me lose fat even when putting on baby weight. My bump is nice and compact and round. If I weren't so tired in sure I would feel healthier than pre pregnancy!

The main [i]physical[/i] health benefit for me is that my hayfever has barely made an appearance this year! I haven't needed tablet anti-histamines for the most part (only a nasal spray) which is very unusual for me, because in previous years I've often taken double the recommended dose every day.

The [i]mental[/i] health benefits have been amazing. I've gained 12 lb at 21 weeks, which is above average, but I'm happy with it. I've been pleasantly surprised to find the weight gain doesn't bother me, and I still think I look good. This is in the context of having suffered from an eating disorder for many years.

I'm always happy, always smiling (sometimes smiling and crying at the same time when I get emotional) and love having little bump to talk to and sing to throughout the day. It seems that everyone I meet is lovely to me, including colleagues at work who are normally quite severe, and complete strangers in the street.

^^ sorry about the formatting... I'm used to typing on a different forum :s

I've been very lucky in this pregnancy and can honestly say at 32 wks, I've not had any of the negative things people talk about like peeing all the time, heartburn, sore back etc......

But specifically, my nails are long and grow so fast which is great cos I usually bite them.....my skin has been very clear and has a bit of a glow......my immune system seems to be working over time, caught a cold from DH which I suffered with for 24 hours and now gone - a week later he's still suffering......no stretch marks so far.......so it's not all bad!

Oh and I never have to wash my hair! Hair is naturally dry and very thick so I can usually get away with a few days but at the moment, I could go 4/5 days and it still looks ok.......

Great thread!

My positives are:

After years and years of very bad hayfever, maxing out all meds from April to Sept I've had barely anything so far this year. Amazing!

Thick, healthy looking hair - woohoo

Nails that grow quickly and strongly, when they used to be so weak.

My psoriasis has gone on my neck, amazing to have a brief 9 month break from the itching!

I'm usually mildly dairy intolerant but since finding out I'm pregnant I've not had any negative reactions...lucky seeing as I desperately wanted chocolate milkshake the other day and was so worried I'd be up all night on the loo! Hoping it'll continue...I'd quite like to have pizza more often!

I was expecting a bit of a rough ride as an older first time mum (42) but I've been pleasantly surprised.

I don't think I've ever laughed so much in my life. I have to hug my bump to stop it jiggling around painfully. My OH says that he's never seen me so full of happy juice.

I feel great about my body and my bump, even though I miss running and long distance walks. My bump seems to have pulled my lovehandles round the front of my body, so my hips look tauter and slimmer than they have for years (although once the baby's out I guess the bulldog clip will be released). My legs and bum have become flabby and I genuinely don't care.

FOR ONCE my hair is lovely and thick, shiny and manageable and I only need to wash it 2 times a week.

I do have the usual list of annoyances like exhaustion, occasional sinusitis, heartburn, piles etc but in general I've been very lucky and my friends and family have (mostly) told me that pregnancy really suits me! Shame since I'm not up for doing it again at the age of 44 or whatever...

OP you read my mind about hayfever! I have had it every summer for about 10 years and this year (so far) I have hardly noticed it.

My skin is better too and I am so thrilled to be getting a bump.

It's not all been great obviously what with morning sickness and ridiculous lack of energy. On a more superficial note my hair is atrocious! All in all though it's been great.

Thanks for the positive thread OP.

My hair and nails looks awesome- also for some reason I havent had a single migraine in nearly 7 months! (Dead chuffed with that)

Strong nails (probably cos I'm taking vit d)
Thicker less greasy hair (think this genuinely is pregnancy related)
Better skin (probably cos I'm not drinking and smoking)

In summary, the fact you just try and be healthy probably has a lot to do with it. Just think - if we keep living well afterwards all this could be permanent!!

No hangovers!! (though still struggle to get out of bed in the morning ;-) )
but it is nice to celebrate the positives, esp when so many people seem so keen to focus on the less than positives.
great skin, excema has gone down loads and apart from the odd hormonal rage/rant feel quite happy and chilled.
(If anyone has any top tips on swollen feet/ankles would be very grateful...)

I bought some of those injury icepacks for the freezer - I wrap them around my ankles and put my feet up. They go down pretty quickly. To be honest, my ankle on my left leg swells up due to a previous issue anyway, but it still helps. Also, you can heat them up - so might be useful in early labour!

No periods.

Hair is lovely.
No periods.
I like my bump when naked and think I look beautiful sexy and womanly in the mirror. Still think I look a bit chubby clothed though!
For some reason hair on my legs barely grows when I'm pregnant??