Pregnancy Facts & Statistics: Body Changes, Weight Gain & Age & Fertility

Finding out you’re pregnant is a wondrous and exciting occasion, marked with physical as well as mental, and emotional changes. Although these changes will prove to be taxing on you and your body, the end result will be a beautiful baby boy or girl you’ll be welcoming into the world.

From the moment your baby is a single cell, the physical changes that take part throughout your body are astounding. Your bones soften, hair thickens, and even your heart grows, enlarging due to the extra workload, all due to hormone increases and fluctuations! These are just a few of the amazing changes covered in this infographic. You’ll gain remarkable insight into some interesting facts and statistics of fertility, pregnancy, and birthing.

Everyone knows that as you get older, your fertility begins to decline, but did you actually know that older women are also much more likely to give birth to twins and triplets? In 2010, there were about 571 babies born to women over the age of 50! Once you’ve gotten pregnant, you can expect to see some big changes coming, for one, gaining on average of about 21-30 pounds. But there’s no need to fret, about 38% of that is the weight of the baby; the rest consists of the placenta, fluid and blood, and fat mostly gained around the breasts and uterus (which will be expanding up to five times its normal size!). Once those 9 months pass, it will be time for you to decide how your baby will be delivered. Although most cesarean deliveries are required, many women still might prefer to go this route as opposed to vaginal delivery. The real fun comes when your baby finally arrives! Most likely averaging in at about 7 pounds, the last thing there is to do is decide on your baby’s name.

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