Questions You May be Embarrassed to Ask Your Doctor

Pregnancy is a beautiful, wonderful and … well, sometimes embarrassing time in a woman’s life. If you’re like most mommies-to-be, you probably have some questions that you’re a little hesitant to ask your doctor. And, while you should always feel comfortable talking to your health care team about anything that concerns you, we’re here to help with answers to some common questions.

1. Why am I so gassy?

You can blame progesterone, a pregnancy hormone that slows down digestion and relaxes your intestines, allowing gas to get trapped and then, sometimes, to escape explosively!

2. Why do I sweat so much?

You can partly blame the hormones for this, plus all that extra blood flowing through your body increases your body temperature (and bodily fluids), causing you to sweat more than usual.

3. Why do I have so many nightmares and sex dreams?

There are a few reasons for this one:

• Higher estrogen levels
• Increased blood flow to your nether regions
• Waking up often to pee, which messes up your regular sleep/wake patterns

4. Why do I pee my pants?

Even before your growing uterus starts putting added pressure on your bladder, you have hormones telling your pelvic muscles to chill out and relax … which sometimes leads to bladder leakage. You may continue to have this problem for a few months after the baby is born, but it usually goes away after that.

5. Will I poop during childbirth?

Well, maybe. Some women do. But you know what? You probably won’t even notice, and it’ll get cleaned up quickly by your health care team (who have seen it happen a thousand times).

6. Will my partner see me as gross after watching me give birth?

The two of you will need to sit down and have a heart-to-heart about this and, if your partner is particularly squeamish, he might want to stay “top side” rather than head down and watch the actual birthing process. But for those who don’t get woozy from a little blood, most partners come away from childbirth with a new appreciation for the incredible woman who brought their child into the world. And rightly so!