A recent poll for the charity Tommy's and Johnson's Baby reveals that
pregnant women experience a range of side effects, including hair loss.
Somewhat ironically, hair gain is also possible. The survey of 1,303
mothers and pregnant women found that 21% noticed increased body hair,
while 9% experienced hair loss.
Other potentially embarrassing health concerns included sweating, constipation and bladder weakness.
Some women said they were confused about what food to eat and whether
it is safe to have sex, get on a plane or drink alcohol while pregnant.
15% of the women weren't sure how much, if any, alcohol it was safe to
drink while pregnant, 15% did not know if it was safe to fly and 7%
weren't sure about having sex while pregnant.
The survey found that almost half the women (42%) had experienced
memory loss, 405 had experienced mood swings, and 41% had suffered
bladder weakness. 34% experienced constipation, 32% pregnancy-related
wind, and 25% random breast leakage.
A total of 13% of the women had developed acne during pregnancy and 12%
had had stronger body odour than normal. Overall, 34% of women felt
embarrassed by elements of their pregnancy.