women s health issues
Physical Changes During Pregnancy
Hormones
Pregnancy affects virtually all hormones in the body, mostly because of the effects of hormones produced by the placenta. For example, the placenta produces a hormone that stimulates the woman’s thyroid gland to become more active and produce larger amounts of thyroid hormones. When the thyroid gland becomes more active (as it does in Thyroid Disorders During Pregnancy ), the heart may beat faster, causing the woman to become aware of her heartbeat (have palpitations). Perspiration may increase, mood swings may occur, and the thyroid gland may enlarge. However, the disorder hyperthyroidism, in which the thyroid gland malfunctions and is overactive, develops in fewer than 0.1% of pregnancies. Levels ofestrogenandprogesteroneincrease early during pregnancy because human chorionic gonadotropin, the main hormone the placenta produces, stimulates the ovaries to continuously produce them. After 9 to 10 weeks of pregnancy, the placenta itself produces large amounts ofestrogenandprogesterone.Estrogenandprogesteronehelp maintain the pregnancy. The placenta stimulates the adrenal glands to produce more aldosterone andcortisol(which help regulate how much fluid the kidneys excrete). As a result, more fluids are retained. (a hormone that controls the sugar level in the blood) is needed during pregnancy. Consequently, Diabetes Mellitus (DM) , if already present, may worsen during pregnancy. Diabetes can also begin during pregnancy. This disorder is called 