Your body will undergo many changes during pregnancy to accommodate another being inside your womb. Your different organ systems adapt to make sure that both you and your baby survive and complete the term without untoward incidence or complications. These changes are due to an increase in the production of hormones from the brain and other organs as well as mechanical pressures due to an enlarging uterus and other tissues.
If you liken your body to a house, then pregnancy is renovating your home because your family has to make room for a new member. God is the Architect, who created you in His own image and likeness. He assigned your brain as the foreman and your assistants are the other organs that will oversee the remodeling.
The hormones are the workers that carry out the orders of the foreman. Some are sent to remodel a room for the nursery, which is the uterus. Others are tasked to retrofit a new kitchen — your breasts — to prepare food, or milk, for the new member. The bigger house needs a more powerful pump to supply more water so it has to increase its capacity and power, just like what happens to every pregnant woman’s heart. Finally, the landscaping are the skin changes that happens when you get pregnant.
Excerpt from "Your Newborn Is a Blessing (A Guide to Your Baby's Health from Conception to Birth)." Available at www.kerygmabooks.com
Illustration by Liz Jocano