If I’ve learned one thing from my family members and friends who have been pregnant, it’s that every single pregnancy is different and each woman is affected in their own unique way by it.

And by that, I mean physically AND emotionally.

And we hope that women who haven’t been pregnant before can learn about what might be in store when they decide to have a child.

The ladies of AskReddit shared some insight into what they wish they would have known before they became pregnant. Let’s see what they had to say.

1. Painful.

“Your body produces a hormone called relaxin that helps loosen your pelvis in preparation for birth.

Some women get waayyy too much too soon and it loosens everything to the point you lose mobility and every day all day is painful.”

2. Having some issues.

“I wish someone would have warned me about the constipation.

Corollary: I wish someone would have warned me that “fiber supplement” does not equal “stool softener.”

Today, we’re at 26 weeks gestation.”

3. No joke.

“The stuff that stays with your body afterwards.

I developed allergies after I had my second.

My feet definitely got bigger.

Hormones are no joke.”

4. No magic involved.

“I wish someone had told me that no, your body does not magically go back to normal once the baby is out.

You have weeks of healing, either your ripped vag*na or cut open stomach, your bo*bs are still on baby mode and have a whole new set of problems now, pooping will be terrifying lol depression risks are higher, just a lot of stuff continues on after the baby.

I don’t know WHY people insist on visiting right after delivery. I am tired, I am busy with this baby, I am tore up from the floor up, please come in a month when I can at least have some sort of a routine.”

5. Cramps.

“I wish someone had warned me about muscle cramps.

I had to learn a new way to pop my ankles because every night I would pop them and get massive charlie horses in my legs that my fiance had to massage out.”

6. Wow.

“Hair loss! After I had my kid I lost a ton of hair.

I would pull fists full of hair during my showers. I thought there was something wrong with me because no one told me about this.

Went to Google, totally normal and it happens to everyone. It grows back eventually and you’ll go through an awkward baby hair phase.”

7. A lot of sickness.

“That morning sickness isn’t in the morning

And that I would be puking the whole time not just in the beginning.”

8. Had no idea.

“During labor the “water breaking” is not one rush of liquid.

It’s continuous and can occur for several hours. It’s horrendous and messy and incredibly awful to deal with.

It feels like peeing but you have zero control over anything and if you tense up then everything is much more painful and weird feeling.

Nobody ever told me that and I was VERY surprised to find out for myself.”

9. Sad.

“Miscarriage is ridiculously common.

I say this as someone currently carrying a dead baby waiting for the NHS to give me a surgical removal.”

10. Skin problems.

“How I’d get loads of random skin changes.

Skin tags, so many skin tags!

Moles growing into skin tags then dropping off, like WTF body

Sandpaper dry skin, which I still get from time to time, just this one patch on the back of my right hand

My facial skin changing from t-zone oily to t-zone flaky and never going back

My psoriasis on my scalp going away, this did come back but not as bad.”

11. That’s too bad.

“Nosebleeds.

When I was pregnant, I got nosebleeds every few days during the first and second trimesters.”

12. Cravings.

“That cravings aren’t just food.

I craved dirt, particularly beach sand. The smell of the beach was excruciating, I just wanted to shovel handfuls into my mouth.

I never ate dirt or sand and the craving went away when baby was born.

A friend of a friend told me she craved freshly poured asphalt so in a way I’m glad my craving was just dirt.”

13. Wow.

“From my mom: I paralyzed her from the waist down for a few hours because I decided to take a nap on her spinal cord in the third trimester.

The doctor’s response was “yeah you’ll be able to move again once they wake up.”

Pregnancy is pure body horror.”

Are there certain things you wish you’d known about before YOU got pregnant?

If so, please share your thoughts with us in the comments.

We look forward to hearing from you. Thanks!