Hormones in pregnancy - Who is responsible for the biochemical chaos in your body

Hardly any experience in human life encompasses such a broad spectrum of the concept of "normal" as the Pregnancy or the Birth. During this nine-month period, your body experiences a state of physical and psychological upheaval, robbing it of any sense of stability. The numerous rapid changes almost inevitably lead to the oft-repeated question: Is this still normal? Every woman is different, as is every pregnancy. Because of this, it's naturally difficult for each woman to judge what constitutes "normal." And this is precisely what causes so much distress for many of us, as our fitness level, mood, and even apparent physical symptoms change daily. Rest assured, all of this is perfectly normal and can be attributed to the fluctuating activity of our hormones. In the following article, we'd like to introduce you to the most important hormones responsible for this turmoil in your body.

Chaos Causer #1 – Human Chorionic Gonadotropin

The first of our inner chaos-makers is human chorionic gonadotropin, or in short HCG, whose effects you'll usually encounter first in real life. This hormone is responsible for the test strip of a pregnancy test changing color or developing a specific pattern that indicates you're pregnant. In this context, hCG stimulates your body to produce more of the hormones estrogen and progesterone, which support your pregnancy. Unfortunately, hCG is also responsible for some rather unpleasant side effects, such as the typical morning sickness—a name that's a bit of an understatement, because admittedly, it would be wonderful if the nausea were truly confined to the morning and didn't last all day.

Chaos Causer #2 – Progesterone

As the name of the hormone already suggests, it is progesterone Progesterone is more or less the initial spark of pregnancy, and its concentration in the blood should remain as high as possible throughout pregnancy. A low progesterone level, on the other hand, can significantly increase the risk of miscarriage, which is why doctors pay particular attention to progesterone levels during routine checkups. This is especially important because progesterone is a hormone that is very sensitive to stress and can therefore drop quickly. To prevent this drop, you should definitely make sure you eat a regular and balanced diet and also take the necessary rest breaks. You can continue to exercise without any problems, but pay attention to your body's signals. It's also equally important to try to keep your blood sugar levels as stable as possible through a conscious diet, as this is a very effective way to minimize stress levels.

Chaos Causer #3 – Prolactin

Prolactin plays a number of essential roles in the overall context of pregnancy. By far the most important is preparing the breasts and surrounding tissue for breast milk production, ensuring the evolutionarily designed feeding of the baby. Prolactin typically becomes truly active during the second trimester and increases significantly again until the beginning of the third trimester. The most obvious sign of this is the first leakage of breast milk, which is typically noticeable in the morning after waking up. A high prolactin level is therefore necessary for efficiently feeding your baby with breast milk, but it can also lead to mood swings. This is due to the interaction between prolactin and the "happiness hormone" dopamine, the release of which is reduced by high prolactin levels. In extreme cases, this can even lead to a so-called dysphoric let-down reflex, which is associated with a depressed mood and often lasts as long as you are breastfeeding. So, what can you do about it? Unfortunately, not much can be done, as there's no effective medication. One exception is prescribed dopamine supplementation, but this wouldn't be helpful because it would lower the crucial prolactin level. So, you can only take comfort in the fact that this condition is temporary and will soon pass. In the meantime, let your partner pamper you a little, and you'll see how quickly your mood improves.

Chaos Creator No. 4 – Estrogen

Of all the disruptive hormones that can wreak havoc during pregnancy, estrogen is probably the one with the most diverse effects. These include, among other things, radiant skin and changes in hair texture. Furthermore, estrogen is also responsible for our bodies taking on an hourglass shape. This is due to a mechanism that triggers the storage of fat deposits in the hips, buttocks, and thighs at the corresponding estrogen receptors. The more sensitive your body is to estrogen, the greater the hormone's influence on your body composition. So now we know what's responsible for this annoyance. Nevertheless, the positive properties of the hormone outweigh the negative during pregnancy, especially for us athletes, as estrogen plays a crucial role in key processes for muscle maintenance and fat loss. A drop in estrogen levels during pregnancy is characterized by typical symptoms such as sudden hair loss, vaginal dryness, and abrupt hot flashes. This phenomenon most commonly occurs in the first few weeks after the end of pregnancy, until your hormone levels gradually return to normal.

Chaos Creator No. 5 – Cytokines

The biochemical chaos in your body extends far beyond just sex hormones, also affecting cytokines, which are among the most important hormones of the immune system. This is absolutely necessary, because, strictly speaking, pregnancy and the associated development of the young life are essentially about providing for a tiny parasite inside the body. This admittedly slightly ironic formulation, however, gets to the heart of the matter quite well, as several adaptations of the immune system are necessary for this to happen. To keep things simple, we'll focus here on the TH1 and TH2 cells, which are produced in greater numbers to protect the expectant mother and the unborn child as much as possible. While TH1 cells are the so-called killer cells that eliminate unwanted invaders, TH2 cells are specialized cells responsible for producing antibodies. As a result of increased immune system activity, your body may in some cases develop a hypersensitive reaction to certain foods, so it can sometimes be advisable to avoid certain mildly allergenic foods, at least temporarily. Be especially careful with seeds and foods containing a high amount of gluten.

Conclusion

Now that you know what's causing the most chaos in your body, you should be able to look forward to your pregnancy with a little more peace of mind. If you also follow some of the tips mentioned here, you might even be able to mitigate some of the negative effects of this biochemical turmoil, which will benefit both you and those around you.