During pregnancy, a woman will experience physical and emotional changes that can make her feel uncomfortable. When a pregnant woman feels this way, she may need support from her partner to help ease the discomfort.
Perhaps many fathers-to-be do not understand the changes that their wives will experience during pregnancy. In fact, support from the husband, either in the form of attention, understanding, or assistance in doing household chores can make the wife more comfortable and stronger in dealing with complaints during pregnancy and better prepared for childbirth.
Some Complaints That Pregnant Women Often Feel
Many pregnant women feel complaints or discomfort, so that their daily activities are disrupted. The following are some of the complaints or discomfort that pregnant women often feel:
1. Nausea or vomiting
Nausea and vomiting or also known as morning sickness It is the most common complaint experienced by pregnant women. This condition will usually subside after passing the first trimester.
But in some cases, morning sickness can occur throughout pregnancy. This condition may be worse in the morning or before eating. Complaints that are felt by pregnant women usually get better on their own.
However, you need to take your wife to the doctor immediately if the vomiting is persistent or is so severe that she cannot eat or drink at all. This condition can cause your wife to become dehydrated which can endanger the condition of her pregnancy.
2. Dizzy
During the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, pregnant women often feel dizzy and can occur at any time, especially when changing body position suddenly or when too tired.
In addition, blood sugar levels that are too low due to lack of food can also cause pregnant women to feel weak and dizzy.
When your pregnant wife feels dizzy, try to accompany her and give her a gentle massage to make her feel more comfortable. You can also do housework in your wife’s place so she can rest.
3. Frequent urination
You should not be surprised if pregnant women urinate frequently. This condition is caused by the growing size of the fetus and uterus, which puts pressure on the bladder, urinary tract, and pelvic floor muscles.
This makes pregnant women feel the urge to urinate more often, especially when laughing, coughing, or sneezing. To alleviate this complaint, the father-to-be can remind his wife to go to the toilet before the urge to urinate arises and avoid the habit of holding back urination.
4. It’s hard to sleep well
Complaints of difficulty sleeping are often experienced by pregnant women, especially in the third trimester of pregnancy. This is due to the condition of the growing uterus, difficulty finding a comfortable sleeping position, frequent awakenings to urinate, or an increasingly active fetus.
To work around this, prospective fathers can encourage their wives to do the following:
- Go to bed early or take time out for a quick nap if it’s hard to get a good night’s sleep.
- Sleep in a lying position facing the left.
- Get used to sleep on a regular schedule, for example with the same hours of sleep and wake up every day.
- Use pillows to support your back, lower abdomen, and knees for a more comfortable sleeping position.
5. Nose problems
Nosebleeds and nasal congestion are also quite often felt by pregnant women. This complaint is caused by an increase in the amount of blood in the body and hormonal changes, so that the nose is easy to bleed and feels congested.
The father-to-be can take the following steps to help his wife relieve the problem of her nose:
- When your wife has a nosebleed, ask her not to panic and try to breathe through her mouth. You can pinch the nose with your thumb and forefinger for a few minutes to stop the bleeding.
- Suggest the wife to drink enough water.
- Ask your wife to sleep with your head slightly elevated.
- Avoid smoking in the house or near the wife.
If the complaints felt by the wife do not improve or the nosebleeds that she feels do not stop after a few minutes, accompany her to the doctor for treatment.
6. Changes in the breast
Pregnant women will experience changes in breast shape. Breast size will increase and feel harder, causing pain.
In addition to size, other changes that occur are the color of the nipples that tend to darken, the discharge of thick fluid or colostrum from the nipples, and blood vessels will be seen more clearly under the skin of the breast.
Breast changes are caused by the enlarged mammary glands and fatty tissue of the breast, and the increased blood supply during pregnancy.
To relieve this complaint, the father-to-be can buy a special bra for pregnant and breastfeeding women for his wife. This special bra has been specially designed to be more comfortable to wear by pregnant and lactating women.
7. aches
The size of the uterus that continues to grow and the weight gain of pregnant women can make the body easy to aches or pain, especially in the groin area, thighs, and lower back.
Back aches and pains can be prevented and treated in the following ways:
- Lie on your left side while sleeping.
- Warm compresses for a few minutes on the sore.
- Avoid standing or sitting for too long.
- Limit activities, if you feel tired, ask your wife to rest.
- Do Kegel exercises or pregnancy yoga so that your wife’s body muscles are stronger.
8. Constipation
Constipation or constipation is also often experienced by pregnant women. Symptoms can be seen from stools that are harder and dry and the frequency of bowel movements becomes less than 3 times a week.
The cause of constipation in pregnant women is hormonal changes that make the movement of the digestive tract slower.
This complaint can usually be overcome by drinking enough water, consuming fiber foods, and avoiding drinks containing caffeine, such as coffee and tea. If the constipation is bothersome and doesn’t go away, you can accompany your wife to consult a doctor
9. Itchy skin
Another complaint that is usually felt by pregnant women is itchy skin. The causes are hormonal changes, stretched skin, and frequent sweating during pregnancy.
To overcome this, you can ask your pregnant wife to use a mild soap, avoid taking too long a bath (limit bath time to 5-10 minutes), and dry your body and use a moisturizer after bathing.
10. Leg cramps
Another complaint that is often experienced by pregnant women is leg cramps. Pregnant women often experience leg cramps at night or when standing for too long.
Leg cramps can be prevented by getting enough fluids, eating a balanced nutritious diet, and being active. When your wife feels leg cramps, you can also massage her feet so that this complaint can improve.
Not only does it help your wife feel more comfortable, providing support and taking care of your wife’s health can also reduce the risk of her experiencing baby blues and stress during pregnancy. With excellent health conditions, the fetus in the womb can also grow and develop healthily.
If you find that your wife is becoming more sensitive or moody when pregnant, try to understand it because he feels a lot of disturbing things. If the complaints he feels do not improve, you can accompany him to consult a gynecologist.
