Whether you're a woman who hasn't yet been pregnant or a man who wants to better understand what an expectant mother really goes through, these 10 things that occur while a woman is pregnant are all strange and often disturbing. These are the weird things that happen during pregnancy that people probably won't tell you about.

You Could Be Pregnant For Over A Year

Most pregnancies last for about 9 months and doctors are likely to induce labor if pregnancy goes on too long. That being said, it is possible to be pregnant for a whole year. The world's longest pregnancy lasted 375 days, strangely, the baby was only a little under seven pounds.
It certainly puts a whole new perspective on being a few weeks late, doesn't it?

A Male Fetus Can Get Erections In The Womb

 Most mothers don't like to think about their baby boys getting erections, even when they are teenagers, but the fact is that many baby boys get boners while they're still in the womb. In fact, babies of both sexes are known to masturbate in utero, but boys are the only ones who can be caught while aroused on the sonogram.

If having sex while pregnant seemed a little creepy before now, just imagine what your baby is doing while you make love.

Your Entire Undercarriage Might Need Stitches

 The last place any woman wants stitches is in her taint, but many mothers have to get that area closed up surgically. Nine out of ten women have some type of vaginal tearing after birth, but there are many degrees of tearing. Some tears only require a little care or a few stitches, but the really bad cases go from the vagina all the way to the anus. Some can even affect the muscles beyond your anus. On the upside, tearing that reaches the anus is somewhat rare and only affects one in one hundred mothers.

Massaging the area prior to child birth can reduce tearing, but even then, it won't completely stop tearing in most people.
Suddenly, getting a C-section started sounding a whole lot more appealing, huh?

You May Just Poop Yourself

During childbirth, it is extremely common for a woman to accidentally expel the contents of her bowels. There is a good reason for this –the muscles you use to push the baby out are the same ones you ordinarily use during a bowel movement. As if that weren't enough to get your sphincter ready to go, the baby directly pushes on the rectum as it makes its exit, helping to squeeze out anything near the exit.

In olden times, it was common for nurses to give enemas prior to labor, but this practice didn't end up stopping the mess from happening and often caused dehydration. These days, your doctors and nurses will be ready to help clean up the mess. In most cases, they won't even say anything about it so you won't know the difference.
It does make you think twice about filming the birth though, doesn't it?

You Really Will Glow

 

 Saying a pregnant woman is glowing is a common expression, but most people chalk it up to the woman's excitement about becoming a mommy. As it turns out though, glowing skin is a very real thing for pregnant women. While you're pregnant, the amount of blood in your body will increase by 50%. The extra blood ends up showing through the skin in many areas, particularly the cheeks.

On top of this, hormones cause the oil glands to become more active, resulting in a softer, shinier appearance. When the increased blood flow combines with shine, the result is a noticeable glow.

 

Your Sense of Smell Gets Better

10 Weird Pregnancy Facts No One Tells You About

Published on Yesterday 3/11/2011 under Weird Science - by Jill Harness - 44,070 views
TAGS: facts, pregnancy, babies, women, science, gross, weird, pregnant
Whether you're a woman who hasn't yet been pregnant or a man who wants to better understand what an expectant mother really goes through, these 10 things that occur while a woman is pregnant are all strange and often disturbing. These are the weird things that happen during pregnancy that people probably won't tell you about.

You Could Be Pregnant For Over A Year

Most pregnancies last for about 9 months and doctors are likely to induce labor if pregnancy goes on too long. That being said, it is possible to be pregnant for a whole year. The world's longest pregnancy lasted 375 days, strangely, the baby was only a little under seven pounds.
It certainly puts a whole new perspective on being a few weeks late, doesn't it?

Your Feet Can Grow Up To One Full Shoe Size

 

 If you're wondering why your feet will get so big when you only gain 25 pounds, it has to do with the excess pressure on your feet paired with relaxed ligaments in your body. As your pregnancy wears on, your body starts to release the tightness of its ligaments to help with the birthing process. Unfortunately for your shoes, this also means your feet start to lose their arch and stretch out on the sides. The flatter, wider shape of your feet will probably be temporary, but if they grew too much, the change could end up being permanent. If your feet do stay a bit larger, it certainly will serve as a great excuse to buy more shoes.

 

The Father Might Show Symptoms of Pregnancy

It's surprisingly common for a father-to-be to start gaining weight, getting morning sickness and even feel cramps in his lower abdomen. The condition is known as a sympathetic pregnancy or the Couvade Syndrome, which comes from the french word couvee meaning "to hatch".

How many species of rats exist today? Why is the Pied Piper as a profession in demand in Indian cities? What is common in rats with primates? How many babies can give birth to a female rat? As rats are guided in the dark? Dangerous than rats to humans? The answers to these questions and more you will learn from this issue. (Carefully! Some photos may seem unpleasant or even frightening)

Remember the tale of the Pied Piper? And in many major Indian cities like Mumbai or New Delhi this profession is very real today. The main fighters against rodent populations here are the specially hired people whom they call "night rat killers." "Night" - because they have to work at night. 


Bombay Pied Piper bear metal tub full of rats killed on city streets. Daily rate of contemporary Indian Pied Piper 30 rats. Everyone who is able to fill more than 30 pieces, is awarded for each carcass above the norm. 

Work Ratslayer - not for the faint of heart. Occupation is not only unattractive in every sense, but also very dangerous because the rats are carriers of many diseases. 


In some regions of India, rats broil on the fire. 

The poorest people of India and representatives of low-caste Indians (musahar) long ago introduced into your diet fried rat meat 

Fried rat has long been sold in local markets. The authorities in Bihar, one of the poorest states in India, officially called residents of the state to move to rat meat to cope with rising food prices and keep stocks of rice 

In India, the attitude towards these rodents are rather contradictory. For example, at the Hindu temple of the goddess Durga in Rajasthan rats revered as sacred animals and sing them with milk. 

The allegation that, in such Western cities as New York, the number of rats is twice the number of people from the truth. In fact, the population of rats in New York is about a quarter of a million individuals. 

However, the rats were still "champions for the survival of" Planet Earth, as to endure the most severe conditions. 

Rats are particularly dangerous in that they can eat almost everything that comes their way. The main source of food for rats in the western cities - are the remnants of food industry, fast food: kebabs, burgers and pizza remnants. In this regard, even in Britain launched a campaign urging to clean the city streets. 

From ancient times, people are struggling with rodents with poisoned baits. 

To date, there are about 50 species of rats. The most common - it is black and gray rat. Black rats on average, smaller Pasiukov (Norway rat). They are omnivorous, but prefer to plant feed and live in homes and warehouses. Over the past few years, their population declined considerably, since they were ousted gray rats 

Rat or Pasyuk spread around the world much more. She also omnivorous, but prefers more meat and fish. 

Rats are particularly active at night. These rodents are not very good vision, but hearing, smell and touch them excellent. In total darkness guided by their rat whiskers, which represent one of the major sensory organs of these rodents. Rat whiskers vibrate with a frequency around 8 Hz. 

Pregnancy female rat is three weeks, and immediately after birth they are again ready to conceive. Thus, 12 weeks a rat can give birth to 100 pups. 

If you think that rats are strong only in reproduction, you are mistaken. In tests on rats wit give very good results. 


Scientists also found that rats can avoid tasks that they can not do. Although previously thought that only primates have the ability to assess their own forces.

Medicine isn't pretty, but sometimes it's even less pretty than normal. Here are seven such procedures and treatments that aren't for the squeamish, but hey, they seem to actually work.

For those of you suffering from an infection caused by the bacteria Clostridium difficile ("C. diff"), there's a last-ditch procedure that has had a success rate of 85 to 95%: infusing someone else's feces into your body. C. diff infection arises from stays in hospitals and other health care facilities, where the use of antibiotics may destroy good bacteria in a patient's colon, allowing the C. diff to flourish. The infection typically causes severe stomach problems like diarrhea and colitis (swelling of the colon), plus blood poisoning and even death. A fecal transplant restores normal bowel function by repopulating the colon with healthy bacteria. The donated feces -- typically provided by a close family member -- are blended, filtered, and fed through a tube into the patient’s nose down to the stomach. Several teaspoons are all that's needed for complete recovery within a few weeks.



In 2004, maggots became the first live animals approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a "medical device," having proven effective in treating wounds that are having difficulty healing. Since ancient times, maggots have been used to treat wounds around the world, from the Mayans of Central America to the Aborigines of Australia and the hill people of Burma. In the US, they were used widely in medicine until the 1940s, when penicillin became the antibiotic of choice. However, since the 1990s, with the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, maggots have become a more viable option. Fly larvae are effective because they liquefy and consume dead tissue, kill harmful bacteria and stimulate healing. During therapy, maggots are placed in the wound and covered in a cage or pouch to keep them contained within the infected area for two days. Several two-day sessions may be needed for the wound to heal completely.

 Link

Shortly after maggots were approved by the FDA, leeches likewise were recognized as a medical device. (Both are even covered by some insurance agencies.) Like maggots, leeches have long been used in medicine, having been documented in ancient Greek texts as a means of bloodletting. Today, medical leeches are used differently -- not to extract significant amounts of blood, but rather to prevent blood from coagulating during surgery (leech saliva contains a blood thinner called hirudin) and to promote circulation of blood during operations to reattach body parts. Additionally, leeches suck out excess blood, deliver a local anesthetic to the wound and produce an antibiotic that kills dangerous bacteria. Leeches are typically used one at a time and replaced as they become full and drop off (every 20 minutes or so) for 24 to 48 hours, and then less frequently for another few days if needed.

Natural orifice surgery involves operating on or removing an abdominal organ through an existing body orifice -- typically the mouth or the vagina. The technique avoids unsightly external scarring, requires shorter post-op healing time and may cause less pain in the long run. In 2007, the first operation removing a gall bladder through a patient's mouth was performed, followed by a gall bladder removal through a vagina and a kidney removal through a vagina. Despite the natural orifice concept, a small incision might need to be made at the patient's navel in order to insert an endoscopic camera used to guide surgeons as they remove the organ through the orifice. Unlike traditional surgery, which requires a five- or six-inch abdominal incision and two to three days of hospitalization, natural orifice patients can be at home within 24 hours.

Premarin is a hormone replacement drug that has been on the market since 1942 and has been used by millions of post-menopausal women to treat hot flashes, burning, itching and vaginal dryness, as well as to reduce the risk of osteoporosis. However, most people don't realize that the name Premarin is, like the pill itself, derived from "pregnant mare urine." The urine is gathered on hundreds of "PMU farms" that house pregnant horses (and are the target of protests from animal rights activists), and the extracted estrogen is used in the manufacture of Premarin pills, creams, injections, patches and vaginal rings. Ironically, post-menopausal women in turn are the source of urine used in the production of the fertility drug ingredient Menotropin, used in medicines like Pergonal, Menopur, Menogon, Repronex and HMG Massone.

Intestinal worm therapy (AKA helminthic therapy) involves the introduction of parasitic worms -- either hookworms or whipworms -- into the body to treat a range of diseases, from inflammatory bowel disease to asthma  to multiple sclerosis, lupus, arthritis, hay fever and various allergies. The theory behind the treatment is that because of increased focus on hygiene in modern society, a lack of exposure to such parasites increases susceptibility to diseases by preventing the growth of the body's immune system. By introducing the worms, doctors jump-start patients' immune systems, enabling them to more readily fight illness. The worms are either taken orally (whipworms) or applied using a bandage (hookworms) that allows them to crawl into the patient's body through the skin. Whipworms live on average from 18 to 30 months in the body, while hookworms live three to seven years. While worm therapy has yet to gain widespread acceptance in the US, various studies and trial results have shown it to be helpful in battling various illnesses. Although there is some risk involved with the introduction of intestinal worms into the body, they are generally deemed safe in the small numbers used in helminthic therapy.
A surgical procedure pioneered in England to bring sight to the blind involves implanting a tooth in the patient's eye socket. During the procedure, a section of the patient's tooth is removed and chiseled to hold a man-made lens and anchor it in place. It's covered with a section of skin grafted from the inside of the patient's cheek and used in conjunction with a grafted cornea. A living tooth is needed because of the chance that the eye could reject a plastic implant.

Home-building consultant Maryjane Behforouz has spent the last year and a half helping a family in her hometown of Indianapolis construct their dream house. The home will feature natural and local materials where possible, and nothing, from the cabinets to floorboards, will contain any formaldehyde, a probable carcinogen and a volatile organic compound (VOC) that poses a serious threat to indoor air quality.

A healthy home is important, explains Behforouz, who consults through her firm, Healthy Structures. "It's shelter and it affects our health as well as the environment," she says, adding that this house will be as energy efficient as possible, with a high-end HVAC system and expertly sealed ductwork.

Behforouz became acutely interested in improving indoor air quality after her mother, who had undergone chemotherapy to combat breast cancer, found herself unable to move into the beautiful new home she had purchased. The chemo made her highly sensitive to the chemicals offgassing from the conventional products in the house.

Those chemicals, which are nearly ubiquitous in the typical American home, may have included neurotoxic toluene from polyurethane foam insulation; potentially carcinogenic and respiratory-irritant VOCs from paints, glues, finishes and carpets; formaldehyde in pressed-wood products and wood finishes; and phthalates, which have been linked to reproductive problems, obesity and asthma, from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes and floor tiles.

Like Behforouz's mother, the Indianapolis homeowner says her choices were motivated by chemical sensitivities, and Behforouz says she's seeing more interest from potential homebuyers in green and health-conscious designs, due to rising alarm about global warming and concern about "sick building syndrome," in which poor indoor air quality has led to serious illness.

And it doesn't have to be expensive. All the features being incorporated into the Indiana house have added only 10 to 15 percent to construction costs.

The benefits of green building are substantial. In addition to healthier air, homeowners have less exposure to mold and other allergy triggers and save on energy and water costs. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the country's residential sector is responsible for about 22 percent of national energy use. The average American household annually spends about $1,500 on energy. However, homes could be between 30 to 50 percent more efficient, according to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), if they featured Energy Star-certified appliances or adopted readily available techniques, such as proper insulation and programmable thermostats.

For home builders, the LEED for Homes Projects expands the New Construction Rating System for commercial building certification to include homes. A pilot LEED for Homes program began in November 2004. Since then 10,000 homes across the country have participated in the program, and 46 states now have third-party certifying bodies. Certification, which includes standards for resource conservation as well as indoor air quality, ensures that single- and multi-family homes will have been third-party inspected and certified to perform better than conventional homes.

The USGBC is also sponsoring the LEED for Homes Initiative for Affordable Housing. "Green homes are tremendously beneficial to human health," says Katz, "and low-income people are disproportionately affected by asthma and other health-related issues." Cheap building materials, like PVC and formaldehyde-heavy particleboard, often trigger these health problems.

Behforouz isn't pursuing LEED certification with her client in Indianapolis because the home was started before the program was developed. Still, "I think it will be the norm for homebuyers to demand a home that has been certified under a green-building/energy-efficiency program," says Laura Uhde, the director of residential green building services for the non-profit Southface, dedicated to sustainable energy and environmental technologies.