Body Changes After Pregnancy: 16 Women Share the Unexpected Things They Experienced

. You probably anticipate that you could acquire some new and/or gain some weight, at least temporarily. (Before became cool, they were made for the new mom bod.) You probably know that your previously predictable bra size could very well change, though you’re not sure in which direction.

You’ve probably heard that your hair could go from thick to thin and back again. You might worry you’ll develop , where your abdominal muscles split in the center—that one’s a popular topic in Pilates classes and among social-media . From unprecedented (prepare for the deluge!) to hormone-induced , there are just so many weird and wild changes a body can undergo once it incubates another human being. And for every one we’ve heard our doctors, family members or friends talk about, there are others that we really would never have seen coming.

Here’s a sampling of some of the unexpected post-pregnancy body changes women have dealt with, literally from head to toe. One side effect of reading these anecdotes: They’ll make going through four different jean and bra sizes in one year seem like totally NBD.“During labor with my second child, I broke my tailbone, and 14 years later, I can still tell when it’s about to rain because it aches. You could call it a literal pain in the ass.” —Lauren Smith Brody, New York, NY“I’ve always had a high pain tolerance, but now it’s so much higher.

I can operate with aches and pains and illnesses that would have put me on the couch pre-pregnancy. As a triathlete, I can tolerate a higher heart rate and push harder in a race. Because of this, I actually, need to be careful, because it’s easier to overdo it.” —Amy Landry, Portland, ME“Oh, I have an unpleasant—to say the least—and apparently permanent body change