The Dirty Side of Motherhood

Sure, everybody knows you get stretch marks and extra flab, but there's a bunch of other side effects to having a baby that no body tells you about. Some I've come to realize:

Big Blue Boob Veins - The very prominent blue veins across my chest are horrifying. But I hear the bigger and bluer the veins, the better it is for baby. The veins get darker because your blood is circulating for lactation. Knowing that doesn't make them any less scary.

Dry Vagina - The hormonal changes that effect your sex drive aren't all mood and body image related; The hormonal changes also cause a dry vagina. Even if you do manage to get in the mood, doing the deed is uncomfortable to say the least.

Tooth Loss - The old wives tale "for every child the mother loses a tooth" has some validity. Pregnancy can make women prone to gingivitis. Repeated pregnancies are likely to result in more frequent outbreaks of gingivitis that may lead to tooth loss. My own teeth suffered a lot this last pregnancy, having had many a tooth ache and a couple extractions.

Maybe there's a good reason why nobody tells you about these things. There'd be a lot less babies in the world.