During pregnancy, your body is constantly changing. To ensure your baby is well cared for and can develop properly, it accomplishes incredible feats in a very short time. Many of these changes are easy to notice, while others happen behind the scenes. We have collected nine exciting—and sometimes curious—facts about these nine months that may surprise you.

1. Powerhouse Uterus

Normally, your uterus weighs between 60 and 70 grams and is about the size of a pear or a clenched fist. During pregnancy, it demonstrates its extraordinary capabilities: it stretches by about one hundred times, so that it ends up about the size of two soccer balls and weighs almost one kilogram. This impressive organ temporarily becomes the largest muscle in your body.

2. Marks on the skin

Some expectant mothers notice a dark line running from the navel to the pubic bone during pregnancy. This is called the linea nigra. Black line , a pigment change caused by the increased release of the hormone melatonin. This hormone, which protects the skin from UV radiation, is produced in higher amounts during pregnancy. The skin around the eyes, nipples, and labia can also become darker. About 90 percent of all women notice these changes during pregnancy. Often, the pigment changes fade after childbirth, but it can also happen that some areas of skin remain permanently darker.

3. Unmistakable

The bigger your belly gets, the more your thoughts are likely to focus on the baby inside: What will it look like? Will it resemble you or its father more? Until you can see for yourself, you'll unfortunately have to wait until birth. ;) But even in the fourth month of pregnancy, when there might not be much visible from the outside yet, your baby is already a true individual: by this time, its unique fingerprint has developed.

4. Prepared for breastfeeding

Even during pregnancy, your breasts begin preparing to nourish your baby. The milk glands grow and branch out, and around the halfway point of pregnancy, your breasts start producing valuable colostrum. The amount stays so low until your milk comes in a few days after birth that you may only notice your breasts swelling. However, some expectant mothers do leak a little milk during pregnancy. This can happen especially when you hear (strange) babies crying. The reason? Your body responds to the crying by releasing the hormone oxytocin, which in turn stimulates milk flow.

5. Little Gourmet

The taste of amniotic fluid is influenced by what you eat and changes depending on your most recent meal. Vegetables and raw foods contribute to a savory flavor, while chocolate and fruit create a sweeter taste. Your baby swallows about half a liter of amniotic fluid per day—no wonder their later taste preferences are already shaped from around the 20th week of pregnancy by what you especially enjoy eating.

6. Pregnant together

Maybe you've noticed that your partner has gained a little weight or has been experiencing mood swings since the beginning of your pregnancy. ;) What may sound like a funny coincidence is actually a well-studied phenomenon. The technical term: Couvade Syndrome (from French cover = hatch). In addition to the symptoms mentioned above, nausea, digestive issues, or fatigue can also occur—typical accompanying symptoms of pregnancy. Researchers have found that the concentration of the hormones prolactin and cortisol, which are produced in increased amounts during pregnancy, also rises in the partner/partner Partner in preparing for the Nachwuchs . As a result, about one in five is physically "pregnant" too.

7. Baby's Development

Waiting for your baby can sometimes feel like forever. But did you know that as early as the 10th week of pregnancy—when your baby is only about two and a half centimeters long—its heart, brain, and limbs are already fully formed? Just two weeks later, in the 12th week of pregnancy, all of its organs are developed as well. Of course, development is far from complete: until birth, your baby still needs to grow and mature—and you'll need to be a little more patient.

8. Fascination of the Placenta

The Placenta is a true marvel. It is the only organ that your body forms only during pregnancy and that is expelled once it has fulfilled its purpose. Even more astonishing is the fact that, by the end of pregnancy, the placenta alone produces as much estrogen as the body of a non-pregnant woman does in three years.

9. Exercises for the abdomen

Once your baby is in the world, they cry to attract attention and express their needs. But did you know that babies may already cry in the womb when they feel uncomfortable? Researchers have discovered that fetuses make the same movements as newborns when crying when they are stimulated with unpleasant, deep tones in the womb. The motor skills for this are already developed from the 20th week of pregnancy. It’s no surprise they practice diligently from then on—after all, crying is vital for babies' survival once they are born.

These are just some of the fascinating things that happen during Pregnancy . They show that your body instinctively does what is right for you and your child's development, performing true miracles. If you feel uncertain, try exchanging ideas with other (expecting) moms: we bet they noticed some unexpected changes during their pregnancies, too.