by Aisha Ansari

Created on: December 13, 2008

So you're pregnant! And never before have you simultaneously felt so happy and terrified. Whether you found out from the doctor, tested yourself with a home kit, or simply realised that perhaps the weight you were putting on wasn't actually the result of a lazy summer holiday, during which you did nothing but lay around eating pizza and cake.

You've had your first check up, informed the father, told your parents (and noted the scornful look on your mothers face which told you that she doubts your ability to care for a gerbil, much less a human baby), spread the news to your friends and now you are sat at home, staring at your tummy thinking.there's a little being inside of me.

People often say that your life changes when you have a baby but it actually changes when you get pregnant. Because from then on, nothing in this world means anything if it can't in some way be related to you and your experience of being a parent-to-be. Even conversations about politics will have you espousing fanatically about how we need to change the world for the better. For your child of course. Forget everyone else. The whole global warming issue, which previously you thought was so trivial you actually went out of your way to buy plastic, is now of great concern. Every bit of ice falling into the sea constitutes, to you at least, a tragedy of epic proportions and your pregnant-less friends will be taken aback to discover this new green side to you. You should bear in mind though that not everyone can be as righteous as your good self, and screaming at them in Starbucks about the extremely slow degrading rate of the polystyrene cup you just knocked out of their hand, will not do you any favours.

There is also the tendency to believe, now that you are carrying your precious cargo, that the whole world should revolve around you and you will find yourself constantly surprised that no-one else seems to hold this belief. In fact, most people will expect you to carry on as normal. For nine months you will feel that you are the most amazing human ever to have graced this earth but at the same time get the distinct impression that not everyone is understanding this concept as they should be.

When dealing with pregnancy, especially in the first few weeks, you might experience an ever so slight nauseous feeling in the morning. Some of you may skip this unpleasantness altogether and some of you may take it to a new extreme and find yourself throwing up whenever you see a certain food. Or smell

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