The strangest symptoms can occur when you are an expectant mother -such as having vivid dreams or craving red sand.
Many women, according to Flo Health turn to Google and social media apps to search for answers to these occurrences.
Trends shows searches for ‘uncommon pregnancy symptoms’ rose by 350% over the last year, whilst related hashtags top 703 million TikTok views.
A Flo expert, Claudia Pastides (MBBS), Director of Medical Accuracy, said most viewed TikTok videos demonstrated that “vivid dreams” came out as one of the most discussed symptom during pregnancy.
Other symptoms women expecting searched for and discussed were congestion and flu-like symptoms, insomnia, bleeding gums, and sudden changes in taste.
According to Pastides it’s normal to experience intense dreams.
“Although it’s an unexpected symptom for many, it’s often normal to have particularly vivid and more frequent dreams when pregnant. Dreaming occurs during the REM stage of the sleep cycle, and typically we experience four or five episodes of dreaming a night. However, pregnant women may frequently wake up throughout the night and are more likely to remember their dreams, as their REM stage is repeatedly interrupted,” she said.
Based on the TikTok data, the second-most discussed symptom was heightened smell, where mild odors become strong and pleasant smells become suddenly unappealing. Despite pregnant women often saying they experience an increased sensitivity to smells, this phenomenon – termed hyperosmia – has not been confirmed by research. However, one possible reason behind changes in smell is changing hormone levels. Altered smell was mentioned in 16% of the analyzed uploads, whilst rounding out the top three surprising symptoms was pelvic pain, also referenced in 16% of the videos.
“Referred to as ‘lightning crotch’ throughout the TikToks, people often describe it as a sudden sharp vaginal or pelvic pain. It’s most prevalent in the third trimester, which could be due to increased pressure on the pelvic nerves as your baby grows bigger,” said Pastides.
Pregnant users of TikTok also questioned bigger nipples, bleeding gums, hot flushes, tearfulness.
“According to a review paper on the physiologic changes of pregnancy, darker parts of the body – including the nipples – are likely to darken further due to hyperpigmentation. Expectant mothers may also get tender breasts, erect nipples, and more visible veins.
“And while bleeding gums may be unsettling at first, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) explains that pregnant women can experience an increased inflammatory response to issues like plaque, which makes bleeding and swelling more likely.
“Most commonly experienced in the third trimester, those who have previously had gingivitis are more prone to it during pregnancy, whilst rinsing with saltwater works to ease irritation. Meanwhile, vivid dreaming wasn’t the only type of sleep disruption that expectant mothers experience, with one in 10 TikToks mentioning insomnia – largely due to hormone changes, pregnancy discomfort and increased stress [according to the Sleep Foundation]. When it comes to which type of symptoms expectant mothers were talking about, sensations proved the most surprising (nausea, itchiness, pressure), followed by health issues (acne, acid reflux, congestion) and sleep disruptions (insomnia, vivid dreams).”
Commenting on the Flo Health findings, Claudia Pastides warned that the social interaction app shouldn’t be used as a source for medical advice and any unexpected pregnancy symptoms should be discussed with a doctor.
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