As every expectant-mum will know, pregnancy can have its highs and lows. The highs are everything that relates to growing your little human, but the lows can, at times, be how you yourself feel.

From nausea, heartburn, constipation, and a consistent feeling of not feeling fresh ‘down there’ (or anywhere), pregnancy can leave you feeling smelly, unclean, and not at all like yourself.

And while everyone might tell us that that’s all part of it, we beg to differ! Here’s why you feel far less fresh during your pregnancy but more importantly, what you can do about it:

Why do we not feel fresh during pregnancy?

During pregnancy, we don’t feel like ourselves because, quite simply, we’re not! We’re working hard to support a new life and as a result, our bodies are doing a whole host of things they’ve never done before.

Unfortunately, not a whole lot of these things leave us feeling fresh.

Take nausea, for example. Nausea often strikes in the form of morning sickness in the first trimester of our pregnancy, and typically lasts from a few weeks to our entire pregnancy. As any expectant mum would know, nausea can leave us feeling less than fresh in a myriad of ways: from the uneasy feeling of burping too much, to the awful feeling in our stomachs from vomiting. When you’re nauseous you’re also more likely to sweat, so this compounds the feeling of general uncleanliness.

Unfortunately, nausea isn’t the only bodily function that can make us feel ugh. Fluctuating hormones in pregnancy lead to some bowel issues we’d definitely rather not have. In pregnancy, it isn’t uncommon to fluctuate between diarrhea and constipation. While constipation usually shows up mostly in the first trimester, it is possible to experience it throughout your entire pregnancy. Diarrhea can also be common throughout but is more common in the third trimester as you approach your delivery date. Constant bouts of diarrhea and constipation can leave you feeling sore, scratchy, and generally yuck down there.

The ugh of pregnancy isn’t contained to down there… the top half of your body can suffer, too. Pregnancy hormones make you susceptible to extremely bad breath. Hormones can cause bacteria to build up in your mouth, which in turn causes bad breath. Outside of this, your elevated body temperature and the general increase in effort required to grow a baby can also mean that you’ve got more sweat and as a result, body odour, than usual.

Hormones can be blamed for a whole lot of ugh during pregnancy – but fortunately, there’s a whole lot you can do to start feeling like yourself again.

Secret #1: Carry a survival kit

During pregnancy, a survival kit can be your best friend. Packed with fresh underwear, face wash, deodorant, and a change of clothes, a survival kit will literally help you survive when it comes to freshness throughout your pregnancy. But why and how?

Early in your pregnancy, morning sickness might be a problem. So much of a problem, in fact, that you might have to duck off to the nearest loo to be sick. At the moment, there’s not much you’ll care about besides feeling better, so it’s best to have a change of clothes just in case. A survival bag can help you freshen up in this situation in more ways than one – you’ll always have deodorant, no matter what.

Having underwear as part of your survival kit can be crucial to feeling fresh throughout your pregnancy. Increased blood flow around your body (including to your nether regions) can cause an increase in mucous down there, which can make you feel a little uncomfortable. As your baby gets heavier, you’ll also find there’s more pressure on your bladder, so a spare pair of underwear is highly recommended, just in case.

Secret #2: Chew gum and regularly brush your teeth

Dentists recommend that we brush our teeth twice a day anyway, but this is particularly important – from a freshness and cavity perspective – when you’re pregnant.

Hormones can cause a build-up of bacteria in your mouth and throat, which, over time, can lead to gum diseases such as gingivitis. This bacteria can also cause extremely bad breath.

Gingivitis isn’t the only cause of bad breath during pregnancy, however. Hormones also relax the oesophagus, making it more likely you’ll need to burp, contributing to bad breath. Muscle relaxation during pregnancy can also lead to sleep apnea, another cause of bad breath due to bacteria build-up.

But never fear, there’s a solution! To keep your mouth fresh during pregnancy, ensure that you’re even more diligent with brushing and flossing your teeth. And if you’re concerned about bad breath, carry and chew gum whenever you feel you need to.

Secret #3: Eat small, regular meals

If you’re experiencing morning sickness or you’re concerned that you will, you’ve probably been told to eat small, regular meals. But eating small, regular meals can also help you stay fresh in a number of ways.

Firstly, small, regular meals can help you from feeling nauseous, which in turn can help you avoid getting to the point where you’ll need to vomit. From a fresh perspective, when it comes to vomiting, prevention is the best cure!

Small, regular meals can also help you manage other pregnancy symptoms which will leave you feeling less fresh. If the intestines have less to process at any one time, they’ll be able to do their job better, so you’ll be at less risk of developing diarrhea or constipation. Eating small, regular meals can also help you manage heartburn better at night.

Secret #4: Up your water intake

Water is your everything when it comes to freshness in pregnancy… it’s what you bathe in, it soothes your aches and pains, it’s what you use to brush your teeth when they’re feeling furry, and last, but not least… it’s what you drink to keep hydrated.

When it comes to pregnancy symptoms that can leave you feeling ugh, there’s no limit to how much water can help. Firstly, drinking more water will help stop the growth of bacteria in your mouth and throat, leading to better breath. Secondly, water can be essential in ensuring the proper functioning of your digestive system, so lessens constipation and diarrhea.

Water is also essential if you’re feeling nauseous, especially if you’ve been vomiting.

Water is great, but how much? Pregnant women should aim to drink 8-10 glasses of water per day.

Secret #5: Avoid fatty and spicy foods

If you’re looking to up your freshness game, it’s best to avoid fatty and spicy foods. These include any fried foods, and foods that are excessively salty, hot or flavoured, for example, curries or anything with chilli.

While these foods aren’t dangerous during pregnancy, they can definitely cause unsightly symptoms. If you’re experiencing heartburn, for example, spicy foods will only aggravate it. Fried foods are also known to be notoriously hard to digest, meaning that any constipation or diarrhea you’re experiencing will only be aggravated by them.

If you’ve got morning sickness, fried and spicy foods will also make it worse, and they can be excruciating if you get to the point of needing to vomit. Naturally, they also taste (and smell) terrible on the way back up, so can contribute to terrible breath as a result!

Secret #6: Use vagina wipes

Never heard of vagina wipes? Never fear. Now you’re pregnant, they’ll be your best friend!

For so many reasons, our down-there region suffers during pregnancy (clearly, it doesn’t suffer half as much as during birth, but that’s another story!). Pregnancy hormones cause us to secrete more vaginal discharge called leukorrhea. Although it’s technically mild smelling, as it increases throughout pregnancy, it can certainly leave you feeling less-than-fresh – you may even find yourself needing a panty liner.

Using vagina wipes can help clear away excess leukorrhea, leaving you with that fresh feeling (for a little while, anyway). There are even vagina wipes designed specifically for pregnancy, that balance your pH and help reduce bacteria that can cause nasty smells.

Secret #7: Use a bidet

There’s only one thing in pregnancy better than a shower and that is – the equivalent for your nether regions!

For so many reasons, using a bidet during pregnancy (and beyond) can be the ultimate cleansing tool. From the time of conception onwards, using a bidet can help protect you downstairs by helping you to cleanse every time you use the toilet, as opposed to using scratchy toilet paper which can be irritating.

Using a bidet also ensures that you’re properly cleaned after you visit the toilet, which is particularly important in pregnancy. This is because if you don’t clean yourself properly, bacteria can remain, which can lead to complications such as urinary tract infections.

Finally, you’ll love your bidet more and more as your pregnancy rolls on. As anyone who has been in their third trimester knows, it can become increasingly difficult to reach around down there to wipe! Although you’ll still need to pat yourself dry with toilet paper after you’ve washed, using a bidet can mean they’ll be less wiping – and less stress – ensuring you feel fresher, faster and more frequently.

How to feel fresh during pregnancy?

Glowing you may be during your pregnancy, but it’s likely – or certain – that fresh is something you won’t feel all the time. But don’t let this get you down. With the help of a bidet, some wipes, chewing gum, more water, less spicy food, and a trusty survival kit, you’ll be able to feel like (almost!) yourself in no time.

Pregnant and want to keep that fresh feeling? Consider getting a bidet toilet to stay hygienic and make your life easier.