Woman reveals how pregnancy hormones made her face 'like an old person'
Farah Faizal, a marketing manager, from Malaysia, posted two unfiltered photographs of herself side-by-side on X to show how her face had changed before and after falling pregnant.
In one photo, Farah had clear skin and rosy cheeks, but in the other, her whole face looked red and covered in large bumps that appeared to be cystic acne.
The shape of Farah's nose had also changed significantly, appearing much bigger than before, and she had deep lines along her cheeks and nose, as well as on her forehead.
Farah wrote in May that while she was grateful not to have experienced pregnancy sickness she first started realizing her skin was changing about two months after falling pregnant.
Acne began appearing on her face in the form of pustules and her skin became red, as though she had been sunburned.
Her nose also started to swell as she progressed in her pregnancy, which was her second.
Farah said: 'Then slowly my smile lines became deeper and my face started to look like that of an old person.
'I realized there were lines appearing on my forehead and between my eyebrows, and they were getting deeper and more kept appearing. The closer to my due date I got, the worse it became.'
She shared a close-up photograph of the deep lines on her forehead, which also showed how her skin was covered in acne and bumps - a far cry from the clear, smooth skin she had before.
While her husband reassured her that the changes were due to pregnancy hormones and therefore temporary, Farah admitted that she cried throughout the nine months of her pregnancy.
Later in her thread, the woman revealed that she broke down at one point and asked her friend: 'Why are other pregnant women so beautiful? Just glowing? Why am I the only one who has been affected like this?
'I asked this because I saw influencers who looked simply beautiful while they were pregnant.
'I wasn't sad but I did feel insecure. My husband kept reassuring me that it was fine and only temporary, and he would always encourage and compliment me.
'He said I was still beautiful in his eyes and not to think of anything untoward.'
Farah also credited her best friend who would give her words of encouragement and emboldened her to share her story on social media.
Farah said: 'Don't think that pregnancy is easy, different people have different experiences.'
She then gave some additional advice for men: 'So appreciate your wife, as she has sacrificed her body to give birth to your child. Don't say an epidural is a "cheat code".'
Sharing her story with Malaysian media, Farah said she wanted to raise awareness about the side of pregnancy that isn't spoken about as often.
She told Sinar Daily: 'I wish more people understood that pregnancy isn't just about the cute bump and baby kicks.
'There are so many changes - physical, emotional and mental - that we go through. Every woman's experience is different and all of them deserve to be acknowledged.'
Farah gave birth to her baby in July and has since told SAYS.com that her skin is slowly healing one month post-partum.
She said: 'I'm slowly regaining my features. It has been a month since I gave birth and I'm in recovery mode. I've also started monthly laser treatments to help my skin heal and improve.'
While the change in Farah's appearance was shocking, it may not be as unusual as people think.
While some tout the benefits of the famous 'pregnancy glow', women from all over the world have recently started sharing the extraordinary changes to their faces while pregnant.
Dubbing the term 'pregnancy face', thousands of women on social media have shared their 'before' and 'after' photographs of becoming mothers, in videos poking fun at their own transformations.
Women suffering with having extra pigmentation, puffy eyes, loss of definition in their face, and enlarged noses.
According to doctors, much of what those online describe is a result of water retention, a commonly reported side-effect among expectant mothers.
The NHS website cites swelling as typical in pregnant women, particularly in lower parts of the body such as the legs, ankles, and feet.
Effects can appear particularly pronounced 'if the weather is hot or you have been standing a lot.'
The website reads: 'Swelling is caused by your body holding more water than usual when you're pregnant.'
Healthcare providers suggest remedying symptoms by avoiding standing for long periods of time, and resting with raised feet as much as possible.
The NHS also advises that drinking water, though seemingly counter-productive, can also reduce water retention.
Symptoms of water retention can be further exacerbated by pre-eclampsia, a serious condition characterized by high blood pressure and having protein in the urine. The condition can prove fatal if not properly treated.
Changes to hormones during pregnancy can also bring out skin conditions including acne, puffiness, dark spots, sensitivity or redness, say experts at Simple Skincare.
Some mothers also reported having 'pregnancy nose', in which their noses ballooned while they were carrying their children.
'Pregnancy nose' is believed to result from an increase in hormones, which leads to the dilation of blood vessels and creates more blood flow to certain areas of the body.
The increase in size is usually only temporary and most women find their noses return to normal a few weeks after delivery.
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