For many mothers, carrying a baby often comes with a slew of positive appearance benefits such as glowing skin, rosy cheeks, and shiny hair. For others, such as Botle, the changes can be disastrous. The woman, who has been documenting her progress on TikTok, went viral after uploading a shocking before-and-after, where she went from having a fairly aesthetic face to sporting a massively enlarged nose, acne, dark spots, and puffy eyes. The clip was uploaded last Monday (September 16), garnering more than 800,000 views and 4,000 comments of followers expressing their disbelief. “I’m just entering my third trimester as well, I’m so scared now,” a fellow mother wrote.
A South African woman stunned her followers after uploading dramatic before-and-after pregnancy transformation that left her unrecognizable
Share icon Image credits: botlenyanam Botle started her journey fully confident that she would maintain her looks throughout the pregnancy. She vowed to be a glowing, stylish mom-to-be, but as the months went on, her appearance transformed in ways she hadn’t anticipated. The most noticeable of her changes was the enlargement of her nose, accompanied by greasy skin and acne. Share icon Image credits: botlenyanam “The underlying reason is because of the hormones that are increased in pregnancy and those hormones cause dilation in vessels, which can result in more blood flow going to certain areas — and that’s because we need it for the uterus,” Dr. Christine Greves, OB-GYN in Orlando, Florida explained in an interview with Today. “It’s not necessarily selective. So, some areas of our body that have mucous membranes do experience increased flow and your nose is one of them.” Share icon Image credits: botlenyanam Aside from her nose, Botle’s face experienced swelling in other areas, such as the sinuses, and a change in pigmentation on her neck. Thankfully, most of these changes are temporary. “It goes back to normal within six weeks of giving birth,” Greves said. “I tell people to give yourself grace and be patient.”
While a certain degree of inflammation is normal, doctors warn that excessive amounts might be a sign of preeclampsia, a condition that can lead to a premature birth
Share icon Image credits: botlenyanam Botle updated her followers this Thursday (September 19), telling them that she’s expecting to give birth in two-weeks time. The clip sees the mother happily dancing with her belly out, showing a darkened line going down the middle of her abdomen. “Other common visual changes that may manifest in the skin of a pregnant person include hyperpigmentation (darker skin in different areas of the body including face), stretch marks in the skin and the growth of skin tags,” the doctor said.
Greves warned, however, that if the swelling experienced goes beyond what’s normal or is causing significant discomfort, it might signal that the mother is suffering from a serious blood pressure condition called preeclampsia, which develops only after the 20th week of pregnancy. “Patients that have significant swelling and experience symptoms, such as headache, blurry vision, abdominal pain or nausea/vomiting should contact their provider immediately to be evaluated for preeclampsia,” she explained. Share icon Image credits: botlenyanam The complication is caused by problems with the placenta, the organ that links the baby’s blood supply to its mother, and signals issues with the development of its blood vessels. While most babies survive preeclampsia, it can cause preterm delivery and, in the worst cases, stillbirth and death.
Mothers on TikTok have turned their swelling into a trend under #pregnancynose with many going viral for documenting their own transformations
Share icon Image credits: botlenyanam Botle’s video is only the latest in a TikTok trend under the hashtag “pregnancy nose.” A quick search using the term returns more than 2,600 posts of before-and-after videos of mothers documenting the changes to their appearance they experienced during their pregnancies. “This is how my second pregnancy humbled me,” one video is captioned. “I started taping my nose because I don’t want the pregnancy nose!” another is titled.
Other popular videos under the tag show women documenting how their baby bump progressed, and how it recovered. One particularly striking video shows a mother in her last trimester carrying triplets, with her stomach looking like what can only be described as a “barrel.” Most of these TikTokers also show their appearance months after giving birth, with the grand majority going back to their pre-pregnancy appearance seamlessly, showcasing the strength of the female anatomy.
Botle’s followers were shocked by her transformation, but most reacted to it lightheartedly and even joked about how she should sue her husband for damages
“Take him to court!” joked one viewer. “You remind me of the teletubbies,” said another. “You’re right, I also look like Fiona from Shrek now,” Botle replied. “There’s no way that’s you sister,” a fan wrote. “The worst part for me is that some of the changes never go back to normal after birth. My feet grew, all my shoes don’t fit anymore,” one follower shared. “With my first I went back but this time I don’t know,” Botle wrote.
“Pregnancy will humble you,” wrote one user, as others joined in to support Botle and laugh alongside her
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