After eating, your baby’s stomach may stick out further then normal. It should also feel very soft when lightly poked. It should not feel hard or firm.

Your hands or feet swell suddenly or you rapidly gain weight — it may be preeclampsia.

The pressure on your inferior vena cava makes it harder for the blood from your legs to make the return journey to your heart.

Being overweight or significantly underweight can affect hormone production and inhibit normal ovulation. Maintaining a healthy weight can increase the frequency of ovulation and likelihood of pregnancy.

The risk of high blood pressure during pregnancy is about double for women over 35 compared with younger ones; hypertension affects about 10 to 20 percent of pregnant women in this age group. Gestational diabetes is two to three times more common in women over age 35 than in younger women, and recent studies show the risk is even higher if the woman has gained weight over the years. Age 35 to 39 is also when women are most likely to have twins.

This extra tissue growth — and the surgical removal of it — can cause scarring, which may obstruct the tube and keep the egg and sperm from uniting.