Pregnancy is just as tough as competing in a marathon, according to science

If a pregnant woman tells you that giving birth is an accomplishment in itself, you better believe her.
Pregnancy is not a joke. And it is definitely not easy on the body. And no, we are not just talking about the stretch marks, untimely morning sickness(which doesn’t just stay in the mornings), swollen feet and hands. It literally pushes your body off-limits, much more than any competitive sport, science has now proven.
According to a new study conducted in the journal, Science Advances, when it comes to pushing forward limits of human endurance, pregnancy is unmatched, coming only second to athletic sports and other competitive events.
The study
The study, the results of which were published in June made some interesting observations. For the same, participants were made to compete in athletic events like long-distance running, marathons, reaching the point of exhaustion and depleting the body’s energy sources. While these were all high-intensity workouts, it was observed that mothers through their pregnancy end up exhausting themselves the same way at a lower intensity over the nine-month period, without actually competing in a marathon.
While athletes were able to endure their intensity for short periods, but when it came to longer periods, they weren’t able to do the same.
Experts also found out that the endurance levels of athletes were only a notch higher than the metabolic rates pregnant women experienced.
On average, a person burns upto 4000 calories before getting completely exhausted. While athletes reached this point of exhaustion during their high-intensity performances or workouts, expectant moms do the same in pregnancy. It was also found that pushing the body to such extremes can only happen with pregnancy and high-intensity workouts and races.
Evolution at play?
Scientists also say that human beings, of all apes, have the longest gestation period and children biggest in height, which is a sign of evolution at play. As humans evolved and continue to do so, so have the endurance levels and this ultimately has an impact on human pregnancies. That is why pregnancies can push people to limits.
Apart from this study, experts have also attested to the fact that pregnancy has long-lasting effects on a woman's body. While the body bounces back into shape over time, pregnancy has the potential of causing health effects. Many women suffer from the problem of fecal incontinence, muscle strain and risk of developing chronic diabetes or blood pressure problem later in life. Of course, these are all subject to a healthy pregnancy.