It's no secret that many women experience (sometimes weird) bodily side effects when they're pregnant. Say hello to swollen feet, random facial hair and, for some, a deeper voice. Not to mention how everything. aches. But how common is swelling in the nose?
Chrissy Teigen said she's experiencing it — and she's not alone.
The "Lip Sync Battle" host, who's expecting her second child (a boy!) with husband John Legend, tweeted Tuesday that her nose appears to have gotten bigger since getting pregnant.
"My pregnancy nose is huge. my nose has its own bmi," she wrote in reply to a selfie video. "how you gonna gain weight in your nose. this is fascinating"
Many Twitter users responded that they, too, experienced this.
"I am so glad you mentioned this because all the women in my family get the pregnancy nose so i literally thought it was hereditary," one user wrote.
"My nose got so big with each of my pregnancies I was surprised it didn’t end up with stretch marks," another replied.
Turns out, "pregnancy nose" is a real thing, though there's not necessarily a medical term for it, said Angela Wilson-Liverman, a certified nurse midwife and associate professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
"Hormones of pregnancy — specifically estrogen — increase blood flow everywhere, but especially to mucus membranes of the body," she explained. "So that increase in blood flow can cause swelling in those areas, or puffiness, which can make the nose appear larger on the outside."
But don't freak! Wilson-Liverman assured that the nasal swelling does go away, similar to the way puffy hands or feet will go back their normal size.
She also noted that, even though several tweeters said nasal swelling could be a signal that the woman carrying is having a boy, such suspicions are "wives' tales."
So there you have it. Yes, a little swelling in the shnoz can happen — but it's nothing to be concerned about.