How Pregnancy Has Changed Over the Years

Pregnancy Then . . . and Now

September 16, 2009

Source: Getty

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We've come a long way baby. From morning sickness, to swollen legs, to the constant worry about her impending arrival, a mom-to-be has a lot to complain about. Hard as pregnancy may be today, it doesn't compare to having a bun in the oven several decades ago. As we saw on this week's Mad Men, times have changed, and luckily for us modern day mommas, so has pregnancy. Check out the major differences in pregnancy then, and now — and you may think twice about how hard you have it.

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5 Comments

Mme Hart 3 years 34 weeks

The labour room thing is so phoney in the nowadays photo :rotfl: Smoking drives me insane, too!!

bushra 3 years 34 weeks

Here's a thing that doesn't seem to have disappeared: smoking. Mad Men character Betty smoked through her pregnancy, and almost every morning I see a young mother to be (I get the impression it is her first) having a cigarette before the morning train arrives. I don't get angry about many things but I do find that hard to accept.

0fashionqueen 3 years 34 weeks

I remember my mom pregnancies and I remember hers been completely different from my very own pregnancy.

3 years 35 weeks

"Nothing was off limits"? Not quite. While the restrictions weren't nearly as long a list as now, women in the 70s were still cautioned against some things. There were many medications my mother was told to avoid, as well as things like sushi.

3 years 35 weeks

I just had my first baby and while some of the things you say did make my pregnancy easier for me some of what you said made it harder. The restrictive diet and no drinking being two of those. I did not drink not alchohol or even soda I stayed away from lunchmeats and some cheeses. I avoided taking drugs. I would of course do it again to protect my baby but women in those days did not know it would harm the baby and did not have to avoid it or feel guilty about it. It may have made life after the pregnancy harder if the actions did cause a birth defect but as far as the pregnancy goes it was not as difficult for them as it is for us.