Yes. You may have noticed a more frequent need to pee even before you realized you were pregnant. It's one of the most common early signs of pregnancy, starting about six weeks into your first trimester.

Shortly after you become pregnant, hormonal changes cause blood to flow more quickly through your kidneys, filling your bladder more often.

"During pregnancy, the blood volume in your body increases dramatically," says urogynecologist Tristi Muir, director of the Pelvic Health and Continence Center at the University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston. "That means that the kidneys have more fluid to process."

And as your uterus expands to accommodate your growing baby, it can put pressure on your bladder, making it feel fuller than it actually is.

Some pregnancy books say that you'll begin to feel some relief early in your second trimester as your uterus rises out of your pelvis, but research doesn't support this idea. The fact is, you may not get that fabled second-trimester break at all.

In one study in which pregnant women actually measured how often and how much they urinated, researchers found that both the frequency and volume increased over the course of the women's pregnancies, with no relief in the second trimester.

You may notice that you need to get up to pee more often during the night in particular. That's in part because when you lie down, some of the fluid that you retained in your legs and feet during the day makes its way back into your bloodstream and eventually into your bladder.

If you're trying to avoid multiple nighttime trips to the loo, limiting liquids at bedtime is okay. But make sure you drink plenty of water throughout the day: If your urine is starting to look yellow or cloudy, you're not drinking enough. Your body needs water to transport nutrients to you and your baby, replenish your amniotic fluid, flush out toxins, and rid your body of bacteria that could lead to a urinary tract infection.

Finally, don't ignore the urge to pee. Holding urine gives bacteria more time to flourish and cause problems – so when you've got to go, go.

Our staff has decades of experience informing new parents. Most of us have worked for major magazines like Parenting, Parents, and Health. And most important, we're living the subject firsthand, raising newborns, toddlers, and teens.
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