Libby Trickett is 27 weeks pregnant and she’s just discovered a very weird – and sort of gross – side effect of pregnancy.
In short, her big toe nails have fallen off and she’s posted the slightly ~ terrifying ~ photographic evidence on Instagram.
“Well that’s officially something I didn’t know could happen during pregnancy,” she captioned the image.
LISTEN: Libby Trickett on the unexpected challenges of motherhood. Post continues after audio…
Dr Brad McKay, GP and former host of Embarrassing Bodies Down Under, told Mamamia this is a completely normal side effect of pregnancy.
“Fetuses are basically parasites, sucking essential nutrients from their pregnant mother,” he explained.
“Women frequently find their hair gets thinner, or falls out in clumps when they’re pregnant because all of their nutrition is flowing through their placenta and being invested in a rapidly growing baby.
“Finger and toenails also become thinner and more easily broken.”
Dr Brad says pregnancy can also affect your thyroid function and an overactive thyroid will make your hair and nails grow faster, whilst becoming more thin and fragile.
“It’s important for your doctor to check your thyroid function with a blood test if this hasn’t been done for a while,” he said.