Pregnancy hormones cause many strange changes in your body, including an increase in saliva production.

It’s not enough that you’re battling morning sickness — now you’re wondering, “Why am I spitting so much during pregnancy?” For a small percentage of unlucky women, this normal occurrence becomes a burdensome condition called ptyalism, which comes from the ancient Greek word for “salivate,” according to the Oxford Dictionary of English.

Baby Center pointed to nausea, heartburn, and environmental irritants as possible causes for all that extra spit, but “there is no clear explanation or underlying cause for ptyalism in pregnancy,” says Dr. Adrienne D. Zertuche, an OB-GYN with Atlanta Women’s Healthcare Specialists, in an interview with Romper.

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