Yvonne Strahovski Shares Her Weird Pregnancy Symptom

Working moms everywhere can relate to dealing with pregnancy on the job, as can many actresses in Hollywood. Work doesn't stop until maternity leave kicks in, so adapting to the weird and wonderful symptoms of carrying a baby becomes a new way of life. Well, at least for nine months. Then it's a whole other learning curve of balancing parenthood and continuing to work.

For Yvonne Strahovski, who plays Serena in "The Handmaid's Tale," this was the case during filming for the show's third season which she told Glamour UK was one of the "most challenging moments" of her time as an actress. Even before finding out, Strahovski was scared about being pregnant while portraying Serena. "I kept thinking, 'Oh God, what if I get pregnant while I'm playing this horrendous character on this show?'" she said on The Hollywood Foreign Press Association's podcast (via USA Today) in 2018.

The Australian actress also revealed the strange symptoms she experienced during her first pregnancy, and how they dealt with it on set.

Yvonne Strahovski had the usual –- and horrible –- side effect of nausea carrying her first child, which was remedied by keeping crackers on set. However, she also revealed that she discovered another bizarre symptom that she "never heard anyone else have, where you constantly spit," i.e. excessive saliva. "So once everybody knew I was pregnant, there were cups everywhere on set," she explained (via USA Today). "I mean, it's so gross but I had to, I didn't have a choice!"

Known in the medical world as ptyalism (via NCT), this is actually a common side during pregnancy. According to NCT, this odd symptom usually occurs during the first trimester thanks to a change in hormones. It can also occur as a result of nausea and vomiting, as this can cause women to try to swallow as little as possible to avoid a trip to the bathroom. It's extremely common for those experiencing hyperemesis gravidarum, otherwise known as extreme morning sickness (via NHS).