THE THREE TRIMESTERS OF PREGNANCY
Carl Sandburg
The three trimesters of pregnancy are marked by different milestones in mother's and baby's development.
The First Trimester
Are you pregnant?Symptoms of pregnancy vary from woman to woman, with some women experiencing a variety of symptoms to those who experience none at all. Some of these symptoms include: fatigue, nausea, frequent urination, food cravings, mood swings, headaches, tender swollen breasts, and loss of appetite.
Pregnancy Tests
Two types of tests will confirm pregnancy:
a urine test available from a pharmacy which is approximately 99% accurate or a blood test which is available from a doctor and is 100% accurate.
Calculating Your Due Date
The average gestational period for a baby is 283 days or 40 weeks.
Count 10 days from the beginning of your last period and add on nine months. So if your last period started on January 4, then your due date is October 14.
As 50% of all pregnancies are unplanned, many women worry that they may have consumed too much or too little of something (before realizing they were pregnant) that might affect the health of the baby . In most cases, there is little cause for concern regarding those few glasses of wine consumed, or the folic acid tablets that should have been started weeks ago (8 weeks prior to conception is recommended). However, to ensure the nutritional needs and the safety of both mother and child are met, it is recommended that women try to reduce or eliminate the following:
·Smoking - including secondary smoke.
·Alcohol – try to limit alcohol to a glass with a meal every once in a while.
·Caffeine - interferes with iron absorption.
·Processed foods - which frequently have limited nutritional value and may cause constipation.
·Drugs - always inform a Health Practitioner that you are pregnant before they prescribe medication.
·Heavy exercise
·Sugar substitutes - the effects of sugar substitutes on the fetus are still unclear.
Pregnant women should follow a nutritious diet and exercise in moderation, ensure that they get adequate sleep and take time for rest periods throughout the day. Don't be afraid to ask friends or family for extra help with your other children or household tasks in the home and try to delegate some of your workload in the workplace. In doing so now, you will develop a support system that will probably be there even after your baby is born.
This trimester is marked by hearing the sound of your baby's heartbeat with a doppler during your visit to the healthcare practioner. By 9 weeks your uterus has expanded to accommodate its new resident, which now measures approximately one inch. Many changes take place this week — the embryonic tail is gone and all organs, muscles, and nerves are beginning to function. The hands now bend at the wrist, and the feet begin to lose their webbed appearance. Eyelids are beginning to cover the eyes.
If you're over 35 or have a family history of genetic illness, you may want to consider a chorionic villus sampling (CVS), a prenatal test usually given between ten and 12 weeks that screens for birth defects and abnormalities.
The Second Trimester
During the second trimester some of the symptoms from the first trimester will continue, while others will subside. For many, the nausea associated with morning sickness disappears and energy levels are a bit higher. This is also the time when you will feel your baby moving for the first time. It may bring on feelings of excitement or apprehension, but usually emotions shift back and forth between the two, particularly for first time mothers.
This will be a time when you will, if you haven’t already, purchase maternity wear as your body accommodates your growing baby.
Some conditions that affect women during the second trimester are:
· Anemia
· High blood pressure
· Back ache
· Faintness/dizziness
· Abdominal pain
· Leg cramps
· Bleeding gums
· Changes in skin colour
· Hemorrhoids
· Numbness
· Nasal problems
· Gestational diabetes
It is during the second trimester that fetal movement becomes apparent, usually around 16 - 18 weeks. However, women who have had children previously can often feel 'butterfly' movements as early as 14 weeks. The baby is steadily gaining weight to stay warm after birth. A whitish coat of a slick, fatty substance called vernix caseosa begins to enshroud your baby and protects the skin during its long immersion in amniotic fluid. It also eases delivery. The baby's swallowing more this week, good practice for the digestive system.
The Third Trimester
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The third trimester is marked by some of the following : · Increased fatigue Remember to take frequent rest breaks throughout the day and keep exercise moderate. Around your 7th month you may want to start nursery preparations and begin your
birthing plan.
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Your baby may weigh between 5 and 7 pounds at this point and is probably 19 to 20 inches long. Your baby's head will be cradled in your pelvic cavity by the end of this term — surrounded and protected by your pelvic bone. And if by the 39th week, there's still no baby - don't panic — only 5 percent of babies are born on their scheduled due date. Most doctors wait another one to two weeks before considering a pregnancy overdue.