What Happens During Pregnancy?
March 27, 2011 by Nathaniel Ferguson
Filed under Pregnancy
Pregnancy length is worked out from the date of your last period so by the time your period is missed you are already one month pregnant. You may notice some changes in your body such as breast tenderness. During the first few months your baby grows faster than at any other time in pregnancy. You can find out how far along your pregnancy is and what is happening in your pregnancy week by week by using a pregnancy calculator
Towards the middle of your first trimester you will experience a surge in hormones which can cause symptoms such as morning sickness, tiredness and heartburn. Your baby now measures around 5 cm and their brain, spine and nerves are developing fast.
Towards the end of your first trimester your baby measures around 6 cm. Their digestive system is developing and facial features can be seen in an ultrasound scan. Your baby has fully formed fingers and toes and begins to kick. They can bend their arms and legs and their heart is beating around twice the speed of yours.
You will probably have an ultrasound scan around 12 weeks and you will see that your baby now has fully formed arms, legs, fingers and toes. They now have facial features and their digestive system is forming. Their heart will be beating quite fast and they can use their arms and legs to stretch and kick. They now measure approximately 6 cm long
Your early pregnancy symptoms may start to fade due to changes in your hormone production. As muscles and ligaments in your pelvis stretch to accommodate your growing baby, you may get some aches and pains. A pregnancy calculator is a useful tool to find out about changes in your body and how your baby is growing.
Your baby will soon be able to hear your voice. During this trimester you will begin to feel your baby move and by 21 weeks will have short periods of activity while they explore their surroundings.
As they continue to grow their eyes and ears will fully form and they may begin to respond to your voice.
As you enter the third trimester your baby has fully developed lungs and may react to loud noises. They may begin to suck their thumb and will have longer periods of activity. Movements will become smaller as they begin to run out of space. Their bones will harden from cartilage to bone and they will begin to put on fat.
The last trimester can feel like the longest as you wait to meet your baby. He or she will soon move into position for birth. Their bones are hardening and their lungs are now fully formed. Your bump will grow larger as your baby continues to put on weight and grow. Their movements will start to become smaller as space becomes restricted. Use a pregnancy calculator to find out exactly how your baby is developing during this time.
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Learn The Facts On Cramps During Pregnancy
If you’re pregnant and having cramping, you are potentially concerned. Whether the cramps during pregnancy are mild or quite harsh, you wonder if they’re ordinary and when to be concerned. The cramping during your pregnancy can be due to one or two different things. Some are nothing to stress about, others signal a heavy condition that your first care surgeon or midwife must be aware of.
First off, when you’re newly pregnant the egg implants on the wall of the uterus. This is mostly 8-10 days after ovulation, and frequently happens before you even know you have fallen pregnant. There’s frequently cramping accompanying the implantation. Also, there are numerous changes occuring to your body. The stretching of the uterus could cause early cramping during pregnancy, as can the stretching of the ligaments that support the uterus in the body as it grows. This continues thru your pregnancy, but is most commonplace from weeks fourteen twenty. After that time, the pelvic bones help support the growing uterus.
The changes of pregnancy also cause many ladies to have bowel obstruction or gas. These can end up in cramping. Infrequently some light exercise can help to relieve the cramping, or letting your body rest. . If other symptoms go with the cramps during your pregnancy, like spotting, bleeding, or intestinal discomfort, you check with your midwife or doctor they can decide if what you are experiencing are standard cramps during pregnancy or if they’re something more major. Cramping with these can be a warning of either a possible miscarriage or an ectopic pregnancy, both of which should have medial attention.
A special kind of period cramping during pregnancy that occurs nearer the end are called Braxton-Hicks contractions. They are felt when certain muscles (they take turns) tighten up and can last anywhere from less than a minute to two minutes. They become stronger and occur more frequently as you get closer to your due date. These are thought to be useful and as practice contractions, though they can be rather distressing, and you may wish to shift position lay down, or get up and walk. They can be distinguished from true work contractions because they only involve defined bits of the uterus at a time, and real contractions involve the whole uterus.
Also later during pregnancy, cramps during pregnancy that come with diarrhea or back pain can be the beginning of preterm labor. These can be regular contractions that are starting to become at regular intervals, or have bleeding or intestinal agony with them, or vaginal trickling. All these should be regarded seriously, and you must talk to your midwife or doctor immediately.
