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Article Series: Pregnancy
Pregnancy: Everything You Need To Know
10
Bodily Changes to Expect Thru Pregnancy
Pregnancy is a major mind and body changing
experience. If the new rage of hormones isn’t enough, you get
to watch your body grow in ways that seemed impossible. All
women have different pregnancies, and even pregnancies vary
in just one woman. Some women are extremely uncomfortable for
their entire pregnancy, while others feel great. Emotionally
women also have an array of feelings. Anxiety, fear, happiness,
joy, and anything in between is normal and to be expected.
If the people around you are treating you different because
you are pregnant that can cause worry or tension. Be sure to
communicate with your partner, friends and co-workers to make
sure that they know what you can and can’t do.
Now that you are pregnant, your
body will be changing inside and out. Even though a woman is made to have babies, you might
find this process uncomfortable and limiting to some degree.
With morning sickness, an expanding waste line, and swollen
feet and ankles, you feel a bit defective and not capable of
doing everything you once did. Try to tell your self this is
temporary and you will have your body back after the baby comes.
Express your frustrations to your partner or a close friend.
Sometimes talking about these things helps alleviate the stress.
Pregnancy lasts about 9 months or approximately 40 weeks from
the beginning of your last period. It is sub-divided into trimesters
that last approximately three months each. This helps to break
down the three major stages of fetal development. The first
and most fragile trimester is when the baby goes through the
most changes. Your baby goes from a ball of cells to a miniature
person in 12 weeks. All the body systems are laid out and this
little bean looks like a baby. The second trimester is dominated
by maturation and growth. The brain is maturing the connections
to the rest of the body and controlled movements begin. All
the rudimentary systems are now maturing to there after birth
functions. The third trimester is the growth stage. The baby
is complete and just needs to get fat. The lungs also fully
mature in this stage. It is believed that the same hormones
that help initiate labor trigger the lungs to mature.
The first trimester (week 1 - week 12)
A women’s body goes through a major amount of changes in the
first trimester. These changes are necessary for the baby to
grow and thrive till he or she is born. Cessation of menstrual
period, morning sickness that occurs at any time, day or night,
or all day and night, excessive saliva, swollen and tender
breasts, darkening of the areola, frequent urination, fatigue,
constipation, heartburn, mood swings, feeling angry, sad, or
happy for no reason, stuffy nose and allergies even if you
have never suffered from them before, food cravings are all
common and to be expected during the first trimester. The physical
changes will be minimal at this stage, especially if this is
your first baby, you probably won’t even look pregnant.
1. Breasts become larger.
2. The
uterus starts to get bigger and will pop up out of the
pelvis at the end of this trimester The second trimester (week 13 - week 26)
The second trimester is often comfortable for
the woman, as the discomforts felt in the first trimester
have passed. This
is when people are going to notice you are pregnant and there
will be no hiding it. Lots of women get the “pregnancy glow”,
caused not only by excitement, but also by an increased level
of hormones affecting the skin. Retaining water in the feet,
ankles and face (edema) is a common pregnancy ailment. Gaining
weight and getting rounder, feeling the baby move, dry skin
on stomach where the skin is stretching, another increase in
breast size, increasing heartburn and indigestion, constipation,
slight swelling of the feet, hands, ankles and face, development
of a dark line on the skin between your navel and your pubic
area, development of a "mask" or darker area on your
face, hemorrhoids, backaches that can remain throughout pregnancy,
nipple secretions, muscle cramps, particularly in the legs
and at night, gas pains, changes in your hair: it can become
less oily, and skin problems. The physical changes that occur
are more than the first trimester. By the end of this trimester
you will have to wear maternity clothes, or the like.
3. Feeling the baby kick and roll
4. Nosebleeds and nasal congestion.
5. Hemorrhoids and varicose veins.
The third trimester (week 27 - week 40)
During this period, the shape of the belly changes a few weeks
before labor as the baby drops deep into the pelvis. Increased
fetal movement, protrusion of navel, increased backaches, shortness
of breath, Braxton Hicks (false labor), groin pains, stretch
marks, difficulty sleeping, varicose veins, and finally, labor
and delivery! The major physical change this trimester is increase
of size. You will be filling out as baby fills you up.
6. Movement of the fetus can be seen from the outside.
7. The navel pushes out.
8. Some women experience backaches.
9. In order to accommodate the weight of the baby women tend
to walk differently, almost like a waddle.
10. A significant dropping of your belly Click here if you have a baby on the way and want a whole lot of free stuff when your little miracle pops out. It's my SolveYourProblem recommendation.
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by SolveYourProblem.com
: 2006
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