Pregnancy is the dream of every woman alive on earth, each wanting to feel the "feel" of being expectant, and thereafter having their bundle of joy.
Pregnancy as a whole is process - before and after the arrival of the little one. We will explore beginning with the proces of pregnancy through the 9 months followed by the delivery and upbringing..
The beginning of a new life inside you begins at conception which is the beginning of the blessing...conceiving a little life is not the easiest of things and many women have been unfortunate so as not to conceive.
However assuming you have conceived, the process now begins and we shall look at this step by step month wise. Also in a different forum we shall discuss conception and related.
AM I PREGNANT? Top ten signs to look out for to confirm pregnancy are as below:
2. Nausea- Morning sickness- 90% of the women undergo what we call as morning sickness around a month after conception. Mind you this is not defined strictly to happen only during the early morning, this varies from woman to woman- Some women could feel this in the morning, some during the day, some evening and some may be even so lucky to miss out all together!
3. Fatigue: Getting tired? this is one of the possible signs. Sleepiness and fatigue crawl into pregnancy as early as the 1st months. This is possibly due to the increased levels of the pregnancy hormones.
4. Tender/swollen breasts: this again is due to the increased levels of hormones rushing through your systems.
5.Increased sensitivity to Odours: many women are sensitive to certain odours and also do start choosing between the different food items.
6. increased bathroom trips: many women find that upon conception and after, their trips for urination increase. This is because the amount of blood and other fluids in the body increase thus leading more fluids to be processed ny the kidneys.
7. Abdominal swelling: Some women tend to swell during the first few months of their pregnancy- this is also hormone related.
The above are just basic signs to identify pregnancy. Ofcourse to confirm the same it would be advisable either to carry out a home pregnancy test or see your gynaecologist or even better both. Home Pregnancy tests are quite useful and do work- HOWEVER please make note that one has to be atleast 2-3 weeks pregant for the home kit to detect pregnancy. Thus the best advised would be to see your gynae and get a confirmed result.
PREGNANCY STAGES:
Now that we have confirmation on the pregancy let us discuss further. As you are possibly aware the gestation is divided into 3 equal stages: 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimester. We shall discuss each stage:
1st TRIMESTER:
This consists of the 1st 13weeks of the gestation cycle: from fertilization, to implantation and growth of the feteus.
The feteus is created when the sperm hits the eggs and fertilization takes place. This then further divides into many cells thus foring the baby and the placenta. The placenta is the medium for providing the growing feteus with oxygen and food.
Your baby develops his fingers, toes, nose, ears etc during this time. In the brain nerve cells are also forming and branching out to connect with one another. BY 9 weeks, your little one is the an inch ...about the size of a grape.also at this stage, the baby hearts' 4 chambers have developed and so have the teeth. She/he is begiining to look more human now from the earlier tadpole like shape. AT 12 weeks, your babys fingers will begin to open and close, and the toes will curl and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder. By now the baby weighs half an ounce and is about 2 inches long.
2nd TRIMESTER:
Hurray your baby has now grown to the size of a lemon and he is even able
to suck his thumb! Hes body is now growing faster than hes head which rests on a firm neck. Hes arms by the end of this week will have grown proportionate to his body, and his spleen is also producing red blood cells. The babys hands and legs are more active now, and he kicks and punches- though you cannot feel it at this stage. At 16 weeks your baby is the size of an avacado 4 1/2 inches long, and 3 ounces of weight. hes eyes have now moved closer together; hes legs are more developed than earlier, and his head is also more erect.
At 18weeks your baby is now able to flex his arms and legs, and very soon you will be able to feel the movements.
AT 20weeks, the length of your baby is that of a banana and he weighs around 10ounces. hes digestive system is more active now and he is swallowing more.
Your baby now looks like a little new born at 22weeks. hes toothbuds are now developiong, and his lips, eyes eyelids abd eye brows are more distinct. A foot long at 24weeks, the toothbuds are still developing further, and hes body and brain are growing steadily.
At 27weeks you will now be able to talk to the little life in your womb as he is now able to hear you and your partner. Hes breathing movements are also now in place and he takes in alittle of the surrounding amniotic fluid.
At the end of the 2nd trimester at 28weeks your baby weighs around 2 pounds, and is abt 14.5inches long. he now sleeps and wakes up at regular intervals, and may also be sucking on his fingers.
3rd TRIMESTER:
Well done..you have sucessfully crossed the hardest time of the gestation cycles and now into your 28th week of pregnancy. your baby at this stage should weight about the size of a chinese cabbage i.e 2 1/4 pounds. hey eye sight is developed enough to detect light.
At 29 weeks your baby is growing really fast and since his bones require alot of calcium you will be required to intake alot of calcium in form of milk and additional supplements. in addition to this you will also need folic acid, vitamin c and other minerals to accomodate his growth needs. His lungs and muscles continue to mature.
32weeks shows us your baby at 17inches of length. From this stage onwards you can expect to gain a pound a week from till delivery your baby will be adding fat to herself. Your baby also has nice skin and has hair too.
At 35 weeks your baby is fully occupying your uterus and thus will not be able to summersolt as much as earlier, however you should still feel the same number of kicks as earlier. Also his kidneys are fully developed and secreting the required waste products. The development stage is now over and for the rest of the weeks your baby will spend time gaining weight as will you!
37weeks- you have successfully completed the labour term- many congrats!
39weeks- Your baby continues to add fat to maintain his body tempertaure, however he is now ever ready to arrive into the world!
41 weeks- after months of anticipation and excitement we are now at the end of the gestation period and need to gear uo for the delivery which could be any time from now. for some women its as early as 37 weeks. however this varies from women to women.
We shall in the next forum study the related forum to pregnancy.
PREGNANCY PROBLEMS:
As exciting as pregnancy is it can also be a challenge for both the woman and the partner. All pregnancies are different and vary from woman to woman. Pregnancy involves not just physical changes in a womans appearance but more of emotional changes which come about as a result of the hormonal changes.
1. Fatigue:One of the most common problems experienced is fatigue: Many ladies feel very tired - this is due to the growing feteus.
2. Mood swings:Also due to emotional changes, one may lose her temper very frequently or cries at the smallest of issues, and will experience mood swings
3. Vaginal Bleeding: Some women may even experience slight vaginal bleeding. In such a case, please contact your doctor immediately.
4. Leg Cramps: During the later stages or in some women also during early stages, one may experience leg cramps or what we call pins and needles. this is due to the changing pressure levels.
5. Infections: Pregnant women are prone to Urinary Tract infections (UTI's), which can result in fever, backaches and burning sensations when passing urine. Seek medical advise.
6. Contractions: Some women may experience abdominal pain. this is due to the uterine contractions.
7. Headaches: Some women esp those with history of migraine may undergo frequent head aches. Discuss this with your doctor as this history is important during your gestation period as well as during delivery.
Pregnancy as a whole is process - before and after the arrival of the little one. We will explore beginning with the proces of pregnancy through the 9 months followed by the delivery and upbringing..
The beginning of a new life inside you begins at conception which is the beginning of the blessing...conceiving a little life is not the easiest of things and many women have been unfortunate so as not to conceive.
However assuming you have conceived, the process now begins and we shall look at this step by step month wise. Also in a different forum we shall discuss conception and related.
AM I PREGNANT? Top ten signs to look out for to confirm pregnancy are as below:
1. Missed period: If your period is usually regular, this could be the first sign. if you are one of those who has irregular periods then you will have to look out for other signs such as tender and swollen breasts, nausea and frequent urination cycles.
2. Nausea- Morning sickness- 90% of the women undergo what we call as morning sickness around a month after conception. Mind you this is not defined strictly to happen only during the early morning, this varies from woman to woman- Some women could feel this in the morning, some during the day, some evening and some may be even so lucky to miss out all together!
3. Fatigue: Getting tired? this is one of the possible signs. Sleepiness and fatigue crawl into pregnancy as early as the 1st months. This is possibly due to the increased levels of the pregnancy hormones.
4. Tender/swollen breasts: this again is due to the increased levels of hormones rushing through your systems.
5.Increased sensitivity to Odours: many women are sensitive to certain odours and also do start choosing between the different food items.
6. increased bathroom trips: many women find that upon conception and after, their trips for urination increase. This is because the amount of blood and other fluids in the body increase thus leading more fluids to be processed ny the kidneys.
7. Abdominal swelling: Some women tend to swell during the first few months of their pregnancy- this is also hormone related.
The above are just basic signs to identify pregnancy. Ofcourse to confirm the same it would be advisable either to carry out a home pregnancy test or see your gynaecologist or even better both. Home Pregnancy tests are quite useful and do work- HOWEVER please make note that one has to be atleast 2-3 weeks pregant for the home kit to detect pregnancy. Thus the best advised would be to see your gynae and get a confirmed result.
PREGNANCY STAGES:
Now that we have confirmation on the pregancy let us discuss further. As you are possibly aware the gestation is divided into 3 equal stages: 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimester. We shall discuss each stage:
1st TRIMESTER:
This consists of the 1st 13weeks of the gestation cycle: from fertilization, to implantation and growth of the feteus.
The feteus is created when the sperm hits the eggs and fertilization takes place. This then further divides into many cells thus foring the baby and the placenta. The placenta is the medium for providing the growing feteus with oxygen and food.
Your baby develops his fingers, toes, nose, ears etc during this time. In the brain nerve cells are also forming and branching out to connect with one another. BY 9 weeks, your little one is the an inch ...about the size of a grape.also at this stage, the baby hearts' 4 chambers have developed and so have the teeth. She/he is begiining to look more human now from the earlier tadpole like shape. AT 12 weeks, your babys fingers will begin to open and close, and the toes will curl and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder. By now the baby weighs half an ounce and is about 2 inches long.
Coming to the last week of this trimester we see fingerprints have formed on her fingers; her organs and nerves are all visible through her skin. by the end of this week, your baby is an ounce and 3 inches long.
2nd TRIMESTER:
Hurray your baby has now grown to the size of a lemon and he is even able
to suck his thumb! Hes body is now growing faster than hes head which rests on a firm neck. Hes arms by the end of this week will have grown proportionate to his body, and his spleen is also producing red blood cells. The babys hands and legs are more active now, and he kicks and punches- though you cannot feel it at this stage. At 16 weeks your baby is the size of an avacado 4 1/2 inches long, and 3 ounces of weight. hes eyes have now moved closer together; hes legs are more developed than earlier, and his head is also more erect.
At 18weeks your baby is now able to flex his arms and legs, and very soon you will be able to feel the movements.
AT 20weeks, the length of your baby is that of a banana and he weighs around 10ounces. hes digestive system is more active now and he is swallowing more.
Your baby now looks like a little new born at 22weeks. hes toothbuds are now developiong, and his lips, eyes eyelids abd eye brows are more distinct. A foot long at 24weeks, the toothbuds are still developing further, and hes body and brain are growing steadily.
At 27weeks you will now be able to talk to the little life in your womb as he is now able to hear you and your partner. Hes breathing movements are also now in place and he takes in alittle of the surrounding amniotic fluid.
At the end of the 2nd trimester at 28weeks your baby weighs around 2 pounds, and is abt 14.5inches long. he now sleeps and wakes up at regular intervals, and may also be sucking on his fingers.
3rd TRIMESTER:
Well done..you have sucessfully crossed the hardest time of the gestation cycles and now into your 28th week of pregnancy. your baby at this stage should weight about the size of a chinese cabbage i.e 2 1/4 pounds. hey eye sight is developed enough to detect light.
At 29 weeks your baby is growing really fast and since his bones require alot of calcium you will be required to intake alot of calcium in form of milk and additional supplements. in addition to this you will also need folic acid, vitamin c and other minerals to accomodate his growth needs. His lungs and muscles continue to mature.
32weeks shows us your baby at 17inches of length. From this stage onwards you can expect to gain a pound a week from till delivery your baby will be adding fat to herself. Your baby also has nice skin and has hair too.
At 35 weeks your baby is fully occupying your uterus and thus will not be able to summersolt as much as earlier, however you should still feel the same number of kicks as earlier. Also his kidneys are fully developed and secreting the required waste products. The development stage is now over and for the rest of the weeks your baby will spend time gaining weight as will you!
37weeks- you have successfully completed the labour term- many congrats!
39weeks- Your baby continues to add fat to maintain his body tempertaure, however he is now ever ready to arrive into the world!
41 weeks- after months of anticipation and excitement we are now at the end of the gestation period and need to gear uo for the delivery which could be any time from now. for some women its as early as 37 weeks. however this varies from women to women.
We shall in the next forum study the related forum to pregnancy.
PREGNANCY PROBLEMS:
As exciting as pregnancy is it can also be a challenge for both the woman and the partner. All pregnancies are different and vary from woman to woman. Pregnancy involves not just physical changes in a womans appearance but more of emotional changes which come about as a result of the hormonal changes.
1. Fatigue:One of the most common problems experienced is fatigue: Many ladies feel very tired - this is due to the growing feteus.
2. Mood swings:Also due to emotional changes, one may lose her temper very frequently or cries at the smallest of issues, and will experience mood swings
3. Vaginal Bleeding: Some women may even experience slight vaginal bleeding. In such a case, please contact your doctor immediately.
4. Leg Cramps: During the later stages or in some women also during early stages, one may experience leg cramps or what we call pins and needles. this is due to the changing pressure levels.
5. Infections: Pregnant women are prone to Urinary Tract infections (UTI's), which can result in fever, backaches and burning sensations when passing urine. Seek medical advise.
6. Contractions: Some women may experience abdominal pain. this is due to the uterine contractions.
7. Headaches: Some women esp those with history of migraine may undergo frequent head aches. Discuss this with your doctor as this history is important during your gestation period as well as during delivery.
