Congratulations! You’re having a baby, and that’s a pretty big deal. Already, you may be stocking up on pregnancy knowledge from books and the internet and it can be a little overwhelming. Some sources may contradict each other on the amount of exercise you are allowed to do, and then there’s the debate on whether or not you may actually be able to induce labor yourself. Let us save you a little bit of stress by compiling all the most popular questions, concerns, and fun facts right here in one guide:
The First Trimester
Pregnancy consists of three trimesters, or three consecutive three month periods. That equates to roughly 36 weeks, but then why do some pregnancy sites say 40 weeks is full-term? Truthfully, that last elusive month is the time during which you actually conceived to when your body could tell you that you were pregnant. A full-term pregnancy is considered 40 weeks, or about ten months—although the first four weeks aren’t noticeable.
The first trimester is notorious for morning sickness, exhaustion, and mood swings: all signs of major adjustments going on inside your body. Even if this isn’t your first pregnancy, every pregnancy is different. Before you can let your mother-in-law bully you into a breakfast of carrot juice for cramps or some other weird concoction the internet coughed up, let us help:
What Your Body is Doing
By the end of your first trimester, your fetus will have a nose and lips, and begin to produce urine. You will be able to hear the heartbeat, and about the size of goldfish. However, the beginning stages of pregnancy can feel a lot like PMS with cramps, mood swings, acne, and tender breasts. How can you know the process? We have a weekly chart for you:
Weeks 1 and 2
These two weeks typically aren’t noticed by you: the sperm is waiting for you to ovulate so that it can fertilize the egg. Then the egg will travel to the uterus and begin dividing into cells, which is the beginning of the embryonic stage of pregnancy. Likely, if you take a pregnancy test the first day you’ve missed your period, you may receive a false negative and have to wait a week before a clear result. A better sign is unusual tenderness in your breasts, which can show up within a week of getting pregnant.
Week 3
This is the first week of actual fetal development, which consists of a lot of basic growth. The foundation for the brain, spinal cord, heart, and gastrointestinal tract is being created. Now that you know you’re pregnant, you should cut out any alcohol and drugs, switch to prenatal vitamins, and schedule an appointment with your doctor.
Week 4 and 5
The buds of limbs, eyes, and ears have begun to form, and the heart has developed a steady rhythm. The placenta has also begun to form, producing hormones of its own. By the end of the first month, your fetus is about ¼ of an inch long. During this stage of pregnancy, your body is working constantly to ensure a successful foundation, which leaves you exhausted. Light vaginal bleeding may occur, and is perfectly normal. You may already experience an aversion to certain foods, frequent urination, nausea, and backaches.
Why am I so tired
Truthfully, the fetus isn’t taking all of your energy. To accommodate carrying another life, your body has to make some serious changes. Your heart, for example, now needs to carry blood all throughout your body in a heartbeat—and now it has to carry it to the fetus, too. That’s a lot of work for one vessel, meaning your heart is working overtime for about nine months. It’s no wonder you’re so tired!
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Week 6
This is around the time an ultrasound could detect a fetal heartbeat. The fetal heart will beat over 54 million times before birth. The formation of lungs, jaw, and palate has begun, and the hands and feet are present although webbed. At about a ½ inch in length, the fetus is barely detectable. With the increase in hormones, you can expect an increase in nausea, mood swings, and exhaustion. Despite being tired, exercising may help your body cope with the stress of creating another life. Before you can get super down about morning sickness, keep this in mind: researchers have linked morning sickness with lower risk of miscarriage and breast cancer.
Week 7 and 8
By the end of the second month, the fetus has every part an adult human has, just on a much smaller scale. The bones are just beginning to form, and the muscles can contract. The mucus on your cervix also begins to thicken in a protective coating, although you may or may not notice the change in your waistline. At just the size of an inch, the embryo officially reaches the fetal development stage of pregnancy. If you haven’t experienced morning sickness by this point, you likely won’t for the rest of your pregnancy. Light bleeding is still a common occurrence, and nothing to panic over.
Weeks 9 through 13
During this last month of the first trimester, your fetus begins to grow more frequently. The genitalia have clearly formed into male or female, although it would be impossible to detect on an ultrasound. At just around 3 inches in length, the fetus is still incredibly small, although the head has reached the size of about half the entire fetus. Your morning sickness may get worse, but during this last month it will slowly start to get better as your risk for miscarriage decreases. Your breasts may grow up to two cup sizes larger with the production of breast milk and your weight gain may begin to pick up.
First Trimester Pregnancy: Fact or Fiction?
Now that you know what to expect, let’s address those crazy tips your friends and relatives keep trying to give you. While you may think you know which ones are myths, you just may be surprised:
You can’t eat whatever you want
False…within reason. While you don’t want to overload yourself on sweets and caffeine, the diet restrictions aren’t nearly as confining as you may have been led to believe. Instead of three large meals, break it down into five or six over the course of one day to help keep your blood sugar stable. While a healthy mix of vegetables and fruits is always going to be recommended, an ice cream sundae isn’t going to hurt you—or your baby. While some foods are harmful, like mackerel or undercooked meat, the list is a lot smaller than you may have been led to believe.
So should I eat for two?
Sorry, ladies. Pregnancy is no excuse for over-eating. In all reality, the average infant is only around seven pounds at birth—meaning the rest of the extra weight is due to water and what you’ve ate. Babies larger than average have a higher risk for obesity and diabetes later in life. A fetus only requires around 300 extra calories per day, so eat accordingly.
Exercise is bad for you
False. Exercise can actually help relieve some of the stress from your body. Although certain activities, like weight lifting or kickboxing, may no longer be possible, the majority of activities that get you moving are going to be doctor-approved. In fact, if you used to be incredibly active prior to pregnancy, it’s important to remain active. Just take Alysia Montano, a U.S. Track and Field runner, who completed the 800m race just a few days ago at 34 weeks pregnant.
Playing music for the womb may help development
True, to a point. While the fetus is susceptible to the outside world during pregnancy, it’s more concerned with developing a sense of the outside world than it is developing taste in music. Look at it this way: nearly everything you encounter while pregnant will be shared in some way with the fetus, and that goes beyond food and smells. Your fetus will adjust its sense of the world based on what you encounter: it can prepare for scarce food resources if you aren’t eating enough. It can also contribute to the likelihood of developing diseases later in life. This amazing feat is part of what gives humans the enormous flexibility they have.
You can tell the sex before an ultrasound
False. It’s impossible to tell what’s going on with your fetus outside of the womb, although new research has begun to suggest that other factors may be able to help you decipher the sex. Women experiencing severe morning sickness have a slightly greater chance (53%) of carrying a girl; however, carrying “lower” in your abdomen appears to have no effect on gender.
Questions and Concerns
This early on in the pregnancy, there isn’t much to worry about aside from scheduling an appointment with your doctor. They can make sure everything is as it should be, and you can cut out alcohol, tobacco, and drugs to ensure healthy growth. Pre-natal vitamins are an excellent source of nutrients you’ll need to help your baby develop, and an ultrasound can detect a heartbeat towards the end of this stage. Otherwise, the first trimester isn’t nearly as exciting as the second and third.
Just a few reminders
The first ten weeks are when your risk for a miscarriage is highest, so some women wait until after the ten week mark to share the good news. Tests for any chromosomal abnormalities or gender testing cannot happen until the second trimester, although morning sickness should have ceased by then.
If we haven’t already covered the questions you may have, contact us! We’re happy to discuss all of the changes you can expect during pregnancy—whether this is your first or fourteenth!