You may not have known, but the onset of pregnancy is not calculated from the day of conception. Its beginning is from the last day of the previous menstruation, although at this moment of pregnancy there is still no, and there is no ovulation, the egg is not yet fertilized. Pregnancy is counted from this day, because every time a woman starts menstruating, her body prepares for pregnancy. Starting from this date, doctors use the standard measure, because on average the pregnancy lasts 280 days, and it is extremely difficult to accurately determine the day of fertilization. So, pregnancy: the first trimester for weeks - the development of the fetus will be the topic of this article.
1 and 2 weeks
What changed?
You have recently run out of months, and you are thinking about pregnancy. When you try to get pregnant, you definitely need to understand the process of ovulation. It occurs when a mature egg leaves the ovary, passes through the oviduct and is ready for fertilization. The uterus becomes thicker to prepare itself for the introduction of a fertilized egg.
What should you plan for this week
Make sure that you have prepared the body for pregnancy. The main thing is to maintain a healthy weight, a balanced diet, take vitamins and 400 mcg of folic acid daily. You should also avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol. If you are taking medicine, ask your doctor if they are safe during pregnancy.
What to do to make pregnancy healthy?
The most important thing you can do now is act as if you already know that you are pregnant. Before you know that the egg was fertilized, it may take several weeks. Therefore, in advance, protect yourself and your future child from anything that can cause problems.
3 week
You probably do not even know that you are pregnant, but your body already knows about it. Fertilization is complete. Surprisingly, the genetic code of your child is already preserved at the time of conception - his sex, all inherited characteristics, including the color of the eyes, hair, skin, body structure. Your child is already there!
What changed?
At the end of this week, you may notice small spotting. This is the so-called implantation spot, associated with the attachment of the embryo to the wall of the uterus. The process begins six days after fertilization, but there is no complete certainty about this. In any case, the staining is very small and occurs in a minority of pregnant women. Most of them do not even notice the special changes.
How your child grows
From the very beginning, your child is a tiny ball, consisting of several hundred cells, which multiply at a dizzying pace. When cells (so-called blastocysts) nest in the uterus, your body begins to produce hCG hormone - gonadotropin. It gives a signal to the ovaries to stop the production of oocytes and increase the production of estrogen and progesterone. HGH hormone gives a positive pregnancy test. Thus, during the test at the end of this week you may find that you are pregnant. If the test is negative - in the next two to three days you can do the test again. In the first trimester, around the embryo, amniotic fluid begins to accumulate weekly, which is a kind of protection and cushion for the baby during pregnancy. Currently, the main stages of fetal development: begins to develop its head and spinal cord, heart, excretory system.
What should you plan for this week
Your child takes over from you everything you do - both good and bad. Now, you should avoid alcohol, certain medicines, foods, caffeine and cigarettes. Think about what and how much you eat during pregnancy, since nutrition is now particularly important. Folic acid and other essential nutrients and vitamins for fetal development must necessarily be in the diet.
What to do to make pregnancy healthy?
Your body is currently undergoing some drastic changes, and this can be difficult for you at first. Try to rest and eat well. Take time to relax and enjoy peace.
4 week
Your child has found his home - this is your womb. Once the fetus has entered the uterus, it connects closely with you for the next eight months (and then for life).
What changed?
You can already identify the first signs of pregnancy, such as swelling of the breasts, headache or back pain. Many women in the first trimester have no pregnancy symptoms, except for delay. If you do not have a monthly schedule, you can take a pregnancy test. This is the earliest time at which by using a home test a pregnancy can be determined.
How your child grows
Tiny cells of the blastocyst comfortably embedded in the lining of your uterus and divided into two parts. One of them will become a placenta that will nourish a child. The second part is the embryo itself. Now, the embryo has three different layers of cells that will develop in the part of your child's body. The inner layer is the future digestive system, liver and lungs. The middle layer is the heart, sex organs, bones, kidneys and muscles. The outer layer is the nervous system, hair, skin and eyes.
What should you plan for this week
If you have made a home pregnancy test and the result is positive, go to your doctor and register. If the test gives a negative result - wait a week before doing the test again. In some women, the detectable hormone level of pregnancy appears only 2, 3 weeks after embryo introduction into the uterus. Doctors, as a rule, do not agree to register a woman before eight weeks from the last month. This is the best time to register, if there are no medical problems, and there were no problems with the previous pregnancy.
What to do to make pregnancy healthy?
If you are taking any medications, ask if you can continue taking them. You should drink multivitamins that contain at least 400 micrograms. folic acid. This has a positive effect on the development of the fetus. The next six weeks are very important for the development of your child. The basic substances are already in the placenta and umbilical cord, which provide nutrition and oxygen for your child. Through the placenta, the child receives what you give him. Try to make sure that the child gets everything you need.
5 week
The level of hCG is already high enough and can be detected during a home pregnancy test. So you can confirm that you are expecting a baby!
What changed?
Serious delay is one of the most obvious signs that you are pregnant. But there will be others: a feeling of fatigue and the sensitivity of the chest, a wave of nausea or a sharpened sense of smell. So your body reacts to a new state for itself. The most frequent sign of the onset of pregnancy is an increased body temperature.
How your child grows
Your child now looks more like a tadpole than a child. His heart beats smoothly, the shape of the eyes and ears is already forming. The acquisition of the form of your child begins.
What should you plan for this week
If you are still looking for a doctor, try to limit the range of candidates for the organization of the first visit. Already this week you should exclude contact with pets. Only if you are absolutely sure that the animal is healthy. Toxoplasmosis is a disease that can be transmitted by contact with an infected cat. He is very dangerous for the child! Toxoplasmosis causes birth defects and deformities or simply kills a child.
What to do to make pregnancy healthy?
The fluctuations in the level of hormones within the next nine months and all physical changes can be hard to tolerate by you. You seem to be taking part in an experiment that will change your life. Do not be surprised if within one hour you will feel alternately flushed with happiness and oppressed, angry, as well as sentimental, strong or hurt, lazy.
6 week
The child is too young to listen to his stethoscope, he looks like a tiny throbbing point in the middle of the embryo. From this time until the birth of your child, his heart will beat about 150 times a minute - twice as often as the heart of an adult.
What changed?
This week, you have good and bad news. It's good that your body has increased the amount of progesterone. This hormone is responsible for protecting against infections and the formation of blood vessels in the mucous membrane of the uterine wall when your child is in a shelter. The bad news is that progesterone slows the digestion process, causing nausea in almost two-thirds of pregnant women. Nausea, known as morning, in spite of its name, can attack you at any time of the day or night. This can happen with varying strength - from subtle indisposition to prolonged vomiting with pain in the stomach.
How your child grows
His heart beats and blood begins to circulate around the body. The intestine is formed, there is a nucleus from the connective tissue, lungs develop. His pituitary body is formed, as well as other parts of the brain, muscles and bones. The arms and legs are marked, fingers develop on their ends.
What should you plan for this week
At this time it is very important to determine the blood groups: you, your husband and the child. The blood of each person belongs to one of four types. Blood groups are determined by the types of antigens that occur on the surface of blood cells. Antigens on the surface of blood cells are involved in the formation of your child's immune system.
What to do to make pregnancy healthy?
Some women complain that the vitamins that must be taken during pregnancy cause stomach upset. If you have a problem, you can take vitamins with food or take before going to bed. If your symptoms, caused by taking vitamins, persist - consult a doctor.
7th week
What changed?
Your chest, of course, is more than ever sensitive to touching. This is mainly due to an increase in the amount of estrogen and progesterone. The volume of fat increases in the chest and blood circulation in this area improves. Nipples can protrude more than usual, and they are very sensitive. The halo around the nipple becomes darker and larger. You can also see tiny spots that look like goose bumps - these are sweat glands. Your breast will take about 33 weeks to prepare for breastfeeding.
How your child grows
From the body begin to grow arms and legs. Your child is still called an embryo, he has something like a tail (this is an extension of the tailbone), which will disappear within a few weeks. Your child has tiny eyes, only partially covered with a film that already has a color. The tip of the nose is visible. Increase of the intestinal loop in the umbilical cord. The umbilical cord is provided with blood vessels, which in turn provide oxygen and nutrients to the embryo.
What should you plan for this week
If you have not chosen a doctor, this is the time to resolve this issue. Be sure to register. Especially if you have spotting on your underwear or toilet paper after urinating. This is quite common in early pregnancy, but sometimes it can be the first sign of miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy. If you have spotting or bleeding - call a doctor.
What to do to make pregnancy healthy?
If you suffer from morning sickness, follow these tips:
- Eat a little, but often
- For 15 minutes, before you get out of bed, eat a cracker
- Have a lot of rest during the day
- Sniff the lemon and ginger to reduce nausea
- Do not eat spicy foods
8th week
Congratulations, your embryo is already at the final stage of formation! This week the embryo is reborn as a fetus. Before getting pregnant, your uterus was the size of a fist, and now it's like a grapefruit.
What changed?
You're tired? These are hormonal changes - in particular, a radical increase in progesterone - which can contribute to your fatigue. Nausea and vomiting, of course, costs you a lot of strength and energy. Next, you expect other difficulties - you are uncomfortable to sleep, you often go to the toilet.
How your child grows
Fingers begin to protrude from the arms and legs of the child, the eyelids practically cover the eyes, the trachea and lungs develop, the "tail" dies. In the brain, the nerve cells branch out, combining with each other and creating an original neural network. Now you can dream about what sex your child is. But his genitals are not yet sufficiently developed to determine visually whether this is a boy or a girl.
What should you plan for this week
You can go to the first survey after registration. The doctor will necessarily make a comprehensive picture of your pregnancy, ask about the medical history, the date of the last menstruation, the methods of contraception used by you, the history of abortions or childbirth, hospital stay, the possibility of allergy to medicines, and illnesses in your family. You can also rely on cytological and bacteriological examination and ultrasound. For you it is an opportunity to ask your questions.
What to do to make pregnancy healthy?
During the first trimester of pregnancy, some women with oily skin develop a penchant for acne. If you use tonics and lotions to solve these problems, it is very important to know what they contain. Ask your doctor if it is safe to use them.
9 week
Development of the fetus continues. Your child is growing every day by a millimeter, and more like a child.
What changed?
Continuation of pregnancy may not yet affect your waistline. But, perhaps, you already feel that you are pregnant. To morning sickness and swollen chest sharp mood swings are joined. All this is absolutely normal - try to relax. In most women, mood swings increase from about 6 to 10 weeks and disappear in the second trimester to reappear at the end of pregnancy.
How your child grows
The fetus begins to look more like a human being. Almost formed the shape of the mouth, nose and eyelids. Your child's heart is divided into four chambers, his tiny teeth begin to form. Muscles and nerves are formed. External genitalia have already appeared, but they can be distinguished only after a few weeks. The eyes of the child were fully formed, but the eyelids are closed until the 27th week. Now that the main organs are already in place, your child begins to gain weight.
What should you plan for this week
If you are older than 35 years or in your family there is experience of genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis, you can turn to geneticists. Talk with your doctor to conduct a prenatal examination for amniocentesis. This study, which can be conducted between 9 and 12 weeks of pregnancy. It can detect chromosomal abnormalities (ie Down syndrome) and genetic disorders with a high degree of probability (98-99%).
What to do to make pregnancy healthy?
Common complaints at this stage of pregnancy are heartburn. You can avoid heartburn if you eat small portions throughout the day instead of the typical three large portions. You can also lie down after a meal, and also give up acute and fatty foods.
10th week
What changed?
Of course, you noticed that your skin becomes more transparent, through it veins are visible. This is even more obvious if you have fair skin, but it can also be observed in women with darker skin. This is the result of the expansion of the vessels, because now the body needs to drive out more blood that is necessary for the fetal nutrition. During pregnancy, the amount of blood in the body of a woman increases from 20 to 40 percent. When a child is born and the period of breastfeeding ends, the visible veins under the skin will disappear without a trace.
How your child grows
Your child really takes on a human face. Bones and cartilages are formed, small grooves on the legs turn into knees and ankles. The child can already bend his knees. Teeth form on the gums. Your baby's stomach produces digestive juices, the kidneys produce more urine. If your child is a boy, his body is already producing testosterone. Incredible!
What should you plan for this week
Between the 12th and 16th week of pregnancy, you must go to a second visit to the doctor. Your doctor can perform an ultrasound that will allow you to see your baby for the first time. Your doctor may use a doppler to listen to the child's heartbeat. He will talk with you about the first movements of the fetus, which, although usually occur between 13 and 16 weeks, but can be felt before.
What to do to make pregnancy healthy?
Despite the fact that you are pregnant, you can perform exercises to stay in shape. It is best to talk with your doctor about which activities are most appropriate for you. Most doctors recommend walking and swimming, as these exercises do not shock you and can be used throughout pregnancy.
11th week
You suddenly feel an irresistible desire to eat a whole grapefruit, steak or a packet of chips. This pregnancy provokes such cravings. You can start eating something that you never liked, or give up previously loved foods. This is a theory that says that your body requires what it lacks. As a rule, it is vitamin C, iron and salt.
What changed?
Your stomach may start to protrude a little (although it still does not look as if you are pregnant). But even if your stomach is still flat, like a board (pregnancy starts to be visible at different times), you feel that your jeans have become small. The reason is bloating. The waste gases carry the hormone of pregnancy - progesterone. Progesterone relaxes the smooth muscles - including the gastrointestinal tract - which slows digestion. Thus, blood is given more time to absorb nutrients and transfer them to the baby.
How your child grows
Your child's body is almost completely formed. His (or her) hands are able to unclench and clench fists, and some bones are already starting to harden. The child starts to move a little. The frequency of these movements will increase with increasing body weight and the development of your child. They can already feel a little woman.
What should you plan for this week
If in the first weeks of pregnancy you were tormented by morning sickness, then until now you just lost, but did not gain weight. Try not to worry, most women gain a few pounds during the first trimester. If you are concerned, talk to your doctor. During pregnancy, women recover on average by 12-20 kg.
What to do to make pregnancy healthy?
Give up food that can harm your baby - for example, soft cheeses and raw meat. If heartburn disturbs you, leave dishes with spicy sauces and condiments. According to old superstitions, hunting citrus eating shows that there will be a girl, and craving for meat promises a boy.
12th week
What changed?
You are approaching the end of the first trimester of pregnancy - the first trimester for weeks in the development of the fetus plays a huge role. Your uterus currently has the size of a large grapefruit, moves from the bottom of the pelvis upward. This can reduce pressure on the bladder and there will no longer be a constant need to run to the toilet. In addition, other early symptoms of pregnancy disappear - nausea decreases, the chest stops ache, food aversion and fatigue disappear. But in return, dizziness may begin. Your blood vessels relax and expand to increase blood flow to the baby. This leads to the fact that the blood returns more slowly to you. The less blood, the less pressure and less blood flow to the brain. All this can contribute to the formation of dizziness. Another reason for these complaints during pregnancy is low blood sugar, which happens when you eat irregularly.
How your child grows
This week, your child begins to develop reflexes. Soon the child's fingers will straighten and bend. The child can close his eyes and perform sucking movements. If you touch the stomach, the child can react with the turn of the head, however you can not feel it. At this time, rapidly multiplying the cells of your child's nerves and brain. The correct form takes on the face of the child: the eyes are placed on the front side of the head, and the ears on the sides, exactly where they should be.
What should you plan for this week
If you work, you should soon tell your boss that you are pregnant. It is important that you do this professionally: gather information about your rights and company policy regarding maternity leave, come with a plan that specifies how much time you need for medical examinations during pregnancy. If you want to change working hours, say so now.
What to do to make pregnancy healthy?
If you feel dizzy or faint - lie down or sit down, clutching your head between your knees. Breathe deeply and loosen close clothing. As soon as you feel better, you can eat or drink something.