Trimesters of Pregnancy
Did you know that your pregnancy is divided into three trimesters of pregnancy:
The first trimester of pregnancy: from the 1st week to the 13th week.
The second trimester of pregnancy: from the 14th week to the 26th week.
The third trimester of pregnancy: from the 27th week until the birth of your baby.
Trimesters of Pregnancy Notes:
Your pregnancy is based on 280 days which is 10 lunar months - ten 28 day periods - or 40 weeks.
Most babies are born between 38 and 42 weeks even though if you have an OBGYN he will usually not let you go "overdue" - over 40 weeks.
Your pregnancy is term at 37 weeks, if born at that time your baby is NOT premature.
A fun fact: The first two weeks of a pregnancy, you are actually not pregnant!
That's right.
The duration of your pregnancy -
due date -
is calculated from the first day of
your last menstrual period. This means that from the first day to about day 14 you are indeed not pregnant!
Trimesters of Pregnancy: Your Body
You and your baby are going to go through many changes from conception until birth. As your baby grows, your amazing body will nurture and
accomodate his growth.
All your prenatal visits will be tailored around your trimesters of pregnancy.
Your first visit will more than likely occur around
8 to 10 weeks.
Other visits will follow:
Every four weeks until 28 weeks
Every two weeks until the 36th week
After that time, your prenatal visits will be weekly until
your baby's birth.
What Will Happen at My Prenatal Appointments?
Each prenatal visits, your care provider will:
Take your blood pressure:
A rising blood pressure - accompanied by other symptoms - can be a sign of pre-eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia - toxemia - can be life
threatening for both you and your baby.
The good news is that pre-eclampsia is preventable through sound nutrition
and supplementation.
Take a urine sample:
Toxemia is often accompanied by the spilling of protein in the urine. Other things such as gestational diabetes
and bladder infection
can also be detected through a urine test.
Towards the end - the position of your baby will be assessed.
If you are so blessed to have a midwife, she will use the art of palpation.
Palpation is the feeling of your uterus and your baby through the hands of your
care giver.
A good midwife will be able to assess your baby's position as well as her weight through this method.
Listen to your baby's heart tones
At about 10 weeks, your baby's heartbeat can be heard with a Doppler - a hand held device which
uses ultrasound technology.
If you are unsure about the
safety of ultrasound waves, you can request that a fetoscope be used. A fetoscope is a tad like a stethoscope and it is designed
to listen to a baby's heartbeat.
The
only drawback of a fetoscope is that you will need to wait until at least 20 weeks to hear your baby's heartbeat. However, rest assured
that if your uterus is growing then
so is your baby and you do not need to hear a heart-beat as early as 10 weeks to know everything is okay.
Stages in Pregnancy:
You want to learn more about the changes that will occur in you as well as your baby's development? Then click on the trimester that interests you.
|
