During your pregnancy

Pregnancy lasts about nine months, or 40 weeks, and is divided into three stages or trimesters. This guide will tell you what to expect at each stage as well as giving practical advice about what preparations you should be making.

First Trimester (Weeks 1-13)

Your Body
The first trimester can often be the worst, with many women experiencing morning sickness and fatigue as their body adjusts to being pregnant. Morning sickness is caused by an increase in the levels of hormones in the body and despite the name can actually happen at any time of the day or even night. If you find that your morning sickness is very bad, you might want to speak to your doctor as it is possible to become dehydrated if you are very sick.

It’s important in the early stages of pregnancy to stay as healthy as possible and avoid coming into contact with anyone who may be ill. Chicken pox and rubella are dangerous if encountered at this stage of pregnancy. Also you should avoid environmental hazards such as cat litter trays as they contain lots of bacteria which may be harmful.

Your body may also experience other changes such as bleeding gums. Make sure to practice good dental hygiene and make an appointment to see your dentist - NHS dental treatment is free in pregnancy.


Your Baby
Your baby will develop and a phenomenal rate during the first few weeks of pregnancy. By week seven it will have the beginnings of limbs, the brain is developing and even the buds for teeth!

In week eight, fingers and toes will form and your baby will begin to move, although it is too early for you to feel this yet.

At the end of the first trimester your baby will weigh about 18g and measure about 7.5 cms and will have defined shape. Internal organs such as lungs will have developed and facial features will be appearing. At this stage the head accounts for half the total body length.


Useful Advice

• Confirm your pregnancy - you can a wide range of pregnancy testing kits at pharmacies which are usually very accurate.
• Visit your doctor to have you pregnancy officially conformed.
• Understand your antenatal care – Read up about what you will need to do during your pregnancy regarding diet and fitness as well as advice about things to avoid.
• Decide where to have your baby – it’s not too early to start making decisions about the kind of birth you want to have and also where you want to have your baby.
• Know your maternity rights and benefits.
  
• Apply for a maternity exemption certificat.
• Make an appointment with a dentist for your free dental check-up
  

Second Trimester (Weeks 13-28)

The second trimester covers weeks 13 to 28 of your pregnancy and can be the busiest time of a pregnancy in terms of what your body experiences.

You
Your baby will be moving enough for you to feel it at around week 16-18. You may mistake it for indigestion at first as it feels a bit like this!

You may develop a linea nigra down the middle of your stomach as your uterus expands, and your areola (the area around your nipples) will darken. Hopefully by this stage your morning sickness will have stopped but it is not unusual for women to continue to experience this throughout the whole pregnancy. Other symptoms may develop however, such as varicose veins and stretch marks. You can buy many different products which claim to help reduce stretch marks and scarring. If you are unsure about any of them, talk to your doctor before you start using them. Some women find that they get heartburn suring this stage of pregnancy as well as the need to go to the toilet more frequently because of the pressure on your bladder as the uterus expands.

If you begin to feel extremely tired and listless and look pale at this time, you may find that you are anaemic and should consult your doctor about taking extra iron supplements to boost your iron levels.

It is possible that at the end of the second trimester you might experience practice contractions called Braxton Hicks. There is no need to panic as it is just your body preparing itself for labour. It might be a sign that you are overdoing it and should probably take things a bit easier

Your Baby
At this stage your baby will have developed fingers and toenails and can even suck their thumb! Hair grows by weeks 14-15 including eyebrows.The skin becomes covered in a thick white substance called vernix, helping protect and moisturise.

Your baby will develop tatse buds at this stage and can absorb the sugars and water from the amniotic fluid which surrounds it in the womb.

At the end of this trimester your baby will weigh around 570g and measure approximately 33cms. It is possible that babies that are born prematurely at 24 weeks will survive, even though their lungs are not fully developed to be able to breathe on their own.

 

Useful Advice

• You may need to updaye your wardrobe to accommodate you larger belly!
  
• Tell Your employer that you are preganant andmake arrangements about your maternity leave.
  
• Think about whether you want to breast or bottle for your newborn. Take a look at our advice about feeding to help you decide.
• Prepare the nursery and get everything you will need for the baby. In the third trimester you may find that you are very tired and it is good to be prepared for this.
• Arrange for MatB1 certificate. This certificate is given to you by your midwife and includes your estimated due date(EDD). You will need this to give to your HR department.

Third Trimester (Weeks 28-40)

The final trimester is the time that your body prepares itself for labour.

You
During the third trimester you may find that you need to increase certain vitamins and nutrients in your diet such as calcium and vitamin D Your baby will be taking more of these vitamins from you as its bones develop.

As the baby grows and your uterus expands, you may find that you can breathe less deeply and get out of breath more easily. You may also experience more backache so be sure to take plenty of rest. This will also help stop your blood pressure getting to high. You should also be aware that this is the time that you are in danger of developing pre-eclampsia so if you notice that you have very swollen ankles and wrists you should consult your docor.

You may have leakage from your breasts. This is called colostrum and it happens in preparation for breastfeeding by 30 weeks.

As the final week 40 approaches, the Braxton Hicks 'practice' contractions will increase.

Your Baby
In the third trimester your baby’s senses will have developed so that it is able to hear and recognise your voice. Playing relaxing music to your baby is thought to help it be calm and has even been suggested to increase intelligence. You can find out about some recommended music to play your baby in our baby music guide.

The development is now nearly complete so much so that your baby will have individual fingerprints and a preference for the left or right hand.

Your baby will gains up to 227g of weight per week and by 36 weeks should have its head down and be ready to engage in the pelvis.

Your baby’s immune system will get a final boost as your antibodies pass into your baby's bloodstream which will help your baby in the first six months of life.