During pregnancy the body of a woman undergoes changes to help the baby to develop and grow. A complete pregnancy term may take forty weeks, which can be divided in three trimesters. The first trimester lasts for the initial twelve weeks, the second trimester stays up to the twenty-eight weeks and the last trimester completes in forty weeks.
In different trimesters, the body of the mother and the baby changes and in different phases of pregnancy, different parts of the baby grows inside the womb of the mother.
1. In the first four weeks, the brain and the heart of the baby grow.
2. By the eighth week, the organs such as fingers, legs and face grow.
3. As the twelfth week of pregnancy completes, the sex organs of the baby develops and during this phase, one can find out if it is a baby boy or a girl. Many women go for ultrasound after the twelfth week to find out if it is a baby boy or a girl.
4. After twelve weeks, the muscles and the skin form.
5. By sixteen weeks, the baby moves and after twenty weeks, the baby becomes active.
6. Bone marrow and blood cells are formed with the completion of twenty weeks. After twenty weeks, the hair of the baby starts growing on its head and the fingerprints and footprints are also formed. If it is a baby boy, the testicles are formed and if it is a baby girl, the ovaries are formed as the twenty four weeks of pregnancy completes.
7. The lungs are formed and the baby starts sleeping and waking up, after the twenty four weeks.
8. By thirty weeks, the baby starts breathing and gains weight.
9. In the thirty six week, the protective wax cover on the baby gets thicker and by forty weeks, the baby is positioned head down to get out.
The complete phase of nine months can be divided in three trimesters.
First trimester: It is the time period of first twelve weeks.
1. The mother may feel extreme tiredness, upset stomach, distaste for food, mood swings, body pain, restlessness, headache, weight gain or loss, and morning sickness.
2. In the first few weeks, woman may have vomiting sensation and she may feel excessive sensitive to certain smells or sounds.
3. The monthly periods stops during pregnancy and as this trimester of pregnancy proceeds, the symptoms of restlessness reduces.
Second trimester: The second trimester lasts for twenty eight weeks.
1. Woman may feel fatigue and the abdomen expands
2. Different women have different feelings during this period
3. Woman may notice the stretch marks on the thigh, buttock and abdomen
4. A line of skin in the centre of the abdomen
5. Itching on palm, abdomen and feet
6. Skin darkening around the nipples
7. Dark skin over the cheeks
8. Swelling in some body parts such as face, fingers and ankles
Third trimester: The third trimester lasts for forty weeks.
1. The baby grows and the woman may feel breathlessness, a tender feeling on the nipples, which secretes pre-milk like fluid, swelling in body parts such as face and fingers, heartburn and contractions.
2. The cervix may get thin as the due date comes closer and the doctor may conduct a vaginal examination to check the growth.
