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Congratulations, you’re pregnant! If this is your first time, you’re in for one hell of a ride!
One of the best things to do is to educate yourself on the wild and wondrous stages that you and your growing baby will go through.
Your pregnancy will span anywhere between 38 and 42 weeks, or approximately nine calendar months. Unless your baby is born prematurely, that is, before 38 weeks.
All pregnancies are measured from the first day of a woman’s last normal menstrual period (LNMP). If you are unsure when your LNMP was, ask your chosen healthcare professional about having an early ultrasound. An ultrasound can be an accurate way of finding out the gestational age of your baby.
The weeks of your pregnancy are commonly grouped into three trimesters. Each trimester represents three months and a different and distinct stage of your pregnancy.
In this section discover what you and your baby will experience in each trimester.
First Trimester
The beginning of this trimester is measured from before your baby was a twinkle in your eye. It is measured from the first day of your LNMP, which is before you even conceived. This is because it’s the first day that your body starts preparing for a pregnancy.
The first trimester of pregnancy spans from week one to thirteen, or the first three calendar months. And for about half of this time, you might not even know you’re pregnant!
You may find out you’re pregnant by doing a home pregnancy test. By the end of this trimester you should also have your pregnancy confirmed by a healthcare professional. Choose someone who you feel comfortable with and who you can afford If you haven’t visited a midwife, doctor or specialist obstetrician yet – now is the time.
Second Trimester
Making it past the first trimester is a reassuring feeling for all pregnant women. About 95% of your baby’s core development is behind both of you. Your baby’s essential organs and body systems should be in place and fully formed.
In the second trimester your baby will continue to mature and increase in size. Amazingly, this increase will be by 300 to 400% in your second trimester. He or she will also start to look more and more like the little person they will become.
Exhaustion and nausea experienced in early pregnancy should also begin to settle down. This trimester is commonly labelled as the “feel good” trimester. Hopefully, you will have more energy, be feeling more comfortable and just better overall. Try to make the most of these exciting three months.
Third Trimester
Reaching your third trimester will give you a great sense of achievement.
All of your baby’s organs and systems will be preparing for life outside the womb. Although they have been fully formed since around 12 weeks of pregnancy, an enormous amount of maturity and development has been taking place since then. No doubt, will have been feeling some of them!
Your baby’s movements will also become stronger and more defined in the third trimester. As your baby grows it will quickly run out of space to wriggle around in your uterus. This means that you will feel every kick and movement more clearly when they shift position.
Your third trimester may last up to 42 weeks. And your baby could be born anytime onwards from 37 weeks. Only 5% of babies are born on their exact due date. Remember that every pregnancy and every baby is unique so do your best to go with the flow. And to make the most of this amazing time.
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The information published herein is intended and strictly only for informational, educational, purposes and the same shall not be misconstrued as medical advice. If you are worried about your own health, or your child’s well being, seek immediate medical advice. You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment because of information on this website. Kimberly-Clark and/ or its subsidiaries assumes no liability for the interpretation and/or use of the information contained in this article. Further, while due care and caution has been taken to ensure that the content here is free from mistakes or omissions, Kimberly-Clark and/ or its subsidiaries makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information here, and to the extent permitted by law, Kimberly-Clark and/ or its subsidiaries do not accept any liability or responsibility for claims, errors or omissions.
