Pregnancy
Pregnancy by the weeks
First 3 months
- 4th Week: Congratulations! If you are able to know that you are pregnant, then you are luckier than most women. This is because many people do not get the good news of becoming pregnant at 4th week. You will not be able to understand the symptoms of pregnancy right away. It is important to consult with a doctor at this stage. The doctor might suggest some vitamin supplement. Folic acid is definitely worthy of mentioning. Start having healthy food and take adequate rest.
- 5th Week: This week you will start realizing the symptoms of pregnancy. You might start feeling breast tenderness, nausea, tiredness and fatigue. These are prevalent in the first 3 months but decline afterwards. Take care of yourself during this time. During this week, the baby’s heart, stomach, gender and kidney start forming. The baby grows around 3 inches in length and undergoes rapid development.
- 6th Week: This week you might go through some behavioral changes. Sometimes you might become emotional while at other times you might be quite ecstatic. You might start feeling uncomfortable from pregnancy symptoms. This week some of the important developments of the baby will start taking place like: eyes, nose, ears, chin and circulatory system. Eat healthy foods and take adequate rest.
- 7th Week: You have already gone through half of your first trimester. Although you do not gain that much weight nor do you look pregnant during this time. This week the baby grows about 8 mm in length. Its bone development starts. Now the structure of the baby’s mouth lips and nose can be perceived. You will feel tired easily. Take rest as much as possible. New hair growth in your hands, feet or face might be evident due to hormonal changes. If you suffer from excessive vomiting or if your weight decreases, consult with a doctor.
- 8th Week: You may have started drawing pictures of your baby in your mind. During this time you might have a lot of good or bad dreams about your child. The child will be approximately 12 mm by now. Its milk teeth start forming. You might not have noticed it, but the baby has already started moving its hands and legs. You might suffer from indigestion or heartburns. Rather than having too much food at once, try eating less but frequently.
- 9th Week: During this time, the baby is about 20 mm long. Heart development is complete. The incidence of vomiting or headache might increase in the morning or night-time. Mood swings are quite common in this time. You might easily become angry or worried or even suffer from depression. Try to remain calm and take adequate rest. Try doing something that will keep your mind relaxed and cheerful.
- 10th Week: You can start planning for new clothes from now! Try to select loose and comfortable garments. This week the child will be 2-3 cm long and 3-5g in weight. The child’s facial construction can be understood and its head appears quite larger than rest of the body.
- 11th Week: You are almost at the end of your third trimester. Now your vomiting and headaches will decrease. The baby weighs about 8g and is 3-5 cm long.
- 12th Week: Congratulations! This is the last week of your first trimester. The baby’s nose and lip development completes this week. During this time the child can produce urine from its kidneys. You might suffer from constipation. Drink plenty of water and eat food rich in dietary fiber. The child is about 5-6 cm long.
- 13th Week: Congratulations! This is the first week of your second trimester. Your appetite might increase or you might suffer from nausea from all the vomiting. You might develop a preference for sour, spicy or sweet foods. Vomiting sensation will decrease and you will feel better than before.
- 14th Week: You will feel the baby’s movements this week. Now the baby is 9-10 cm long and weighs around 50g. The baby starts breathing and taking in amniotic fluid. This helps develop the baby’s respiratory and digestive system. You might have problems sleeping and feel pain in your legs. Light message can help.
- 15th Week: Now the baby is 9-10 cm long and the weighs about 100 gram. At this stage the skin of the baby is very thin and hair starts to grow. The vomiting tendency starts to decrease and you will feel better but might have edema on your feet and palms. You can do some exercise like- swimming and walk. You must drink at least 8 glasses of water.
- 16th Week: Your baby is 11-12 cm now. At this stage ears and eyes of the baby will be visible. The nails will grow also. You can feel pain around the waist. You should sleep on your left side. You should not stand for long time and spread your legs after you seat. Your gum of the teeth can swell and bleeding can occurs so you should take care of your oral health and see the dentist.
- 17th week: At this stage the baby is 13.5 cm long and the weight is about 150 grams. You can feel pain in the lower abdomen as the baby is growing now. You may feel pain in your hands, legs and waist. Your apatite can be increased. Do not eat too much and do not lay down after meal if there is heart burn.
- 18th week: Your baby is 15 cm now and the weight is 250 grams. At this stage the baby can hear sound and get the chance to move. Vaginal discharge can occur at this stage which is white color. You should see the doctor if the color is changed and if there is any itching and bad odor.
- 19th week:
- At this stage the weight of baby is 300gm and is 16cm long. At this time, white creamy materials are visible in baby’s skin. This layer can protect child’s skin from amniotic fluid. You should take rest as long as you can.
- 20th week: Congratulations!! You’ve passed, half of the time during your pregnancy. At this stage, the baby is 18 cm long and weight of baby is 350 gm. Sleep disturbance can happen and you can have nightmare. You should keep yourself mentally clam. Since the child is growing very fast, it is also known to cause lung pressure for this reason, asthma may happen.
- 21th week: At this stage, weight of the baby is almost 350-425gm and is 19cm long. Baby eye lashes and eyebrows begin to grow. The child’s movement will be felt more than ever before. At this stage, the mother should eat food with different tastes because this is the time when the baby can differentiate the taste of foods.
- 22th week: At the last stage of your 2nd trimester. At this time, you can start preparation for your new baby. At this week, your baby is 20cm long and the weight is 425-500gm. Your weight begin to increase quickly. This time the structure of the baby’s lip is completed. You should consult to your doctor for diabetes test (within 24-28 weeks).
- 23th week: At this stage, weight of the child is 500-600gm and 21cm long. The baby’s lungs continue to grow. The child can hear your words and sounds. Water can come to the feet and there is pain in the waist. The teeth can bleed, so take care of your teeth.
- 24th week: At this week, weight of your child is 600-700gm and 22cm long. The eye structure of the baby is complete. During this time, you may feel pain in the chest, muscle pain, dizziness and fatigue. Dryness, irritation and sensitivity towards light can be felt by eyes. Especially in stomach, stretch mark can be seen and may cause light itching. At this time, lotion or cream can reduce the itching.
- 25th week: At this stage, weight of the baby is 700-800gm and is 23cm long. At this time, different senses of the child such as eyes, nose, ears and tongue begin to get completeness. Frequent urination is a symptom of urinary tract infection. Observe these symptoms and consult with your doctor. Now you can decide which hospital you want to deliver.
- 26th week: At this week, weight of baby is 850-1000gm and 24cm long. This week the baby can open the eyes for the first time. Although there is nothing to see in the mother’s womb, but if any intense light falls into the mother’s womb it can detect. You should be more careful about food. Eat small meals for repeated time at an intervals, 0so your blood sugar level will remain healthy and you will not feel tired. Your third trimester will start from next week.
- 27th week: At this stage, weight of baby is 1000-1100gm and 25cm long. At this time, most of the body part of the baby is completed and hearing sense develops.
- 28th week: At this stage, weight of baby is 1100-1250gm and is 26gm and is 26cm long. The time for delivery is very near. Before delivery, many people may have pain or some symptoms. This is called preterm labor. It has symptoms of light pain on the waist, water disruption, bleeding from the uterus or sticky liquid discharge and contraction and relaxation of uterus at an interval of 10 minutes are felt. If these problems are seen, you should immediately consult with doctor.
- 29th week: At this stage, weight of baby is 1300-1400gm and is 27cm long. Although the lung structure is not complete, the respiration of the child begins. The eyes of the child can detect light and the bone structure is complete. Walking is the best exercise in pregnancy.
- 30th week: This time, the baby is 24cm long and weight is 1500-1600 gm. Most of the time the baby is asleep. From now on, you can track when the child sleeps and when to play. At this time, the shawl milk can be emitted from the breast. Many people think this as a delivery symptom. It is seen in many cases. So, there is nothing to be worried about this. The child should be given shawl milk immediately after birth because it contains lot of proteins and antibodies.
- 31th week: At this stage, weight of baby is 1700-1800gm and is 29cm long. The weight of baby starts to increase rapidly that’s why the mother’s weight also increases. For this reason, there can be pain in hands and feet. You can do light message for pain reduction.
- 32th week: The baby is now 30 cm long and weight is almost 1900-2000gm. The kidney’s structure is complete. At this time the baby’s head will be down, if not then consult the doctor. Consult a doctor on an urgent basis if there is excess water on your hands, blurred vision and headache. This is the symptoms of pre-eclampsia.
- 33th week: At this stage, weight of baby is 2100-2250gm and 29cm long. This time, the baby see the things around and learn to understand the feelings. Even the mother’s voice and heartbeat is heard. Since this time the baby is growing rapidly, eat a little extra food.
- 34th week: At this stage, weight of baby is 2050-2550gm and 33cm long. You are in the last stage of your pregnancy so that you should avoid long journey. Take care of the symptoms of labor pain like contraction of the uterus, pain in the lower waist, water breaks down etc.
- 35th week: At this week, weight of baby is 2600-2700gm and 34cm long. You have to eat a lot of iron rich foods because before the delivery baby absorbs this vital mineral form the mother’s body. It helps to develop the blood cell.
- 36th week: At this stage, weight of baby is 2850-2950gm and 35cm long. The next few weeks the body of the child rapidly grows. This time there may be a lot of white discharge. It’s a normal phenomenon. If you’ve blood with the discharge then you should understand that the delivery labor is starting.
- 37th week: At this stage, weight of the baby is 3000-3100gm and 36cm long. If you’ve blood with the discharge then you should consult to the doctor.
- 38th week: At this stage, weight of baby is 3200-3250gm and 37cm long. The baby’s structure is complete at this time. There will be frequent urination, but you should drink plenty of water. Most of the children are born before two or four weeks of scheduled time of birth.
- 39th week: At this stage, weight of baby is 3200-3250gm and 37cm long. This time weight of mother starts to increase rapidly and the signs of delivery should be followed carefully.
- 40th week: Congratulations!! This is the last week of this long and beautiful journey. This week your little baby will light up your lap and come to this world.
The weight of the baby at birth:
Preterm baby: Babies born before 37 weeks are known as preterm babies. The weights of these babies are less than 2.26 kg or less.
Term baby: Babies born within 38-40 weeks are known as term babies. The weights of these babies are 3.34 kg.
Post term baby: Babies born after 41 weeks are known as post term babies. The weights of these babies are more than 4 kg.