WEEK ONE TO WEEK 12

The first 12 weeks of pregnancy is known as the first trimester. While this is a time of major development for the foetus, many women do not even now they are pregnant for the first few weeks.

Once all the pregnancy signs have been spotted, and a positive test reveals the great news, this first trimester represents a period of physical and emotional changes for the mum-to-be.

During the first trimester of pregnancy a woman’s body undergoes dramatic changes and these may result in symptoms such as extreme tiredness, nausea, frequency of urination and changes to the breasts.

Pregnant women who haven’t already started eating sensibly and healthily by this stage should now look seriously at their antenatal care, fitness and health regime.

WEEK 13 TO WEEK 27

This time of the pregnancy is the known as the second trimester and it is often considered to be the best period of pregnancy for most women. Many of the negative symptoms of the first trimester will have subsided and a woman often starts to feel well and content as her week by week pregnancy continues.

Also during the second trimester the baby is still relatively tiny and therefore isn’t putting too much weight stress on the mum-to-be. Many women carry on wearing their regular clothes for much of the second trimester, carry on working and generally cope beautifully while having a baby on board!

That’s not to say they don’t notice some changes. For example a pregnant woman’s digestive system may be changing and certain foods start to become off limit for causing indigestion or wind. Other foods may nauseate by smell alone.

A woman’s body is certainly undergoing major changes during this trimester as it prepares for the birth.

WEEK 28 TILL BIRTH

In this third trimester mums-to-be will most likely be feeling both excited – as the due date approaches – possibly a little apprehensive about what will happen during labour, and maybe a little frustrated at having been pregnant “so long”. It’s natural that as week by week pregnancy rolls on a woman feels they’d like to “hurry things up” a bit.

Carrying all that extra weight along will of course create some problems, tiredness, breathlessness, back ache and other symptoms. By the third trimester a woman’s uterus, which pre-pregnancy weighed only 50grams, will be carrying the baby, the placenta and up to about a litre of amniotic fluid, so it is no surprise that mum-to-be will feel a little uncomfortable.

It shouldn’t, however, be painful so any woman experiencing any pain in pregnancy should see their GP.

Author's Bio: 

Debra Aspinall is an experienced journalist and the editor and leading writer for the Emma’s Diary website, one of the UKs foremost pregnancy and baby websites. Debra writes on pregnancy related topics such as first trimester of pregnancy, second trimester pregnancy, week by week pregnancy and etc. She also writes on women’s health and beauty issues and contributes travel articles to glossy magazines in London and the Home Counties.