Know Your Pregnancy Week By Week

Keeping a tab on your pregnancy week by week is a good idea, if you want to avoid unnecessary worries and anxieties. The pregnancy period usually lasts for 40 weeks. The entire period is divided into three stages called pregnancy trimesters. Lets have a look at each stage.

The first trimester starts from week 1 and goes up to week 14. The second trimester lasts from week 15 to 26. The third trimester is from week 27 to week 40. As you approach the 40th week, you are close to experiencing labor contractions. This is the time when you should be all prepared for delivery. The third trimester is the stage of learning. You should attend classes on childbirth and nursing with your spouse so that you become better parents.

Week 1 To Week 14

The first week of pregnancy is when you are not pregnant. Doctors calculate your pregnancy from the first day of your last period. Your egg and the sperm unite for fertilization towards the end of the second week. The third week starts and your body is still ignorant of the fertilization. It is only when the egg gets implanted in the uterus that your body realizes whats happening and then starts a series of hormonal changes making you feel somethings wrong. This happens in the 4th and 5th week. Morning sickness appears.

Week 5 to 14 is a busy time, as there is a rapid development of the embryo from a bunch of cells to a baby with distinct identity.

Week 15 To Week 26

This trimester is full of changes and development in the baby. So, continue to keep a check on your pregnancy week by week. Your babys ears, eyes, and other facial features become distinct. She has tiny limbs. All her organs are on the verge of development. Her heart has started pumping too. By the 18th week, your babys fingerprints begin to develop.

By the 19th week, if the baby is a girl, her egg cells start to develop in her ovaries. Your baby has hair all over her body and she begins to sleep and wake up. By the 21st week, the doctor can hear your babys heartbeats with the help of a stethoscope. And by the 24th week, your doctor can hear the heartbeats without stethoscope by putting her ear on your belly. By the 25th week, your babys brain starts working.

Week 27 To Week 40

By this time, you will start feeling the kicks of your baby. By the 29th week, your baby has her senses working and her lungs are able to breathe air. By the 32nd week, your baby can see, hear, smell, feel, and taste. She will change her position and her head will slide down in the next three weeks. By the 37th week, you should be prepared for signs of labor.

As you continue to keep a tab on your pregnancy week by week and enter the 40th week, the wait for your baby starts. Be ready, she can arrive any time