Pampering4life Health Tip: Pregnant? Learn The Stages of Pregnancy

 

Often times when a women learns she is pregnant, she immediately has the urgency to learn as much information about the stages of being pregnant as possible. If you are recently blessed with the news that your pregnant. You will love this article as it takes you through the stages of pregnancy and what to expect from them. Always remember, to start with balanced nutrition for the health you and your baby so you can enjoy a healthy no problem filled pregnancy.


First Trimester (1 week-week 12)

During the first trimester your body undergoes many changes. Hormonal changes affect almost every organ system in your body. These changes can trigger symptoms even in the very first weeks of pregnancy. Your period stopping is a clear sign that you are pregnant. Other changes may include:

• Extreme tiredness
• Tender, swollen breasts. Your nipples might also stick out.
• Upset stomach with or without throwing up (morning sickness)
• Cravings or distaste for certain foods
• Mood swings
• Constipation (trouble having bowel movements)
• Need to pass urine more often
• Headache
• Heartburn
• Weight gain or loss

As your body changes, you might need to make changes to your daily routine, such as going to bed earlier or eating frequent, small meals. Fortunately, most of these discomforts will go away as your pregnancy progresses. And some women might not feel any discomfort at all! If you have been pregnant before, you might feel differently this time around. Just as each woman is different, so is each pregnancy.


Second Trimester (13 weeks-week 28)

Most women find the second trimester of pregnancy easier than the first. But it is just as important to stay informed about your pregnancy during these months.
You might notice that symptoms like nausea and fatigue are going away. But other new, more noticeable changes to your body are now happening. Your abdomen will expand as the baby continues to grow. And before this trimester is over, you will feel your baby beginning to move!
As your body changes to make room for your growing baby, you may have:

• Body aches, such as back, abdomen, groin, or thigh pain
• Stretch marks on your abdomen, breasts, thighs, or buttocks
• Darkening of the skin around your nipples
• A line on the skin running from belly button to pubic hairline
• Patches of darker skin, usually over the cheeks, forehead, nose, or upper lip. Patches often match on both sides of the face. This is sometimes called the mask of pregnancy.
• Numb or tingling hands, called carpal tunnel syndrome
• Itching on the abdomen, palms, and soles of the feet. (Call your doctor if you have nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, jaundice or fatigue combined with itching. These can be signs of a serious liver problem.)
• Swelling of the ankles, fingers, and face. (If you notice any sudden or extreme swelling or if you gain a lot of weight really quickly, call your doctor right away. This could be a sign of preeclampsia.)

Third Trimester (week 29-week 40)

You're in the home stretch! Some of the same discomforts you had in your second trimester will continue. Plus, many women find breathing difficult and notice they have to go to the bathroom even more often. This is because the baby is getting bigger and it is putting more pressure on your organs. Don't worry, your baby is fine and these problems will lessen once you give birth.
Some new body changes you might notice in the third trimester include:

• Shortness of breath
• Heartburn
• Swelling of the ankles, fingers, and face. (If you notice any sudden or extreme swelling or if you gain a lot of weight really quickly, call your doctor right away. This could be a sign of preeclampsia.)
• Hemorrhoids
• Tender breasts, which may leak a watery pre-milk called colostrum (kuh-LOSS-struhm)
• Your belly button may stick out
• Trouble sleeping
• The baby "dropping", or moving lower in your abdomen
• Contractions, which can be a sign of real or false labor

As you near your due date, your cervix becomes thinner and softer (called effacing). This is a normal, natural process that helps the birth canal (vagina) to open during the birthing process. Your doctor will check your progress with a vaginal exam as you near your due date. Get excited — the final countdown has begun!

National Women's Health Week May 13-19 Stop Smoking

Most women smokers say they want to quit. So how do you move from wanting to quit to actually quitting? A first step is to find reasons to quit that are important to you. Consider the many good reasons to quit smoking.

Your health

Your health begins to improve the minute you stop smoking, and you begin to lower your long-term risk of many smoking-related diseases. Smoking causes or can contribute to many serious health problems, including:

• Cancers of the lung, throat, mouth, voice box, esophagus, pancreas, kidney, bladder, cervix, uterus, stomach, and blood
• Lung diseases
• Heart disease
• Stroke
• Atherosclerosis, or hardening and narrowing of the arteries
• Gum disease
• Eye diseases that can lead to blindness
• Osteoporosis and the risk of hip fracture

Smoking also:

• Makes illnesses last longer
• Causes more wound infections after surgery
• Makes it harder to get pregnant

Smoking during pregnancy can hurt the mother and baby. It increases the risk of:

• Placenta previa — when the placenta covers part of or the entire cervix inside of the uterus. This can lead to bed rest, early labor, and cesarean section.
• Placental abruption — the placenta separates too early from the wall of the uterus. This can lead to early labor or infant death.
• Early rupture of membranes, or water breaking, before labor starts, so the baby is born too early
• A baby with a low birth weight
• Damage to an infant's lungs
• Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
• Miscarriage
• Stillbirth

Your quality of life

When you quit, you will never again have to leave your workplace, your home, or other places to smoke. You won't need to worry about whether your smoke is bothering others. The money you would have spent on cigarettes can be saved or used to buy other things. Plus, you will be surprised by how good you feel overall. Over time, some of the ways you will look and feel better are:

• You will breathe more easily.
• You will have more energy.
• Your lungs will be stronger, making it easier to be active.
• You will be able to smell and taste things better.
• You hair, breath, and clothes will smell better.
• The stain marks on your fingers will fade.
• Your skin will look healthier.
• Your teeth and gums will be healthier.
• You will feel good about being able to quit!

Other people's health

When you quit, you no longer create secondhand smoke, which is harmful to the people around you, and especially children. When you quit, you become a role-model to children and other smokers who want to quit. When you quit, your own children are less likely to grow up to become smokers themselves.