Brief idea about the stages of pregnancy

Pregnancy is the condition of being pregnant or the period of time during which the woman carries an offspring in the form of foetus in her womb. The pregnancy period is divided into three trimesters that is 40 weeks and called as the stages of pregnancy. During the first 8 weeks after conception, the developing offspring is called as an embryo and after the 8 weeks until birth it is called as foetus. A brief description of the stages of pregnancy and the physical changes that take place during this period is given below:

1. First Trimester starts from the last date of your menstruation and last up to week 12. During this period many physical changes of your body start. This is one of the vital Stages of pregnancy. The prime most factors are the hormonal changes. It affects different organs of the body and stops the menstruation. The symptoms in this period are tiredness, vomiting tendency, no taste for specific foods, constipation, weight gain or loss, swollen breasts, headache, frequent urination, morning sickness etc. After four weeks, the baby’s heart, brain and spinal cord start its formation. After 8 weeks, the umbilical cord becomes visible, heart starts proper beating and major organs starts developing

2. Second Trimester is the period from week 13th to 28th.  During this time, the woman feels better and energized. The uterus which holds the foetus expands in its size. The foetus also starts taking up the proper shape. The symptoms are as having stress marks on abdomen, thigh and breasts, body ache, itching takes place on the abdomen, the skin around the breasts gets darken, nausea, loss of appetite etc. After 16 weeks, the bone, muscles and skin of the baby starts developing. Your baby gets its hearing and swallowing ability.

3. Third Trimester lasts from the week 29th to 40th. . This is the time when the foetus grows rapidly and the mother gains weight quickly. The foetus puts pressure on the mother’s organ, thereby the mother face some breathing and physical problem. The major symptoms are trouble in sleeping; leaking of colostrums from breast, movement of baby to the lower abdomen, contractions, and navel becomes convex etc. At 35th week, your baby is fully formed. It can kick, move downwards with its head down ready to come out of the mother’s womb.

Most of these problems go away as the stages of pregnancy progresses. This is the time when the mother forgets all her pain and distress because of the happiness and excitement for the newborn taking birth. But for the mother who is experiencing her first pregnancy should go through this to have an idea.