HOORAY! You’re about to find out whether you are pregnant or not and soon you will be having a little one to be part of your family. It is a big news to be shared with the rest of your family members, especially since it is your very first time getting pregnant. Below are the important things that you should know during the 1st trimester of your pregnancy as your fetus is still fragile. Thus, it is vital for you to take care of yourselves and your little bean.
First Trimester Pregnancy
Pregnancy Symptoms Week 1 And Week 2
Body Changes
At this stage, there is a possibility that you probably are having your menses. Some women may find that their menses are irregular or heavy. If you are trying to conceive, you may want to visit your doctor and find out the reason why your menses is irregular as it may affect your chances of getting pregnant. During this stage, you should begin to cut off any unhealthy habits you have been doing before conceiving. You need to make sure your body is in good condition to be carrying a baby.
WEEK 1: What should I plan this week?
- Time your ovulation period to maximize your chances of getting pregnant by having sexual intercourse during your fertile period.
- Plan to see your doctor for a preconception visit
- Choose an ovulation kit
WEEK 2: How is the baby conceived
You’re not pregnant just yet, but you may be about to release an egg that could grow into a baby if it’s fertilized by your partner’s sperm.
Last week an increase in the amount of estrogen and progesterone coursing through your bloodstream prompted your uterus to form a lush, blood-rich lining of tissue to support a potential fertilized egg. At the same time, in your ovaries, eggs were ripening in fluid-filled sacs called follicles.
At the beginning of this week usually around day 14 of a 28-day cycle, you ovulate. One of your eggs erupts from its follicle and is swept away from your ovary and into a fallopian tube.
During the next 12 to 24 hours, that egg will be fertilized if one of the 250 million sperm on average ejaculated by your mate manages to swim all the way from your vagina through your cervix, up through your uterus to the fallopian tube, and penetrate the egg. Only about 400 sperm will survive the arduous 10-hour journey to the egg, and only one can succeed in burrowing through its outer membrane.
Over the next 10 to 30 hours, the sperm’s nucleus will merge with the egg’s as they combine their genetic material. If the sperm carries a Y chromosome, your baby will be a boy. If it’s an X chromosome, you’ll be carrying a girl.
Week 3: What should I plan this week?
- Select a prenatal vitamin.
- Enrol yourself in an exercise class to keep yourself fit or yoga class for relaxation and stress reduction. Make sure to not overdo.
- Review medications that you are taking whether it is safe to continue during pregnancy. Check with your doctor first before stopping the medication.
- Join a forum or support group for trying to conceive women
- Discuss with your doctor whether you need to have a genetic counselling
What Happens Inside The Womb?
Fallopian tube: A sperm must swim all the way from your vagina up through your cervix and uterus and into the fallopian tube to fertilize the egg.
Ovary: One of your eggs has broken out of its follicle in the ovary and been swept into the fallopian tube.
Ovum: Once a sperm burrows through the outer membrane to penetrate the ovum or egg, their genetic material combines to form a new cell that soon starts rapidly dividing.
Sperm: All it takes is one sperm out of about 250 million in the average ejaculation to fertilize the egg.
Tips For 1-3 Weeks Pregnant
WEEK 1-2: Tips to increase your chances of falling pregnant:
- Prepare your body and mind for pregnancy. Both you and your partner need to be healthy. If you partner smokes, encourage him to stop smoking to improve the quality of his sperm
- Cut down on caffeine, smoking and other drugs
- Try practice positive affirmations to prepare yourself mentally, for example, ‘I am strong and healthy and my body is prepared to welcome my baby’
- Have regular sexual intercourse 2- 3 times/week
- Know your fertile period and have sexual intercourse during that time
- If you feel dry during sexual intercourse you could try a sperm-friendly lubricant
- You could use an ovulation kit to help you detect your ovulation
WEEK 3: Tips on choosing a prenatal vitamin:
- Does it contain the right vitamin and nutrient in the right doses?
- How much do they cost?
- Is it safe to take during pregnancy?
- Does it contain DHA or omega acid?
- What possible side effects it has? Does it have any digestive side effects?
When Will I Be Able to Confirm That I am Pregnant?
If your period is fairly regular, the first clue that you may be pregnant could be that your period doesn’t come on time. If you think you might be pregnant, take a home pregnancy test.
Please keep in mind that if you take the test too early there may not be enough of the hormone in your urine yet for the test to be accurate. Check the packaging on the test you buy for information on when to take the test. Some will state that the device requires you to wait until at least the first day of your missed period, while others can detect an accurate reading a little earlier on.
If your pregnancy test is positive, head over to the nearest clinic for proper examination.
When Will My Baby Be Born?
This is one of the first questions once the mother knew that she is pregnant. Typically, the due dates are calculated as 280 days, or 40 weeks, starting from the first day of your last menstrual period. One thing that many people often misunderstood is how the first week was calculated. The first week of pregnancy is actually the week you had your period, where you’re not pregnant yet! I know it’s hard to wrap your head around it, but that is how the due date is calculated.
At the same time, keep in mind that only about 5% of babies are born exactly on their due date, and it is totally normal to give birth one to two weeks earlier prior to your due date.
This is just the very first few weeks of your first trimester. There’s still a lot more you need to know about your pregnancy. Make sure you aware of your early pregnancy symptoms in order to know whether you are pregnant or not. Each week should be exciting for you to find out.
Stay tuned for more pregnancy write up especially on everything you need to know on your first trimester. We will be giving you more information on your first trimester make sure to wait for the next one. Until then don’t forget to check out Motherhood.com.my for all your baby needs online!