Week 7
You are probably still experiencing morning sickness. If you are lucky like I was, you would probably have only heightened sense of smell, and eager whish to clean up your home so that the smell can disappear.
If you are prone to migraine headaches, you may find they are worse or better during pregnancy. While some women experience an almost complete relief of their migraine symptoms during pregnancy, others find that migraines come on with greater regularity.
Some women actually experience their first migraine during pregnancy. Migraines are generally caused by blood vessels that dilate in the brain. A migraine headache may start out like an ordinary headache, with dull pain or throbbing, but typically progresses and gets worse as time goes on. A constant pulsating sensation on one or both sides of the head is often a symptom of a migraine. Unfortunately a migraine is no ordinary headache. They are often accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Migraines are usually not dangerous during pregnancy. You can do some natural things to help relieve your discomfort. A cold towel or frozen bag of peas, or slices of a cold cucumber on the head helps relieve the aching associated with a migraine. Others simply prefer lying down. Meditation and yoga may actually prove beneficial during pregnancy.
What about sex in pregnancy? It’s definitely not a thing of the past; it’s perfectly fine to have sex assuming there are no problems with the pregnancy.
Pregnancy is a time of joy but also a time of responsibilities. Thus, it is vital that you eat a well balanced diet in order to ensure that your child is given every opportunity to grow and develop normally, right from the start! Eating healthy is extremely important when it comes to the well-being of your fetus. One study showed that women who ate nutritiously throughout their pregnancy had healthy babies 95 percent of the time. Of the women who ate very poorly, only 8 percent of their babies were in good or excellent condition.
Remember during your pregnancy that everything that goes into your mouth will also reach your baby at some point. Recognize the potential dangers of certain food products and avoid them during your pregnancy. These include: Raw Meat (rare meats may contain bacteria, toxoplasmosis and Salmonella, all of which are harmful to your unborn baby), Deli Meats (those available at a deli counter, including hot dogs or turkey, beef and chicken preparations, should not be consumed unless you re-heat them until steaming. These preparations may be contaminated with a substance called Listeria. These bacteria can harm your baby severely, and may even cause miscarriage or result in a stillborn delivery. )
Imported Soft Cheeses: imported unpasteurized cheeses including blue cheese, feta, Brie or camembert should be avoided. These may also contain Listeria. However, soft cheeses that are made with pasteurized milk are safe to eat. It is important to check out the label. If you are not sure whether or not a product is pasteurized, you should in general avoid it. Raw eggs or undercooked eggs(have the potential to contain Salmonella.)
Fish: While eating fish can be beneficial during your pregnancy, there are certain types of fish that you should avoid. These include shark, swordfish, king mackerel, excess tuna and tile fish, as all of these contain high levels of mercury, which can affect your unborn child’s nervous system. Canned tuna should also be avoided due to high levels of mercury contamination. Generally it is safe to eat 12 ounces of other fish including salmon and tilapia, which are full of nutritious benefits.
Caffeine: While a small amount of caffeine (1 small cup a day) may provide a much needed lift for pregnant moms, in general caffeine should be avoided during pregnancy. High amounts of caffeine consumption have been linked with birth defects and increased risks of miscarriage.
Alcohol: Alcohol is harmful to your baby’s development. Alcohol will cross the placenta and affect your baby, so every time you drink when you are pregnant your baby does to.
Your Baby’s Growth and Development
During pregnancy week 7 your baby will grow tremendously, up to approximately 9 to 11 millimetres in length! Your baby is much closer to the size of a large blueberry or small grape by 7 weeks pregnant than a pea. Your baby’s brain is developing rapidly, and limbs and facial characteristics are now forming. Your baby’s heart now has a right and left chamber. An ultrasound may be able to detect heart motion. The esophagus and trachea are changing and differentiating into separate tubes, with lungs positioned on either side.
At 7 weeks pregnant facial features become more prominent in your newborn. Upon close investigation you may be able to discern a mouth and even a tongue (you actually can’t see the tongue, but it is forming inside your baby!). During pregnancy week 7 your baby’s eyes will also start to become more fully formed, and now have a retina and lens attached. The major muscle systems in the body also continue to develop during pregnancy week 7, and your baby begins to produce his own blood type. Your baby’s movements will be uncoordinated at best at this point during pregnancy. If you were to look directly at your baby you would still be able to see slight webbing in the fingers and toes during pregnancy 7 weeks. Teeth are also starting to form on the inside of your baby’s mouth, and thin veins start to peer out from beneath your baby’s skin. Your baby’s intestines and appendix should be formed by now. By this time your baby’s liver is working diligently to start producing red blood cells. Your baby should be bouncing right along in his comfy and warm home!
Week 8
Indigestion and bloating are common complaints of pregnancy.( The hormones of pregnancy relax the sphincters between the stomach and the esophagus, which may cause indigestion. The problem might also be gastric reflux. Keeping something in your stomach is the best way to prevent it. Eat many small meals throughout the day instead of a few large ones. Another good idea might be to cut down on concentrated sugars and fats and stick to complex carbohydrates such as breads, pasta, rice, whole bran and cereals.
Sleeping with your head elevated may also help. You might want to try peppermint tea, which can help calm the GI tract. Antacids such as Maalox help some people. Avoid foods that are high in acid such as citrus, especially at “high risk” times, before bed or before rushing off to work. Avoiding stress, when possible, may also prevent discomfort later.)
If your pregnancy is considered high risk (for example, if you have had multiple miscarriages, are older than 35, or have a history of pregnancy complications), your doctor may want to see you as early as possible and more often during the course of your pregnancy.
Good prenatal care is extremely important for the health and safe delivery of your baby, so be sure to make prenatal appointments a top priority.
Your Baby’s Development
Marveling over a baby’s tiny fingers and toes is one of the joys of the first day of life. Those fingers and toes are just beginning to form this week, and the arms can even flex at the elbows and wrists. The eyes are becoming more obvious because they’ve begun to develop pigment (color) in the retina (back of the eye).
Your baby’s head is quite big, due to the rapid growth of the brain. The upper limbs resemble paddles. Your baby-to-be’s heart begins to separate into four chambers, and blood is circulating throughout the body. Intestines form within the umbilical cord, but will later migrate back into the abdominal cavity. In the next few days, foot plates, with the beginnings of toe rays, will appear. The external ears are now present. Your baby is now 10 to 13 millimetres long — about the size of a cherry. The cells that will become either testes or ovaries arrive, but there is no obvious sign of gender yet. Muscle contractions are beginning, but these early “movements” are not yet perceptible. This is the time that most parts of the body are formed and rapid brain development occurs. It is important to consume neither alcohol nor tobacco products. Speak to your practitioner about the safety of continuing prescription medicines and herbal treatments. Reduce or eliminate caffeine intake as well. Recent studies have indicated that more than a few cups of coffee a day may be linked to an increased risk of miscarriage.