Being pregnant is a special time in your life. To know the progress of your pregnancy and what you will feel in the coming months makes it more interesting. So, here we bring you your personal guidebook to know your pregnancy stages.

Signs Of Pregnancy

If you are unsure, yet curious about your pregnancy, then here are some signs to help you out. The first and the most reliable sign of pregnancy is a missed period followed by nausea and vomiting, also called morning sickness. But, it is not necessary that every woman experiences morning sickness. Breast enlargement is also one of the common signs of pregnancy and a large number of women experience it.

If you have these symptoms, then you are pregnant. A full term pregnancy takes about 40 weeks. These weeks are divided into three trimesters.

Pregnancy Trimesters

• First Trimester (Week1-week12): In this trimester, your body undergoes a lot of hormonal changes. You may feel tired and nauseous. You may also experience food cravings, headaches, swollen breasts, and constipation. Maintaining a balanced and nutritive diet will help you overcome these initial pregnancy hiccups. At this time the baby’s brain, heart, and spinal cord are developing. Arm and legs also appear. All the major organs of your baby develop by the end of this trimester. Baby’s heart beats in a rhythm now and arms and legs continue to grow.

• Second Trimester (Week13-week28): As your baby grows, your abdomen expands. Baby starts making movements and you may now feel your baby move in the womb. At this stage you may have body ache, especially in your back and thighs. Stretch marks may also appear around your abdomen, thighs, and hips. Baby’s muscle tissue and bones continue to develop in this trimester too. Now your baby can hear you. Skin, eyelashes, fingernails, toenails, and hair develop on your baby’s body. Vital organs are now fully developed.

• Third Trimester (Week29-till the birth): In this trimester, the baby grows fast and moves a lot. This may put pressure on your organs, but you need not worry. You may feel a little breathless. Heartburn, swollen ankles, tender breasts, and contractions are some signs you will notice in this trimester. Your baby kicks forcefully and gains weight. Your baby has fully-functional organs and less space to move.

The pregnancy cycle is full of developments which make your baby grow. Now that you know your pregnancy stages, you can prepare yourself for what you may experience and how you may feel.

One of the most common symptoms of pregnancy is vaginal spotting. It occurs during the first three months of pregnancy. When you first notice spotting during pregnancy, you may get worried. Don’t worry; consult your doctor to get the right information. Vaginal spotting may occur any time between the seventh and ninth week when the embryo is implanted in the uterus lining. This bleeding is called implantation bleeding and is one of the earliest signs of pregnancy. Therefore, do not panic if you notice mild vaginal spotting. However, you should consult your doctor, if the bleeding is heavy and causes pain in the abdomen.

Spotting During Pregnancy- No Reason To Worry

Vaginal spotting is harmless and normal in early pregnancy. However, if you experience continuous bleeding for a long time, there may be some complications in your body. Under these circumstances, you must consult your gynecologist and go for a pregnancy test. These tests can give accurate information about you and your baby’s health. They also inform you about pregnancy risks, if any. Your doctor may also advice you to undergo examinations in case the heavy bleeding persists.

Reasons For Vaginal Spotting

During the initial days there may be several reasons that cause vaginal spotting. This kind of spotting is not the same as normal menstruation bleeding. This is a lighter form of bleeding and generally happens because the blood supply to the pelvis and cervix area increases. The color of spotting may vary from brown, dark red to pink. It may also look like dried blood. According to medical practitioners, following are the causes of spotting during pregnancy.

• Embryo implantation in the uterus - The embryo comes in contact with the uterus walls after six to seven days of fertilization pregnancy and attaches to the wall of the uterus. As a result, you may experience vaginal spotting.

• Ectopic pregnancy – Ectopic pregnancy occurs when the embryo implants outside the boundary of the uterus. This may cause vaginal spotting. The baby’s development outside the uterus mainly takes place in the fallopian tube. So, it is also called molar or tubal pregnancy. In case of molar pregnancy, the chances of fetus survival are bleak and early pregnancy termination is possible.

• Infections - In addition, the other reasons for spotting during pregnancy include yeast or vaginal infections, bacterial infections and STD’s such as gonorrhea, herpes, Chlamydia, and so on.

Vaginal spotting or bleeding is the most worrisome of all pregnancy symptoms. It is mainly because most of the women do not have enough information about this pregnancy symptom. Mild bleeding or spotting at the time of pregnancy is normal. Consult a doctor and be more aware of pregnancy related changes taking place in your body.