Early pregnancy stages right up to the delivery of the baby is a period of numerous changes in the physical and emotional constitution of a woman’s body.

Though the emotional well-being might, in certain cases, be linked to external factors, our physical condition or the effect of the type of food we eat on our health during the three trimesters cannot be overlooked.

The importance of eating a balanced and nutritious diet cannot be more emphasized. We need to constantly think of the baby who’s wholly dependant on us for survival, and that we need to put the baby’s needs before our own. This is also the period that forms the foundation of a healthy and productive life for the baby.

Signs of Pregnancy

At the first sign of pregnancy, a proper maternal and fetal nutrition plan should be made. If it is a planned pregnancy, it would be useful to consult a doctor as certain vitamins such as folic acid should be taken while trying for the baby. The first trimester is accompanied by morning sickness in most women. However, this should not be a reason for abstaining from food. Morning sickness usually goes away by the second trimester. The emphasis in the second and third trimesters should be on gaining weight, which might have been lost in the first trimester due to nausea and vomiting. This weight gain ought to be through a nutritious diet and not through gorging on high fat-laden junk food.

A few Food tips during pregnancy stages are as follows:

• Eating several mini meals at frequent intervals rather than three large meals

• Choosing wholegrain foods, coupled with fresh vegetables and fruits

• Having a diet rich in proteins and calcium (such as milk, eggs, nuts, beans, and lean meat), but no raw or partially cooked eggs, meat, and seafood

• Including a lot of fluids in the diet

• A diet high in fiber and low in refined and processed flours

• Avoiding the consumption of shark, swordfish, marlin fish, as they contain high levels of mercury and limiting the intake of tuna

• Avoiding non-pasteurized juice and foods

• Avoiding large quantities of liver

• Staying away from caffeine and alcohol

• Avoiding herbal tea (despite all its benefits, there is no data on its effects on the baby)

Pregnancy is the time to celebrate, feel blessed that you have been given a task to create a life. Nobody and nothing should deter us from following our dream of giving birth to a healthy bundle of joy. The onus for that lies totally on us through the different pregnancy stages.

Getting pregnant is certainly the most beautiful dream of every woman. In earlier times, pregnant women were guided about the signs and stages of pregnancy through word of mouth. They relied on their mother, mother-in-law, friends, or even a woman next door. But now, machines have taken the place of humans.

Women now prefer to use the Internet to know more about pregnancy and its stages. They are more curious to gather information on the day-to-day development of the fetus. Tracking the growth of their baby becomes the most important task.

Signs of pregnancy

Before moving ahead, let’s first find out what are the signs of pregnancy. Generally, a missed period is considered a green signal for pregnancy but that’s not always true. There might be other reasons for a missed period. As soon as you conceive, your body experiences many changes that you can look for before taking a pregnancy test. Find out more common signs of pregnancy like sore breasts, nausea, vomiting, frequent urination, lethargy, craving for some foods, and change in the size of breasts.

Stages of pregnancy

Once the pregnancy is confirmed, the desire to know more about pregnancy and its stages is obvious. The stages of pregnancy are divided into three trimesters and each trimester represents unique emotional and physical changes in a pregnant woman.

* First Trimester: The first 12 weeks or around three months falls under the first trimester. This trimester demands intensive care of your fetus. Most women experience morning sickness. This is the stage when doctors recommend vitamins, minerals and especially iron. At the end of this trimester, a cluster of cells transforms into a baby.

** Second Trimester: The baby looks more human now. Sometimes, the baby may smile or frown as the facial part is developing. But, the most important part of the baby’s development is that now he/she has his/her own fingerprints! For women, the second trimester is considered safer and the easiest one. The risk of miscarriage disappears all of a sudden. Energy levels boost and the breasts start producing colostrum. The belly grows big and at the end of the second trimester, it becomes difficult to sleep.

*** Third Trimester: The baby grows fully in the last trimester. You may experience cramps in legs, swelling in hands or feet. In the eighth month, many women feel heartburn and indigestion. Anxiety and fear surround you. An increase in the baby’s weight and size may also cause back pain. Some women fall short of breath during this trimester. In the last month, the baby’s head comes down, which increases your urge to urinate more.