For expectant mothers, knowing how to take care of themselves and the unborn baby during the various pregnancy stages is of utmost importance. Right from the time a child is conceived, the mother’s body goes through a whole gamut of changes both physical as well as emotional.

Early Stages Of Pregnancy

Early signs of pregnancy include nausea, restlessness, and increase in body temperature and food cravings. The first three months or the first trimester are a crucial time for the baby. The implantation of the fetus on the walls of the uterus and the development of vital organs like the brain and the spinal cord takes place by the end of the first month.

For the expecting mothers the first month may also bring spells of nausea and breast tenderness.

Other vital organs like limbs start to develop and the size of the head increases during the second month. The mother should take care not to indulge in smoking or drinking as that can be potentially harmful for the growth of the baby and can even cause a miscarriage.

In the second trimester pregnancy stabilizes a bit as the body gets used to the baby and vice versa. By the sixth month, the baby’s senses start to develop along with eyelashes and eyebrows. Most of the vital organs are also almost developed by this time. A baby bulge is also visible and it is at this time that the mother should wear loose and comfortable clothes for allowing proper development of the baby.

The Third Trimester Pregnancy

By the seventh month the baby is almost completely developed and starts using most of its organs except for the lungs. The brain, however, continues to develop even now. The baby gets bigger and weighs more now and the mother feels the effects as she has to support the growing baby with her back. The baby can open its eyes and also move around with force which is commonly referred to as kicking. Regular discomforts associated with pregnancy like heartburn, backaches and frequent need to urinate are common at this time.

Simple exercises practiced in consultation with your medical practitioner can help alleviate these symptoms. It is important to continue taking pre natal vitamins and a healthy diet for your strength as well as the baby’s.

The last month of pregnancy or the ninth month is when the baby turns the most to take the position in which it is ready to be delivered.

Apart from the physical changes, it is common for expectant mothers to have anxiety over the upcoming birth or feel excited and high strung. Being well informed, taking proper rest and a nutritious diet will help in an easy delivery.

A woman can make her pregnancy time even more beautiful and hassle-free if she knows the various pregnancy stages beforehand. The first early pregnancy symptoms are sometimes difficult to identify. Some women say that they had a single drop of blood after ovulation (implantation bleeding) and they just knew. Some felt strange sensations or fullness in their breasts. Some didn’t feel any different at all and just missed a period. So the symptoms are individualistic and differ from person to person. However, the following are a few common symptoms or signs of pregnancy spotting

• Darkening of areolas

• Implantation bleeding a few days after ovulation

• Constipation

• Frequent urination

• Frequent heartburn or indigestion

• Sleeplessness

• Full or tender breasts

• Needle-like sensation or tingling in areolas, like they’ve fallen asleep

• Skipped or very light period

• Fatigue - going to bed early too often

• Nausea

• Loss of appetite and fainting attacks

• Vaginal discharge

• Positive pregnancy test - the only sure Pregnancy Symptom

These pregnancy symptoms can be experienced as early as 11 days DPO to 14 days DPO (days post ovulation), around the time your period would normally occur. Due to nausea and vomiting, a pregnant woman’s appetite might decrease. She should make sure to take a healthy diet. A healthy diet includes carbohydrate- and protein-rich foods such as milk, curd, cottage cheese, eggs, lentils, pulses, vegetables, and sprouts. Folic acid supplementation is essential.

Pregnancy usually lasts 280 days or 40 weeks, counting from the first day of the last menstrual period. It is broken down into 3 stages of pregnancy, known as “trimesters.” The first trimester lasts from week 1 to week 13; the second trimester from week 14 to week 27; and the third trimester from week 28 to week 40 week, or until birth.

Each trimester has its own milestones. During the first trimester, it’s hearing the heartbeat; during the second, it’s the first time the baby moves; in the third, many women experience Braxton Hicks contractions, signifying that the body is getting ready for labor. Some tests such as chorionic villus sampling are done during the first trimester. Others such as amniocentesis (another diagnostic test) may be done during the second trimester. Rhesus incompatibility may also be diagnosed in the second trimester. Certain problems such as gestational diabetes, if develop, almost always arise during the last trimester.

A pregnant woman’s feelings will change during each pregnancy stage as well. In the beginning, she might be fraught with weepiness and fatigue due to hormonal changes. She may feel ambivalent if she has been experiencing morning sickness. She might also feel intense excitement at times.