Pregnancy by Week
A normal pregnancy takes 40 weeks from the time of conception to the date of delivery. It isn’t an exact time and babies can be born prematurely or a few weeks after the estimated due date. Most of the time a doctor will let a baby be born normally after the 37th week of pregnancy as they lungs will be fully developed. Before that medication and bed rest may be prescribed to prevent the baby from being born. If a baby is too far past due the doctor will schedule a day to induce labor.
There are plenty of changes that take place during those 40 weeks of pregnancy. The female body is amazing when you consider all that it is able to do in order to protect the fetus from conception to delivery. There are three trimesters to each pregnancy, each one lasting approximately 13 weeks.
During the first few weeks of pregnancy you may not even realize you are pregnant. In most cases women discover it when they miss a period or they experience morning sickness. Many women experience nausea during the first few weeks of pregnancy up through about the 10th week. In fact many women lose weight during the first part of the pregnancy because they don’t eat much.
The first few weeks of a pregnancy are often a time of various emotions. They will depend on how you are viewing the news of being pregnant. Most people are happy about it but also nervous. For women who have had a miscarriage before there is the risk of not being able to carry the baby to term.
Around the 13th week of pregnancy a woman enters the 2nd trimester of their pregnancy. This lasts until about the 26th or 27th week of the pregnancy. Most women feel this is the most comfortable time of the pregnancy. They are used to the idea of having a baby and most of the time the morning sickness has faded. Most women can feel the baby move by this time and it is exciting. Many expectant fathers feel more a part of what is going on during this time.
The last weeks of a pregnancy may seem like they last forever. At the beginning of the 3rd trimester most women have gotten many of the baby items they need and scheduled time off work if necessary. There isn’t much more to do than wait. Many women start to have back pain and sleeping can be uncomfortable. There is also the anxiety of the labor and delivery that lies ahead. However most women say they really enjoy the feeling of being pregnant.
