You are into the tenth month of the pregnancy and the morning sickness seems to have become a constant in your life. Well, don’t worry! Your pregnancy hormones will soon start stabilizing and the queasiness will start disappearing.
What’s happening inside your body?
With the pregnancy hormones taking control of your body, the muscles that are responsible for normal bowel movements slow down and become lethargic. The result is constipation.
The blood flow through the nerves increases to all parts of the body in preparation for nourishing the little life.
This week, you the ligaments that support your uterus start to stretch to make for its increasing size.
What to Expect?
You will be heavily constipated during this week, which is surely a major discomfort. Try adding in lots of fiber-rich food into your daily diet like uncooked vegetables, fruits, oats, etc.
There might be unexplained headaches which are mainly the doing of the pregnancy hormones. However, don’t pop a pill as you start experiencing one. There could also be other underlying reasons like fatigue or hunger. Sometimes, taking some rest or getting a snack would be enough to cure you of the pain. In case, you need to take a pain killer, make sure to ask your doctor to prescribe one that is safe for you and your little one.
Thanks to the enhanced blood flow in the veins, you may start citing bright veins under your skin. These would definitely look unattractive but you can hardly do anything, rather than hide these with appropriate clothing. Don’t worry, these will disappear after delivery.
The stretched ligaments under your uterus are taking a lot of pressure and may cause you some pain or cramps every now and then. This is quite normal and nothing to worry about.
Now that your uterus is growing at a steady speed, you may see that your lower abdomen has started to round up. Of course, this change is very subtle and will not be visible to others under all the clothing.
Your Baby This Week
In medical terms, your little one would now officially be known as a fetus. Your baby is growing up quite fast and this week, she may be about one and a half inches long. She has started looking more like a baby now, thanks to the body parts that are developing.
This week, the bones and cartilage of the baby start forming. The indents on the cute little legs finally shape out to be knees and ankles which your darling will use to crawl through the whole house.
The elbows have also formed completely by this week and your baby might already be flexing her hands, every now and then.
Though the pearly whites of your baby will be visible only after six months of the birth, the mechanism that makes this work gets into place this week.
The digestive system of your little one is working at full throttle and has started producing digestive juices. In case, your baby is a boy, his body will start producing the male hormones – testosterone, this week.
Things to do to make this Week Count
- Though you have known that you are pregnant for quite some time, it is only now that your body has started showing the signs. So, go ahead and check out the roundness of your tummy in a mirror.
- Take some time out to check the areas on your body where the veins are visible and find appropriate clothes that will help you hide these.
Watch your favorite shows on TV but avoid doing this while eating as this way you may tend to overeat and fall prey to indigestion.