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This is the beginning of a new month for you as a pregnant woman, the first week in the fifth month of your pregnancy. Congratulations! You have come a long way and now you have only five months or twenty-three weeks to go. Your baby is still growing and is now developing a bit of fat to keep them warm this week.
It is time you start to discuss with your partner and decide if you want to find out the gender of your baby or not. In just a little time, you will be able to find out your baby’s gender through an ultrasound. Can you guess how big your baby is this week? Don’t worry; you’ll find out soon.
This week, the baby’s hearing is improving significantly. His ears are nearly fully formed, and he is starting to hear your voice.
Your child is practicing sucking and swallowing in preparation for breastfeeding or bottle feeding. The baby will become more adapted to sucking as the weeks’ pass. Sucking and swallowing are not coordinated until around 32 to 34 weeks, and the sucking reflex is not fully matured until late 35 weeks.
Under your little one’s skin, fat stores are forming, which will provide energy and help keep your baby warm after birth.
This week, the baby’s hearing is improving significantly. His ears are nearly fully formed, and he is starting to hear your voice.
Your child is practicing sucking and swallowing in preparation for breastfeeding or bottle feeding. The baby will become more adapted to sucking as the weeks’ pass. Sucking and swallowing are not coordinated until around 32 to 34 weeks, and the sucking reflex is not fully matured until late 35 weeks.
Under your little one’s skin, fat stores are forming, which will provide energy and help keep your baby warm after birth.
In this week, your baby is forming adipose tissue, sometimes known as fat tissue. The face, neck, breast, and stomach walls are the first places where fat cells form. The back, shoulders, arms, legs, and chest are fattened as well. Fat tissue serves a variety of purposes, including storing energy, insulating the body, safeguarding the organs, and filling out the features of the infant. Muscles and bones are also still getting stronger and maturing.
Your baby is learning how to suck and preparing to feed when they are finally born. Even though your baby has also learned to swallow, they cannot suck and swallow together. They can only do them differently. The umbilical cord thickens and lengthens to nurture your kid, while the placenta expands and increases circulation to provide nutrients and oxygen to the infant.
Your baby is also developing sweat glands while moving around in your belly. You may feel your baby’s movements in this week, but if you can’t, don’t worry about it. Some people feel it earlier than others, and if this is your first baby, you might not notice the movements since they are still light movements. From now until the 22nd week, you will feel your baby’s first movements.
At seventeen weeks, your baby weighs 140 grams and measures about 5.12 inches in length. Your baby is about the size of a pomegranate. This week, you are looking pregnant. If you were one of those women who don’t start showing early, your period of grace has ended.
Your waistline is now disappearing as your womb grows upwards and out of your pelvis. If people couldn’t tell before, they definitely can now. Because of the rapid increase of weight and the extension of some parts of your body including the bumps, you will also start to spot stretch marks on your skin. They can be purple or red and will fade out to a silver color when you’ve given birth.
At 17 weeks pregnant, you have about 23 more weeks to complete your pregnancy journey.
Your nausea days are likely over. For the majority of women, the second trimester brings not only relief from morning sickness but also a robust appetite. So at 17 weeks pregnant, don’t be surprised if you suddenly feel hungry enough to devour a whole roasted chicken. What is causing your increased appetite? You’re responding to cues from your baby growing larger and more hungry. it would help if you speak to your practitioner who will be able to assist you in maintaining your healthy weight.
As the second trimester moves on, you should have less nausea and more energy, but other symptoms are associated with the second trimester. One of these is a pain in your lower back. Since your stomach is getting bigger, your back supports it, which can cause aches in your lower back. You can place a pillow behind your back when you sit down to make things easier.
The stuffy nose and cold that started a few weeks ago may still be bothering you. Nasal congestion during pregnancy is not unknown, but having a humidifier around will help your stuffy nose. You may also get dry and itchy eyes during this period. Using a standard eye drop can help, and if you wear contact lenses, you will probably have to switch to glasses for the duration of your pregnancy.
As your weight increases because your center of gravity shifts as your belly expands, you may feel a bit wobbly on your feet. Avoid circumstances where there is a high chance of falling. Reduce your chance of falling by wearing low-heeled shoes; injuries to your abdomen could be risky for you and your baby.
In this week, you may also experience itchy breasts and belly. Your skin stretches thinner and becomes more sensitive as your baby grows. Instead of scratching, pick a calming skin treatment to relieve the itch.
As the second trimester moves on, you should have less nausea and more energy, but other symptoms are associated with the second trimester. One of these is a pain in your lower back. Since your stomach is getting bigger, your back supports it, which can cause aches in your lower back. You can place a pillow behind your back when you sit down to make things easier.
The stuffy nose and cold that started a few weeks ago may still be bothering you. Nasal congestion during pregnancy is not unknown, but having a humidifier around will help your stuffy nose. You may also get dry and itchy eyes during this period. Using a standard eye drop can help, and if you wear contact lenses, you will probably have to switch to glasses for the duration of your pregnancy.
As your weight increases because your center of gravity shifts as your belly expands, you may feel a bit wobbly on your feet. Avoid circumstances where there is a high chance of falling. Reduce your chance of falling by wearing low-heeled shoes; injuries to your abdomen could be risky for you and your baby.
In this week, you may also experience itchy breasts and belly. Your skin stretches thinner and becomes more sensitive as your baby grows. Instead of scratching, pick a calming skin treatment to relieve the itch.
Very important; you should learn how to speak up. As your tummy gets bigger, it is normal for people, your family members, friends, and colleagues at work to want to touch or rub your tummy. If you are fine with this, then there’s no problem. However, if you don’t feel comfortable with it, you should tell them to stop. As a pregnant woman, your mental health must be top-notch, and you don’t want anything that will stress you out.
This week, you will be sweating a lot. Instead of stressing yourself out about it, you should take chilly baths. Cold baths may also help to reduce and relieve your body aches.
Try to spoil yourself, but in a healthy way. Eat what you want, but make sure it’s healthy. Eating healthy can also reduce your stretch marks. They won’t go away, but they can be less prominent. Also drinking lots of water and using a moisturizer can help to reduce your stretch marks.
Performing moderate exercise will help to prevent unhealthy weight gain during your pregnancy. It will also help to improve your mood when you’re down.
As you get bigger, try to sit more. Don’t stand for long periods, and make sure to rest. Understandably, you want to get a lot done while you have the time, but don’t forget to rest as well.
The most likely cause of snoring during pregnancy is your increasing pregnancy hormones which affect your nose! it would help if you can put a humidifier in your bedroom, use one of those nasal strips to open up your nasal passages or sleep on a couple of pillows to keep your head slightly elevated.
Bad Sleeping Posture: As you grow bigger, ensure you don’t sleep on your back. When you lie on your back, you put a lot of weight on a very big blood vessel, which hinders blood flow to your baby, this can be harmful. It also lowers your blood pressure. The best sleeping position now is to sleep on your left side. If you find it very hard to adjust your sleeping position, it will help if you can place a pillow under your hip when you sleep so that your belly is tilted to the side.
Urinary Tract Infection: Fever, foul-smelling vaginal discharge, burning sensation while urinating, and pelvic pain are likely symptoms. Speak with your Ob-Gyn or midwife if you experience any of these. Your obstetrician will give you some baby-safe antibiotics to use.
Chronic Illnesses: Pregnancy can worsen chronic conditions. Conditions like hypertension and diabetes can cause a lot of harm to you and your baby. Take all prescribed medication and exercise regularly. Also, regularly checking your blood pressure and blood sugar level is very important.
© Mindsmaking 2024
