How Do I Get My Baby to Kick Pregnant

Expert reviewer, Dr Samantha Wild, Full general Practitioner, Bupa Great britain and Michelle Sheridan, Midwife, Bupa UK
Next review due August 2023

Pregnancy usually lasts from 37 to 42 weeks, counting from the start twenty-four hours of your concluding menstruation. It's divided into three trimesters. Each trimester lasts for iii months (effectually 12 to 13 weeks). During pregnancy, your body goes through lots of changes to support your growing baby and get ready for the nascency.

Getting pregnant

Getting pregnant means a sperm from your male partner joins together with (fertilises) one of your eggs. This is also called conception.

Every month, one of your ovaries releases an egg. This is called ovulation. It usually happens x to 16 days after the start of your last period. If y'all've had sex, the egg may exist fertilised by sperm from your partner in your fallopian tube. The fertilised egg then moves along your fallopian tube towards your womb (uterus). It rapidly grows and divides, becoming a ball of cells.

Once it reaches your womb, the ball of cells buries itself into the womb lining. This is called implantation. It ordinarily happens around 6 days afterward formulation. At this early stage, your baby is chosen an embryo. Usually, your womb sheds its lining every month, causing your period. This happens effectually fourteen days later on you've ovulated. When you're pregnant, your womb won't shed its lining, so you'll stop having periods. Missing a catamenia is often the first sign that you're pregnant.

Pregnancy tests

You tin purchase pregnancy tests at any chemist's or supermarket. You lot may likewise be able to become 1 free of charge from certain charities, contraceptive and sexual wellness clinics or your GP.

Pregnancy tests piece of work by detecting a pregnancy hormone called beta-homo chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) in your urine. Most pregnancy tests can detect if y'all're meaning from the kickoff day of your missed catamenia. But some tests are more than sensitive and tin can give you a upshot even earlier than this.

Pregnancy tests are usually very authentic. Simply sometimes y'all tin can get a negative consequence if you lot do the test too early. If you become a negative outcome only still recall you lot're pregnant, information technology's worth doing the test once again later on a few days. During the first few weeks of pregnancy, your level of hCG increases very quickly. By the time your flow is almost a week late, yous tin can be pretty sure that the issue of a pregnancy test is accurate.

How many weeks pregnant am I?

You count your pregnancy from the outset day of your last flow. Then, if you take a 28-day menstrual bike, yous're said to be four weeks pregnant on the day your side by side menses would have been due. If it's been a week since your period was due, you'll be five weeks meaning.

Your doctor or midwife will calculate your due engagement based on the engagement you lot started your final period. Your due date is 40 weeks from this date. Simply information technology's normal to give birth up to 3 weeks before or two weeks after your due date.

First trimester (1 to 12 weeks)

Effects of pregnancy on yous

Your body goes through lots of changes in early pregnancy.

• Missing your menstruation is often the first sign that you're pregnant.
• Your breasts may feel fuller and tender. Your nipples and the area around them (the areola) may become darker.
• You may find you need to pee more than frequently, as your womb gets bigger and starts to press on your float.
• You may feel very tired and sleepy.
• Yous may get pulling pains around the sides of your tummy, as your womb grows and stretches the ligaments around it.
• Y'all may experience sick or be ill. This is often called 'morning sickness', but it can happen at any time of the 24-hour interval. Information technology's very common early on in pregnancy. Y'all may find your symptoms get better if you eat little and often and stick to blander foods. If your sickness is severe, you may have hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), and might need infirmary treatment.
• Yous may get constipation because food passes more slowly through your digestive system. Brand sure you're drinking lots of fluids and getting plenty of fibre in your diet.

Many of these symptoms will go abroad as your pregnancy continues. But some things – for example, constipation – may carry on or get worse. If you take whatsoever pregnancy problems, information technology'due south important to speak to your GP or midwife.

Before and during your pregnancy, continue yourself as healthy equally possible. You may need to make some changes to your lifestyle. These changes may include:

• giving up smoking if you lot smoke
• stopping drinking booze
• being careful almost what you eat
• starting to take folic acrid and vitamin D supplements

How your baby develops

Your baby begins life as a tiny ball of cells which grows quickly. Some of the cells become an embryo and some course the placenta, which creates a lifeline between you lot and your babe. The placenta attaches itself to your womb and is linked to your babe by the umbilical cord. Oxygen, nutrients and hormones from your blood pass through the placenta and umbilical cord into your baby. Your baby'due south waste product products laissez passer back into your blood, so you tin can go rid of them.

During these outset few weeks, all your baby's organs and important body parts start to class. The cells that create your baby's eye make chirapsia movements from very early on. Your baby's heartbeat tin usually be detected during an ultrasound browse around the 6th week of pregnancy.

Past eight weeks, your baby's lungs are already forming the tubes that will carry air in and out once they're born. The muscles of their eyes, nose and mouth are forming, and their fingers and toes kickoff to poke out of their easily and feet. Past calendar week 12, your baby will even accept tiny fingernails. Their kidneys now start to make urine and their pancreas starts to make insulin, which volition control their claret sugar.

2nd trimester (13 to 27 weeks)

Effects of pregnancy on you

In your second trimester, your body continues to change as your infant'south organs continue to grow and mature.

• Near people will detect you're pregnant one time you've reached around the 20th week of pregnancy. Lots of other changes happen in your second trimester besides. You'll start to put on more than weight every bit your babe grows. Every pregnancy is different, only you may put on around 10–12.5kg (22–27.5 pounds) during your pregnancy. This extra weight is fabricated up of your growing babe, the placenta, the fluid in your womb, your breasts and extra fluid and fat stores.
• As your tum and breasts grow, you lot may observe stretch marks on your skin. These are harmless and commonly fade afterwards your baby is built-in. You can try different moisturisers and lotions to prevent stretch marks just in that location's little evidence that whatsoever of these works.
• Morning sickness usually gets better by the time yous're 16 weeks significant.
• Pregnancy hormones make your ligaments and tendons relax, which loosens your joints. And then, you may get backache. This can also exist caused by the extra weight you lot're carrying. Yous may get pain in your pelvis and observe it harder to walk. You lot may be offered some physiotherapy to help manage this.
• Y'all may commencement feel your infant move when yous're effectually 18 to 20 weeks significant. This might happen a few weeks before if this isn't your offset pregnancy. The movements will become stronger and more obvious equally your baby gets bigger and more than active. Make fourth dimension to notice your infant's movements and get to know their usual pattern. Contact your midwife of antenatal ward if you notice any changes (reduced movement).

How your infant develops

By 16 weeks, your infant's basic harden and past 20 weeks, their digestive system is working. Your midwife will exist able to hear your baby's heartbeat with a stethoscope from about sixteen to 20 weeks. Their ears develop and by xvi weeks, your babe can hear some sounds.

Your baby's skin will be wrinkled and covered with a greasy substance and fine hair called lanugo. They'll slumber and wake regularly and may start to kick and stretch. Their sucking reflex is developing, and they may even suck their thumb if their hand reaches their mouth. Their eyelids will open by the fourth dimension they're about 6 months. By virtually the 14th week of pregnancy, the sex of your baby tin normally be seen in an ultrasound browse.

From 24 weeks, your babe starts to have more chance of surviving if they're born prematurely. Just they would need intensive care for a long time if they were born this early. Their chances of surviving get ameliorate with every week they stay inside your womb.

Third trimester (28 to 40 weeks)

Effects of pregnancy on you

In your third trimester, your baby keeps growing and your trunk gets fix for the birth.

• The actress weight yous're carrying can brand you very tired, and y'all may feel breathless equally your infant grows. Sometimes, this may be caused by fe-deficiency anaemia. You lot should be offered claret tests to check your iron levels at your first antenatal date and again at 28 weeks.
• You may exist finding it hard to slumber. This may be because you lot wake up to wee in the night or you can't go into a comfortable sleeping position.
• Y'all may get Braxton–Hicks contractions – where your womb starts to contract – from about 30 weeks. These may exist uncomfortable merely shouldn't hurt.
• You may get heartburn. Try to eat little and often and stick to bland foods. Avoid eating late at night. You tin can try an antacid medicine to see if it helps.
• You may notice swelling afterwards in pregnancy, especially in your ankles, feet, legs, hands or fingers. If this happens suddenly or gets a lot worse, contact your midwife. It can be a sign of pre-eclampsia (loftier blood pressure during your pregnancy).
• You may become varicose veins, equally the claret flow around your legs slows down.
• Your breasts may start to leak a milky fluid called colostrum.
• You may need to wee more than oftentimes as your baby drops into your pelvis. Y'all may leak some urine when you cough or sneeze. This is called stress incontinence. Doing pelvic flooring exercises can help with this.

How your baby develops

During the third trimester, your baby puts on weight quickly and stores fat nether their pare. Their skin starts to smooth out and they lose their coat of fine hair. Their body gradually gets more in proportion. Their lungs are fully formed just won't work properly until they're built-in.

Your baby will be making lots of movements, including stretching, kicking and grasping. And they'll startle at loud sounds and sense changes in light. They commonly turn into a head-down position by week 36, ready for nascency. In the last few weeks, they tend to driblet lower into your pelvis.

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Source: https://www.bupa.co.uk/health-information/pregnancy/stages-of-pregnancy

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