Pregnancy – Week 9

Mum

As your uterus continues to grow, you still don’t physically look pregnant to others.
Mood swings and similar symptoms to PMS are common.

For a healthier pregnancy and faster recovery afterwards, stay active with a safe exercise program.  Don’t overdo it and don’t get too hot. You may be feeling very tired and sick with headaches and back problems due to pregnancy hormones.  Vaginal thrush may also result due to these hormones.

Your blood pressure tends to increase while pregnant so be careful when standing for long periods of time or standing up too quickly because you might feel light-headed. You may retain fluid making your face look fuller with fine wrinkles seeming to lessen.  Some women experience increased pigmentation on the face known as chloasma which appears as a butterfly shape.

Bub

Baby is now the size of a strawberry being around 30mm (1.2 inches) long and swimming around in a small bag of fluid.  While his movement can be visible during ultrasound, you still wont be able to feel them yet.

Though not fully formed as yet, your baby’s arms, legs, eyes, genitals and other organs are now present with his head still larger than the body due to the rapidly growing brain.   The main construction of the heart is complete.

A band of muscles will separate baby’s chest and abdominal cavities eventually developing into his diaphragm during this week.

Tips

Eat lots of cheeses, sardines, broccoli and other foods containing calcium to provide sufficient calcium for baby’s developing teeth and bones.

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