This is one of a series of articles on pregnancy. For more information about pregnancy and birth options, see my other articles including my series on homebirth.
The First Trimester
The first trimester is unique, in that you aren’t pregnant for 2 weeks of it and may not feel symptoms for up to 6 weeks. This can be a blessing for some women, who have a difficult time dealing with the symptoms associated with early pregnancy. This article will outline the symptoms of the first trimester with a brief explanation of what’s going on with your baby.
Emotional Changes
You may feel premenstrual, overly emotional, or out of sorts. Exhaustion, morning sickness, and a lack of really feel pregnant can lead to bouts of crankiness. This is completely normal and as you adjust to the changes in pregnancy (including the hormonal changes that your body is trying to get used to) you can learn to cope effectively with the emotional aspects of pregnancy. You may also find that you get upset easily, not just angry but upset or sad. These feelings are totally normal as your body sets the foundation for the changes you will experience in the next 9 months. I’d recommend extra rest (not getting enough sleep can exacerbate the emotional and other symptoms of pregnancy) and support from your child’s father and/or family, though you may not want to tell your family until you’re through the first trimester due to risk of pregnancy loss.
Physical Changes
You won’t be showing yet, but there are many symptoms that occur in early pregnancy.
Breast changes: your breasts may grow at this stage, and they may be sensitive or tender.
Morning sickness: more appropriately named ‘all day sickness’, morning sickness can be anywhere from slight to particularly troubling. If you find that you can’t keep anything down most of the day, this is not uncommon. Try to keep something in your stomach and stick with foods that you crave or that you know won’t trigger nausea. Some women swear by Sea-Bands, which are worn on the wrists and can help curb nausea.
Frequent urination: get used to seeing the bathroom, you’re going to be spending a lot of time in it, particularly in the first and third trimesters.
Acne: hormonal changes in pregnancy tend to lead to break outs. Some women only break out around the time that they would have had their periods, but other women find themselves struggling with acne throughout their entire pregnancy. Be careful using acne treatments, as some are dangerous to a developing embryo.
Fatigue: do I even need to mention this? You may have fallen asleep by now…
It is so important that you get your rest during the early part of pregnancy, so don’t skimp on sleep because you think you’ll be fine. Not only can it cause all of your other symptoms to get worse, but not getting enough rest can make your days extremely difficult. The sleep is important to your developing embryo, so don’t feel guilty getting a couple of extra hours. If you can find a chance, naps in the afternoon can also be extremely helpful. The fatigue will get better most likely, around the 4th month.
Dizziness: The hormonal changes combined with increased blood flow can lead to dizziness early in pregnancy. There isn’t much you can do besides making sure that you don’t get too hot or wear constrictive clothing. Nausea can also make dizziness worse. Keep something in your stomach to curb both the nausea and dizziness associated with low blood sugar levels, and try not to stand for long periods of time if dizziness is an issue.
Bloating: Though you’re not showing yet, you may experience some bloating that can make your pants feel snug. I wish I could say this symptom goes away, but it doesn’t until after delivery.
Gas: You may find yourself burping more or passing gas as your body gets used to the increased digestion required to keep 2 people fed. This can make the bloating more pronounced.
Food Aversions/Cravings: You can start to get cravings or food aversions even early in pregnancy. I’d recommend eating what your body craves, in moderation, and staying away from things that you know will trigger nausea.
Headaches: increased blood flow as well as hormonal changes and exhaustion can lead to headaches. If you’re prone to migraines, this can make things more difficult, particularly since some migraine medications aren’t safe for pregnancy. Talk to your doctor before taking anything stronger than Tylenol.
What about sex?
Many women in the first trimester find that their sex drive is much lower, though some find it’s much higher. Nausea, fatigue, and body aches can make sex seem less appealing, though many women report that they find it easier to orgasm throughout their pregnancy.
Sex during pregnancy won’t hurt your baby unless your doctor or midwife tells you otherwise, so you don’t need to be concerned from that aspect. On the plus side, you don’t have to worry about getting pregnant!
Your Uterus
During the first trimester, your uterus does grow somewhat, but the baby is very small so it won’t grow that much. By the end of the first trimester, your uterus is about the size of a grapefruit (starting from about the size of your fist) and is just peeking up over your pelvic bones.
What is your baby doing?
This is a time of big changes for your baby, who is going from zygote to fully formed by the end of the first trimester. Though your baby won’t be growing much or putting on weight, don’t let that fool you. All organ systems and bone structures are formed by the end of the first trimester, and the heart begins to beat several weeks before you enter the second trimester. Your baby is building its brain and spinal cord early on, so make sure to get your folic acid to lower your risk of neural tube defects like spina bifida. After that, your baby starts working on the heart and other vital organs, while on the outside you would start to see the facial structure develop and then fingers and toes (if you could see your baby, of course). Initially, they have webbed fingers and toes, but this goes away long before your baby is born, so you’ll never get to see it except perhaps via ultrasound. Some women aren’t aware that the developing embryo has a tail until several weeks into the first trimester. As the body lengthens and develops, it takes up more of the spinal cord which was developing first, and the tail disappears.
Embryos develop from the top down, as a general rule. The most important things come first!
During this time, the placenta is also forming, and doesn’t completely form until around the 4th month, which is part of the reason that first trimester mothers are so tired. Their body is doing the work for two.
Good luck and congratulations on your pregnancy! Don’t forget to see what comes next in my next article about the second trimester. I’d also love to hear what you think about my articles, so don’t be afraid to comment!
