week 18
What is happening to my baby?
Your baby continues to grow well. The baby eyes still remains shut but it is sensitive to bright light outside your abdomen. Eye lashes and eye brows have started to grow. A protective covering (myelin) begins to cover the baby’s nerves. At this stage, your baby is 12.5 – 14cm in length and weighs 150gm.
What is happening to me?
It is becoming more obvious to others to you are pregnant. A lot of physiological changes are occuring in your body. There is an increase in blood volume, heart rate beating faster and some women may have low blood pressure. Hence, take care when you are changing position from lying to sitting up or especially sitting down to standing up. Do it slowly, if not you may experience dizziness doing it too quickly and may actually hurt yourself.
What should I plan this week?
- Take a look at your diet especially if you are gaining too much or too little weight.
- Take notice on your bowel movements. Are you getting constipated? Do you have haemorrhoids?
Tips of the week
Tips on how to deal with constipation during pregnancy:
- Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day
- Eat more fibres in your diet e.g whole grains, fresh or dried fruits (prune, apricot, peach), vegetables
- Exercise
- Try drinking prune juice
- You could try buying metamucil from the pharmacy
- Ask your doctors first before trying other laxatives
Health matters
You could read further on the following topics:
- Constipation in pregnancy
- Haemorrhoid during pregnancy
- Dizziness
- Diet in pregnancy
- How much weight gain can I expect
- Pregnancy signs
