Stages of pregnancy

If you are planning to have your first child, you will find some important information in this article about the different stages of pregnancy. There are actually three stages and each will come with different emotional and physical effects.

The First Stage:
This first stage is the trimester and it will start on the first day of your very last menstrual period. The first trimester ends in the sixteenth week of pregnancy.

During this time you will feel overwhelmed with a lot of emotions which includes being scared of bring a new life into the world. You could also experience excitement, joy and worry at the same.

As for the physical changes, there might not be a big bulge but the increase hormones can make you experience symptoms like nausea, morning sickness and tender, full or sore breasts.

The Second Stage:
This is the second trimester and it starts from the sixteenth to the twenty-eight week. During this period, most women experience emotions which are focused on preparing for the things that they will need when the baby comes.

If you are like most women, you will feel excited about your upcoming delivery and will read as well as listen to anything about childbirth and pregnancy. You might also notice an increase in sexual fantasies and desire for sex.

The physical changes will be more obvious during the second trimester more than any other stages of pregnancy. You could feel your baby moving as your stomach grows bigger every week, your skin will start glowing and the areola will start to darken. Besides that, you could regain your appetite as the nausea and morning sickness subsides.

The Third Stage:
The third trimester starts from week twenty-eight to week forty. This period might seem like the longest although it lasts for sixteen weeks like the first two trimesters.

Most often women experience severe exhaustion with sudden, yet short bursts of energy which compels them to prepare even more for the baby’s arrival by cleaning house and setting up nursery. You are likely to experience many emotions, including worrying about your baby’s health and becoming nervous and anxious about the labor and delivery.

The physical changes could be very uncomfortable for you during the third trimester. For instance, it could become very awkward and difficult for you to sleep as your stomach grows to a large size.

You could use pillows at nights to prop up yourself and get some relief from back pain and shortness of breath. Increase vaginal discharge, frequent urination and contractions are other symptoms to expect.

As you can see, the different stages of pregnancy come with unique and amazing experiences. You should definitely try to enjoy each stage as your pregnancy will not last forever.
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