Health for Conception and During Pregnancy

What to Eat While Pregnant

Avoiding Miscarriage

Cord Blood Banking

Packing for the Delivery Room

Tips for the New Mom

Bringing Home Baby

Getting Baby to Sleep

Budgeting for Baby

Traveling with Baby

Dressing Your Newborn

Breastfeeding Myths

Finding a Safe Baby Crib

Soothing a Newborn

Losing Weight After Pregnancy

Coping with the First Trimester

The first 12 weeks of a woman's pregnancy is called the first trimester. It is during this period that a woman's body experiences drastic changes. Discomfort may or may not be experienced by a pregnant woman during this time, but to help you cope here is a list of the most common changes and discomforts and how to effectively deal with them.

Morning Sickness and Nausea

The stretching of the uterine muscles and the pressure on the digestive tract due to the baby growing can cause increased stomach acids. The body reacts to this increase by releasing it through vomiting. In addition, a woman's sense of smell is on hyperdrive during pregnancy, and this can increase irritability as well as the probability of vomiting.

Rejoice, for this doesn't stay for the whole nine months. Usually the vomiting stops after the third month. And do not worry--the vomiting doesn't hurt the baby!

To help with morning sickness, try not to eat large meals. Instead eat small frequent meals so that the stomach doesn't get"shocked." Also, studies show that a diet abundant in complex carbohydrates, like bread and other starchy foods, as well as proteins can help alleviate morning sickness. Also avoid eating fatty food.

Breast Swelling

The body, in its preparation for the arrival of the baby, releases progesterone and estrogen in higher levels than usual. These hormones send messages to the breasts to produce more milk in preparation for feeding the newborn baby.

The areolas will most likely enlarge and darken. Later on you may notice that these areas start to have white bumps. There may also be increased sensitivity in the breast area and you may see blue lines along your breasts. These blue lines are only your blood vessels working hard to supply blood to your breasts.

Swelling may increase during the latter period of pregnancy; in this case, one must use a good support bra of the right size.

Shortness of Breath and Fatigue

Pregnancy can cause fatigue and other emotional changes in a woman. You should know that even while you sleep, your body is feeding another living being. During pregnancy, your body needs more rest. Fatigue is normal, and should go away after the body gets used to being pregnant.

To prevent yourself from being more irritable and more tired, try to get as much sleep as you can in the night. The ideal length of sleep for an adult is eight hours.

A proper diet also helps with fatigue, after all you're already feeding two people. One other reason for fatigue may be the lack of vitamins and nutrients for the both of you. Take the vitamins that your doctor recommends and make sure you eat lots of nutrient-rich foods.

Exercise is also a big help. It doesn't have to be hard exercise--a light jog or a slow walk will do. But remember, a balance of exercise and rest is needed; too much exercise or too much rest can also increase fatigue.

Irritability and Mood Changes

Because of the increased presence of hormones, mood swings are common.

Lightheadedness

During pregnancy the heart is pumping harder to provide extra blood to the legs and the uterus, so a woman may experience dizziness due to the lack of blood flow into the brain. Low blood sugar levels can also contribute to dizziness. The best thing to do in this case is to make sure that you eat protein-rich food and more frequent, smaller meals.

Urination Frequency

The rapid growth of the uterus presses the other internal organs away, including the bladder. Usually urination frequency decreases when the uterus settles into the abdominal cavity, but it may return during the third trimester when the uterus drops back down to prepare for birth.

Try leaning forward while urinating. This is to make sure that you empty your bladder completely, and it can therefore help decrease the frequency of "having to go."

These are the more common discomforts during pregnancy. Other discomforts like varicose veins, cravings, and heartburn may occur and are all normal, too.

Being prepared early can help a lot during pregnancy. Be sure to have regular check-ups with your doctor as well as a proper diet, vitamins and exercise!