3RD WEEK OF PREGNANCY FOR MOM AND BABY - 1ST MONTH OF PREGNANCY - PARENTHOOD

3rd week of pregnancy for mom and baby - 1st month of pregnancy

Mother's health

Still no menstruation: you've been waiting for them for about ten days. You can take a pregnancy test (if you haven't done it yet!). These tests measure a hormone, HCG, whose rate increases progressively in your body when you are urging, doubling every 2-3 days and continuing to rise up to in the seventh-twelfth week of pregnancy. Pregnancy tests analyze the presence levels of this hormone in the urine.

The development of the child

On the 16th day of pregnancy, the fertilized egg measures about 3 mm and nestles better and better in the uterine mucosa. The hairiness of the surface of the fertilized cell comes into contact with the blood vessels of the uterus to provide it with the nutrients necessary for its development.

For its part, the uterus has prepared itself to receive the fertilized egg, thanks to the influence of some hormones produced by the ovaries.
The cells of the fertilized egg are organized and differentiated more and more to form the future embryo. The fertilized egg more and more resembles a disc made up of three types of sheets (the "embryonic sheets"), which will be originally of the different tissues and organs.

Our advice

The tiredness

The great enemy of future mothers, especially at the beginning of a pregnancy, is fatigue. In the first months it often happens to have a great desire to sleep: it is normal! First of all, because the organism is put to a severe test during the pregnancy. From the first weeks, the hormonal structure changes.

Its upheaval is responsible for the main changes in the body of the expectant woman that can be accompanied by slight discomfort. Changes in the hormonal structure are necessary for the development of pregnancy and inevitably involve both physical and psychological repercussions: the concentrations of estrogen and progesterone, for example, increase in the blood. These repercussions sometimes become real disturbances, such as the modification of the sleep rhythm.

Tips for feeling good
- Avoid getting too tired, sleep at least eight hours a night.
- Increase the hours of rest and, if you can, take a nap on the weekend!
- At home, put aside housework and heavy work for a while.
- To avoid falling asleep, eat in a balanced way: do not skip meals and never spend more than 4-6 hours without eating, so as not to tire the body too much.
- Eat healthy and easily digestible foods, especially in the evening.
- Eat enough: the body of a pregnant woman works harder (increase in caloric consumption by 25%) and therefore you need about 2500 calories at the beginning of pregnancy, and 2800 from the sixth month. Adopt a varied diet. (proteins, carbohydrates, lipids), without deficiencies.
- Limit weight gain. If you are heavy, you will have more difficulty moving and you will tire even more!

Sleep disturbances during pregnancy
Don't worry if you can't sleep well, it's normal. When you are pregnant, you want to sleep more during the day and, often, find it difficult to fall asleep in the evening. There is no knowledge of the hormonal or psychological causes of this mechanism. Nightmares are common, especially during the first pregnancy. They are not the symptom of a complicated or badly experienced pregnancy, but rather an expression of completely legitimate anxieties and worries.

Attention, if the episodes of insomnia multiply and you can't sleep even during the day, consult your doctor: you need to fill up with energy to live your pregnancy well and to properly feed your baby. If you are really too tired and working, ask your doctor to prescribe a few days of rest.