The pregnancy test from the pharmacy sparked your initial hopes, and your OB-GYN has officially confirmed it: A new life is growing inside you! Congratulations—the coming weeks and months will be a fascinating time full of new experiences and anticipation for life as a family of three. The pregnancy calendar below provides an overview of what lies ahead for you.
The average pregnancy lasts 40 weeks, although it is not uncommon for labor to begin earlier or later than this. From a purely mathematical standpoint, these 40 weeks are divided into 10 months of 28 days each, with the count beginning on the first day of the last menstrual period—even before conception. The course of pregnancy can be viewed in terms of individual lunar months or grouped into stages. The most common way to group the pregnancy is by dividing it into thirds, known as trimesters. Another very detailed pregnancy calendar is available on the schwangerschaft.at website.
The First Trimester—the First 12 Weeks of Pregnancy
The miracle of life begins with the mature egg, which travels from the ovary to the fallopian tube once a month and remains there for a short time. If, within 24 hours of this process, male sperm enter the uterus so that they can reach and fertilize the egg, the egg continues its journey and will implant itself in the lining of the uterus.
This implantation can lead to the first signs of pregnancy: implantation bleeding. It is lighter than a menstrual period but can be mistaken for one by women who have not been “trying” to get pregnant. To nourish the egg and the resulting embryo, the placenta now forms at the site of implantation; it will also produce the pregnancy hormone HCG throughout the remainder of the pregnancy.
This marks the beginning of a period of dramatic hormonal changes in the expectant mother’s body. These changes can manifest in a wide variety of symptoms, such as mood swings and nausea. The expectant mother’s breasts also begin to change, which can be accompanied by an uncomfortable feeling of tightness and sensitivity to even the slightest touch. The hormonal changes are not fully complete until toward the end of the first trimester; by that time, however, the associated symptoms will have subsided.
The first trimester is also a demanding time for the egg. Cell division begins 36 hours after successful fertilization, and just two weeks after implantation in the uterus, the embryo develops an umbilical cord and internal organs. This makes it possible to see a tiny heart beating on an ultrasound as early as the eighth week of pregnancy. By the end of the first trimester, arms and legs have formed, as well as the beginnings of fingers and toes, while the embryo itself has grown to five to six centimeters.
The second trimester—weeks 13 through 28 of pregnancy
The second trimester begins much more comfortably for the expectant mother, as her hormone levels have now stabilized and the unpleasant side effects, such as nausea, have largely disappeared. As a result, most pregnant women find that starting in the twelfth week, their pregnancy feels pleasant and balanced—a time full of anticipation and energy. For this reason, the second trimester is also the best opportunity to take one last vacation and recharge your batteries for the time ahead.
This stage of pregnancy is marked by the expectant mother’s first, slight weight gain; from now on, she can proudly show off her “baby bump.” The fetus is also gaining weight steadily and, by the end of the fourth month, may already weigh an impressive 100 grams and measure a good ten centimeters. The fetus’s internal organs and genitals continue to develop during this time, so that the digestive organs will soon begin to function and be able to excrete the amniotic fluid it has absorbed. At least one ultrasound is performed during this period to determine the baby’s sex. Unfortunately, these efforts are not always successful, as the fetus may be in an unfavorable position at the time of the ultrasound.
Pregnant women feel just as much joy when they sense their baby’s first, gentle movements during this time as they do when they see the baby’s beating heart on the ultrasound image. These movements are often affectionately described as “little flutters of butterfly wings.”
Toward the end of the second trimester, the fetus’s organs are fully developed, and it begins to respond to external stimuli, such as the mother’s voice. It can now reach a length of 26 centimeters and weigh 500 grams.
The third trimester—soon there will be three of us!
The third trimester of pregnancy spans from the 29th to the 40th week of pregnancy. The baby is now fully developed but remains in the uterus to continue maturing. This primarily concerns the baby’s lungs, which do not reach full maturity until late in the third trimester and are only then able to function fully outside the uterus.
The third trimester is the most difficult for many women, as they—especially toward the end of this period—have to cope with their enormous baby bump, which makes everyday life a bit more challenging. For many expectant mothers, it becomes increasingly difficult to find the right sleeping position at night. As a result, some of them complain about a lack of restful sleep. But even if they do find the right position, a restful night’s sleep becomes increasingly unlikely as the pregnancy progresses, since the growing baby continues to take up more space and, at a certain point, begins to press on the woman’s bladder. As a result, most expectant mothers experience frequent urges to urinate in the final weeks before giving birth, even when their bladder isn’t completely full.
Expectant mothers may also experience the following symptoms during the last trimester:
- Heartburn
- Shortness of breath
- Stretch marks
- Practice contractions
- Edema
- Varicose Veins
- Back Pain
During the last trimester, it’s time for the baby to turn and assume the optimal position for birth. The baby’s head is now facing down, so that it will be the first part to emerge during delivery. Shortly before giving birth, many expectant mothers develop a “nesting instinct” and are driven by a restless energy to thoroughly clean the home, quickly decorate the nursery, or complete other tasks necessary to prepare the “nest” for the new arrival.
But as difficult and exhausting as the final weeks before childbirth may be—they also mean that the pregnancy is drawing to a close and that the greatest and most wonderful event in the expectant mother’s life is just around the corner.
The Pregnancy Calendar from schwangerschaft.at gives you an even more detailed overview of the different stages of pregnancy.
