You and your baby in the first trimester of pregnancy

The early days of pregnancy are some of the most testing and anxious times for parents-to-be. You have the most wondrous, biological miracle going on inside you and yet, convention has it that you shouldn’t share your news with the world until after the 12 week scan has been and gone.

What you can do in the meantime is begin to use the time in front of you to allow the fact of pregnancy to settle in, to affirm your bond with your partner and to educate yourself on what is happening to your body as well as on what is happening to the burgeoning life inside you.

The first trimester can be a very strange experience. Physically you will most likely appear much the same to the unwitting friend or relation, but, inside your body some of the most seismic changes it will ever experience are occurring and the hormones and physiological aspects of this will, at times, leave you feeling tired, unwell, and emotional.

Yes, you will be poked and prodded

It’s time to get over any fear of needles (seriously, if you have trouble giving blood or having injections, then you need to speak to your GP about receiving some help), because pregnant women are ‘stuck’ so many times in the nine months of gestation they generally lose count.

The first trimester sees the commencement of some of the closest medical care you will ever receive in your lifetime. Antenatal care should begin as soon as possible once you think you could be pregnant – usually as a visit to your GP. Then you will meet your midwife, typically between week 8 and week 12 of the pregnancy, so that you can be ‘booked in’ so that you can receive appointments for all necessary scans and checks and receive all the necessary guidance you’ll need for a healthy pregnancy.

My BabyManual has lots of blogs and articles about the journey through pregnancy trimester 1, so read on for information on everything from how to do the perfect pelvic tilt to why it’s important to look after your gums during pregnancy.