Tiredness and vomiting – It’s all in a good cause

Up until ten weeks into your pregnancy it might be possible to persist with the illusion that you are not really pregnant.

However, by this point the hormonal and physical changes in your body will be starting to emerge. It is likely that your breasts will be becoming larger and more tender, that the outer circles of your nipple will be darkening and that the small bumps on the skin around your nipples’ are becoming more pronounced, as your body becomes more and more finely honed for the nurturing of new life. In fact, by the end of your pregnancy it is likely that your breasts will be a full kilogram heavier than they were pre-pregnancy!

Don’t worry if you haven’t noticed any changes yet though – some pregnancies begin to “show” later than others.

Even if you aren’t actually seeing the changes taking place in your body, they will be happening and they’re all occurring to aid the health and development of the burgeoning new life inside you. And, in a perverse twist, especially if you don’t look any different, they will be making you feel different.

If you have become a little less active and more sofa-happy than usual, don’t worry, because your body has probably never been as busy and active as it is right now. So don’t be surprised if you find yourself feeling, at the very least, a bit tired and nauseous.

Tackling morning sickness

At 10-weeks pregnant, statistically speaking you are right in the middle of the worst of morning sickness. Nearly half of all women will experience vomiting at this stage, while more than eight in 10 will experience nausea at some stage during the first 12 weeks.

Morning sickness is a natural part of pregnancy. However, there are some things you can do to lessen its impact. For example, the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, reports that ginger root may have some efficacy in reducing the intensity and duration of symptoms.

But what is a healthy diet?

In terms of your diet, as well as eating a balanced and nutritious diet rich in fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains and pulses, you should consider the benefits of eating folate-rich foods – examples include oranges, asparagus, lentils, wheat germ, broccoli, avocado and kale.

Your baby – health and development

He or she may not know it yet but week 10 is a real landmark week: it is moving from the embryonic to the fetal stage. This means that your little one has reached the point at which the placenta becomes more instrumental in supporting fetal growth. In effect, the placenta is about to take over most of the work to provide baby with oxygen and nutrients while also removing waste material from the blood.

Although not yet as large as a ping pong ball (less than 1 ½ inches long) if you were to look at your baby at 10 weeks it would be recognisably human, with clearly definable limbs, fingers and toes, body and head, and most of the organs are now over their critical development phase.

Perhaps the most noticeable thing about your baby at ten weeks is the size of his or her brain. It is so big that it bulges at the forehead, with the head accounting for around one-third of the length of your baby.