3 months and 3 weeks
Second Trimester
25 more weeks to go..
Your baby’s ears have moved into position and eyes have also taken their final place. The little skeleton has started to ossify and would show up in an x-ray! Lots of practice is going on inside: of swallowing, breathing and flexing to get ready to join you in this environment. By the end of the 15th week of pregnancy, the pattern of hair on scalp will be determined and will will remain so for life. The baby’s translucent skin shows thin veins crisscrossing below it. Though the eyes are still closed, they can sense light and turn away if a bright light is flashed on mum’s belly.
तृतीये मासि युगपन्निर्वर्तन्ते यथाक्रमम प्रस्पन्दते चेतयति वेदनाश्चावबुध्यते सूक्ष्मप्रव्यक्तकरणास्तृतीये तु मनोधिकः । (काश्यप संहिता)
Ayurveda says all body parts manifest simultaneously.
Praspandana(pulsation), Chetana (consciousness) appears & feels pain.
Subtle manifestation of buddhi and appearance of mana indrya takes place.
The eyes have come to the front of the face and the ears have moved from somewhere in the neck to the sides of the skull. While the outer part has started looking more like an ‘ear’, the inner ear is continuing to develop.Eyelids, eyebrows, eyelashes, nails, hair, and proper fingers and toes have also appeared.
Bones are starting to ossify or harden. Specifically, the bones in skull, spine, and shoulders, and the collar bone and long bones, have led the process. The bones of the hands and feet are also hardening in week 15. If a 3D ultrasound is taken, they can be spotted in a pristine white colour.
The baby is fairly active inside and the brain is controlling and commanding all the movements of the muscles. You still won’t feel the movement, though. Interestingly, your baby can now hear your heartbeat and any noises made by your digestive system.
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These happen when blood vessels or nerves in the legs are compressed. Insufficient magnesium in the diet can be a culprit. Even low calcium. Other causes are poor hydration or sitting in one place too long.
iMumz tip:
Avoid sitting or standing without changing your position for a long period of time. Give your limbs some flexing and stretching. Don't sit with your legs crossed or tucked in: it hampers blood flow.
Sit at the edge of your bed and flex your feet. Straighten your leg and gently flex your ankle and toes back and forth ten times each.
If struck with a spasm, try standing on a cold surface to stop it.
To relieve pain, wrap a warm towel around your calves or use a hot water bottle. Abhyanga or a warm oil massage relaxes your muscles and reduces the aches and pains.
Have you noticed yourself becoming forgetful lately? Can’t remember where you kept the keys? A path-breaking study done using MRIs of expectant mums’ brains showed a reduction in the gray matter, the one that performs tasks, in the brain in the front and temporal lobe regions.
These areas of the brain are responsible for a variety of tasks, including social cognition. That’s the ability to interact with others. These areas are the ones that help to understand other people’s feelings, beliefs, and nonverbal signals.
This loss is for a good purpose: it increases feelings of attachment to their infants and ability to feel fewer negative emotions toward their babies. So, some parts of the brain “shrink,” they become more powerful: the activity in the side associated with emotional skills increases. This may be making you forgetful but it is preparing you to connect better with your baby in terms of understanding his/her language, cries and babbling.
iMumz tip:
Use reminders and notepads. Mediation is effective because it trains the mind to become a neutral party as focus shifts to either your breath, a mantra or a visual. A simple technique is to count your breath backwards from 50 and focus on breathing.
Try a head massage with Bhringraj oil to soothe your head.
Another handy management tip is to take around six drops of Jyotishmati oil with warm water or milk before bedtime.
From this week onwards, start sleeping on your side. This will help both you and the baby. Sleeping on your back makes the growing uterus place pressure on the aorta and inferior vena cava, which supplies blood to your lower body and the baby.
Other ways to improve blood flow to the baby are simple yoga exercises like downward dog, cat-cow, plank on knees and warrior II.
If unsure how to do these exercises the right way, do join in one of our sessions.
If you have a family condition or are above 35 years of age and want to have an Amniocentesis to determine genetic or chromosomal abnormalities, such as Down syndrome, this is the time to start planning for it. It is done between 15 and 20 weeks of pregnancy.
The food tip for the week is ‘eat everything cooked’, even in salads. Better still, homemade. Let’s look at three food dangers that are lurking around you.
Raw sprouts
A crunchy salad with a dash of chutney might sound tempting but the raw elements are likely to give you gas and bloated-ness. Also, raw sprouts have been linked to E. coli and Salmonella so best avoided. Boil them with a pinch or sendha namak (rock salt) before adding them to your salad.
Unwashed fruits and vegetables
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Microbes that can harm you reside in the flesh and when the fruit or vegetable is cut, juiced or peeled, they are released for attack.
So, make sure you have a thorough rinsing process. Also, spot any damaged or rotting parts and scoop them out totally.
Premade Salads
While at the office or on travel, you may be tempted to order a premade salad that looks so healthy! But they carry the risk of a Listeria infection. You have no way of knowing how old the dressing is and how many temperature variations it has gone through. So, avoid salads from these sources.
How to make the best salad for pregnancy
Layer the flavours: Keep a base of fresh vegetables. Choose seasonal ones. On top of that, add your proteins, like parboiled chickpeas or soaked lentils. This will balance the crunch with some delicious softness. Then, put in some healthy fats, and finally, drizzle a tasty dressing or sauce.
A splash of textures in every bite: If there is soft spinach at the base, have crisp beetroots above it, juicy tomatoes, and crunchy nuts. Crumbled, homemade paneer balances out the effort needed to chew!
Make it a riot of colours: Toss in green parboiled moong sprouts, chopped orange segments, chopped bananas, coarsely chopped walnuts/toasted quinoa, some chopped coriander, honey and lemon juice. If layered in a glass and had, imagine the surprise that comes with each dig of the spoon!
You are gaining weight not just because your baby is growing, but also because of the extra body tissue that is preparing your body. The parts of the body adding weight are:
You should have gained around 2 to 2.5 kgs by now. You may also be able to feel the top of your uterus four to five inches (10-12 centimeters)
Preeclampsia, earlier known as toxemia, is when pregnant women have high blood pressure, protein in their urine, and swelling in their legs, feet, and hands. It can range from mild to severe.
Preeclampsia almost always occurs after week 20 and usually after week 30. But, in rare cases, it can strike earlier more so if you are:
Please see a doctor if you notice any of these symptoms:
Creams can help avoid stretch marks
Stretch marks are thin pink or purplish lines that appear on the skin during pregnancy. After childbirth, they fade, but don’t entirely go away. The cause for the marks is your pregnancy hormones that soften the fibres of your skin, making it tender for these marks to appear on your tummy, thighs and breasts. The instances and darkness of the marks differs from woman to woman. There are products that claim early application of the same will prevent them from appearing. That is not true. You can apply coconut oil to ease the itching. Over time, after childbirth, they will fade.
Acharya Sushruta, a revered Indian physician and surgeon known today as the “Father of Indian Surgery” and “Father of Plastic Surgery” for inventing and developing surgical procedures, says that this month is crucial in the manifestation of consciousness of the baby.
How about listening to some music that elevates you to a plane of peace and wellness? Feel the harmony flow inside your body in positive vibrations and reach the baby, softly assuring, ‘Mum, loves you.’
The award-winning iMumz App is helping 350,000 + women make their pregnancies healthier and happier.
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