4 months 1 week pregnant
2nd Trimester
23 more weeks to go..
It’s the fourth month now and time to flaunt your little belly. The pregnancy dream seems so real now. And, wait, there are actual dreams, too! The hormones may be giving you vivid and dramatic dreams at night. Nothing to worry about, though. The brain has taken charge and like a good commander, it is regulating the heart beats. So, the beats are rhythmic now, and number upto 140 to 150 beats per minute which is twice as fast as an adult’s. Curious why suddenly your appetite is growing? Mystery solved— your baby is getting bigger and is telling you to send across more calories!
चतुर्थे मासि स्थिरत्वं आपद्यते गर्भः, तस्मात्तदा गर्भिणी गुरुगात्रत्वं अधिकं आपद्यते विशेषेण। (चरक शारीरस्थान)
Ayurveda says mother starts feeling heavier in this month due to initiation of fat deposition process
The fourth month is here and hence, the little body parts are becoming clearly observable. The face muscles are developing. your baby's eyes can move, although they'll stay shut for now, fingernails are starting to grow and air passages in the baby’s lungs have finished branching.
The baby can make sucking motions with the mouth and drink the amniotic fluid. It it still sucking practice time: sucking and swallowing will get perfected only around 32 to 34 weeks, and the sucking reflex will mature closer to 36 weeks.
Baby's sense of hearing is developing. The ears are only a wee-bit away from being fully formed and, most importantly, the baby can hear your voice now.
The baby is plumping up a bit. The fat, also called adipose tissue, is helping keep the baby warm. Fat tissue, a source of energy, is also important for metabolism.
The umbilical cord and placenta are flourishing. The umbilical cord is getting thicker and longer to nourish your baby, while the placenta is expanding and increasing circulation to deliver nutrients and oxygen to the baby. The lungs are beginning to exhale amniotic fluid, and the circulatory and urinary systems are working. The skull is getting a crop of fine hair and the eyebrows, and eyelashes are also forming. The baby can form a fist and also thrust it in the mouth. The heart is pumping 100 pints of blood a day. Somersaults and rolling around are becoming common.
If it is a girl, a special set of tissues starts forming in the uterus and vagina. If a boy, the same tissues are going further down to form a penis and the prostate. The newly formed testosterone-secreting cells are key in these developments.
Several mums spot the first signs of movement at 18 to 20 weeks, but this is the week to start watching out for bubbling, fluttering. rolling kind of sensations in the womb. This is known as 'quickening'. It doesn’t hurt. In fact, it’s a pleasant surprise!
The breasts are growing as your body is preparing for nursing after delivery.
You might notice a slight vaginal discharge which is normal. It protects the birth canal from infections. Some mums may experience itching and notice rashes over the abdomen or elsewhere over the body. This is because of stretching of skin and hormones.
With the skin of your abdomen stretching now, itching over the belly may become an irritant. It is often made worse by the raised levels of pregnancy hormones.
Your nails are likely to be stronger and healthier than ever, due to the hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy.Avoid using nail polish and manicures that use chemicals. Most nail polishes contain dibutyl phthalate (DBP), an ingredient that is linked to birth defects in animals.
In this week, your growing placenta reaches one inch in thickness. Your placenta continues to deliver oxygen and nutrients to your baby and to eliminate waste.
This is the right time to focus on strengthening your back. The belly has just started growing and that has shifted your center of gravity. Keeping yourself steady, avoiding falls and backaches is something you need to prepare for.
There are yoga asanas that will work on specific parts of your back:
Marjarasana or cat stretch pose works on the flexibility to the spine and improves blood circulation.
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Kantha and Skanda Sanchalana or gentle neck and shoulder rolls It can be performed at any time during the day and even while sitting on the bed or a chair. The key is to do them slowly with awareness, and synchronized with the breath.
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The iMumz App has a plethora of yoga suggestions, live sessions and webinars for pregnancy wellness.
You will be gaining weight now, but it should not be more than 300 gms a week between the 16th and 20th weeks of pregnancy. All pregnant women should take a 10 microgram supplement of vitamin D each day to give your baby enough vitamin D for the first few months of life. A deficiency of that same causes soft bones, which can lead to rickets. In this phase, you need to add about 340 calories per day. That’s only about the equivalent of a paneer-stuffed besan-cheela (pancake). So, while adding to your diet, choose healthy and colourful additions over quantity. Ideally, add these calories through snacks early evening snacks, like this one:
Take a bowl of besan, add chopped veggies like carrots, tomatoes and beans and coriander. It’s important to make sure all of these ingredients are FINELY chopped to make it easy for the batter to be spread on the pan.
Add 2 to 3 pinches of turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain) and salt.
Add half a cup of water to the besan cheela mixture, and then, using a whisk, combine all of the ingredients. Then, add an additional 1 to 3 tablespoons of water.
Continue whisking until the batter has a smooth, flowing consistency and no lumps.
Put a non-stick pan on the stove and when it is medium-hot, put some oil.Take a ladle or ¼ to ⅓ of a measuring cup full of the batter and pour on the pan.
Spread it. Let it brown, then flip it. Add a small bowl of chopped paneer as stuffing.
iMumz has week by week diet tips and recipes for your daily dose of nutrition. They have been prepared by nutrition experts to give your daily dose of health for your baby and you.
Medical experts say that it is fine to sleep on the stomach till the belly starts growing, which right now! This is the week in which you have to start avoiding sleeping on your stomach and on your back, too.
In fact, sleeping on the back is worse as the weight of the baby and uterus can at this stage compress your aorta and decrease blood supply to your baby. It can also create respiratory and digestive issues, backaches and even haemorrhoids for mum.
Sleeping to one side—specifically the left side—is the best sleep position during pregnancy. That’s to get all the weight of the uterus off the right side to optimize blood flow. Sleeping on your right side isn’t as safe as being on your left, but using pillows to prop up the uterus so it’s not sliding to the right side can sometimes be an option, she adds.
iMumz has a team of doctors working round the clock to prepare a rich repository of such tips.
Eating peanuts can make the baby allergic to them.
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It's perfectly safe to eat these foods unless you yourself are allergic to them, or if your doctor advises you not to. There is no proof that eliminating these foods will help prevent allergies to the same in the baby. On the contrary, peanuts contain protein and folate that are pregnancy superfoods!
Did you know that around 350 million people suffer from depression around the world, and 90% of them also experience insomnia?
Pregnant women are at a higher risk given the hormonal changes in their bodies.
Music has a direct effect on her hormones and acts as a natural antidepressant. It orders the release of serotonin and dopamine (neurotransmitters) in the brain which leads to increased feelings of happiness and well-being. It also releases norepinephrine, which is a hormone that invokes feelings of euphoria.
Slow, soft, repetitive music slows down the heartbeat and allows for calmer and deeper breathing.
Around 16─18 weeks of pregnancy, your baby is going to hear his very first sound! What would you want it to be?
We have weekly bonding activities, including soothing, harmonizing music, to help mums to connect with babies for their all-round development.
The award-winning iMumz App is helping 350,000 + women make their pregnancies healthier and happier.
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