The third trimester

As you’re heading into the final stages of pregnancy, your body is starting to prepare for the actual birth.  You might return to the initial feelings of fatigue as your fetus grows rapidly and finishes its development.  You will also start to feel the discomfort of having a larger body inside of you, pushing against your uterus and inner organs.

The larger fetus may begin to cause a number of symptoms for the mom.  Lower blood pressure may occur from the fetus pushing down on main vein that returns blood to the heart, the bladder may feel full more often, leading to increased trips to the bathroom, and the skin may feel hot and flushed more often.  You might also begin to have Braxton-Hicks contractions at unpredictable times as the body prepares for delivery.

Your body might also show stretch marks from the stretching of the skin as well as darkened areas from the overall hormone fluctuations.  Your abdomen may feel dry and stretched (because it is).  You might suffer from more swelling in the lower areas of your body as well as your hands and face.  Varicose veins can become more pronounced at this time as well, while you can also begin to see a discharge from your breasts.

You are noticeably pregnant at this time, but realize that you might not carry your fetus as other pregnant women do.  Some will carry ‘higher’ in their abdomen, while others will carry lower.  But this is due to the structure of the woman’s body, not because of the gender of the baby (that’s an old wives tale).

This is the time for you to rest and prepare your home for your new baby’s arrival.  And while you’re picking out the decorations for the nursery, have you thought of a name?

The Early signs of Pregnancy website was created to supply women with Facts, News, and Information regarding one of the most important times of life: Pregnancy. A women's resource site from Jacqueline Flynn