The joy of having a baby and the excitement of a new addition in the family is just priceless. From anxiously waiting for the big day, to nursery and cloths shopping, choosing the right name for the baby, the responsibility is too high and excitement at its peak. The beautiful 9 months of your pregnancy take you to a ride with extra love, care and lots of ups and downs regarding your health. You just need to enjoy this phase and wait for the little gift of joy to pop-up soon.
Pregnancy all along is different for different women. The life experiences, pain and gain and the ups and downs in health work different for every pregnant lady. If we talk about the first trimester of a pregnancy, this is the first 3 months of your pregnancy and a phase where the baby starts to develop from a tiny dot. In this trimester some women glow with some good health, happiness and energy while others go through an extremely tough time that leaves them miserable. We have listed some of the symptoms that women might face during their first trimester and if they get worse, you must contact your doctor as soon as possible.
12. Aversions And Food Cravings
Pregnancy brings a lot of food cravings. In your first trimester you die for some of your favorite foods or the ones you want to have at the moment. Hankering for some typical foods and hating the others are the true signs of morning sickness. These aversions and cravings are just too unpredictable, but at the end of the day almost 80% of expected moms face the form of craving and 85% of pregnant women hate to eat certain foods at that moment of their expected phase.
It all depends on you to either eat the foods you crave for or just repel the ones your simple hate or not desire. Remember one thing if your craving is for true and healthy foods, then you can enjoy them at any cost but if you want to gulp down packs of chips or fast food then no way, just simple cut it down as it is complete unhealthy for you and your baby. You can have it in little quantity but not piles of it. Follow one good rule and that is to limit your craving treats to 75-100 calories per day so that it won’t affect your weight too much and you stay healthy and happy. For any sort of food aversions, try to substitute the foods your stomach doesn’t desire and eat light and less smelly foods. Remember to follow these points while going through such an annoying phase of pregnancy:
- If you cannot handle milk in your pregnancy then simply substitute it with some low-fat cheese, yogurt or cottage cheese. Try to compensate milk in some kind of shakes, sauces, pancakes, oatmeal or soups.
- If you cannot eat vegetables, then try out some fruits that are rich in beta-carotene such as apricots, mango and cantaloupe.
- If you crave for ice-creams that are high in calorie than go for some low-fat ones that can be healthy for your diet.
- If you don’t wish to have meat, then replace it with some beans or simple use ground beef or chicken in some kind of sauce or stews.
- Avoid oily food because as per dieticians they just increase the calorie count without provide any health benefit.
11. Morning Sickness
It is one of the most annoying sicknesses a pregnant woman feels during her all pregnancy trimesters. Morning sickness is very common in the first trimester of pregnancy with symptoms such as vomiting and nausea that usually affect almost 85% pregnant women that is not limited to the mornings and can happen any time of the day. The causes of morning sickness are still not clear, but it is believed by the doctors that the pregnancy hormones are to blame for this entire problem. The more you dig into this illness, the more you feel nauseatic for sure. And all this is not a serious problem but somewhat good for you because according to doctors the pregnant ladies who go through such sickness are less prone to miscarriage and premature delivery.
Following is a list of very useful and effective tips to overcome the problem of morning sickness. We cannot guarantee the complete cure but it will surely minimize it to an extent.
- Lick Lemon: Something tangy can kick the adverse effects of morning sickness in a go. You just need to cut a lemon in a half and lick it reduce the unwanted feeling of nausea or vomiting.
- Eat Ginger: Ginger is a proven solution for discomfort in stomach, nausea and vomiting. All you can do is grate some ginger and add it in your tea or soups to get the full comfort.
- Eat little portions throughout the day: Eating little and eating frequently can make you feel energetic and will let you ease the problem of morning sickness. This way is light on your stomach and keeps it filled for a longer time. Nausea can get severe with empty stomach so it’s better to avoid staying empty and rather eat something healthy. Never go for too much bland food and eat whatever you crave for until and unless it is healthy for you and your baby inside. Go for some grilled-cheese sandwiches that work best during these days.
- Vitamin B6: Eating some supplements like vitamin B6 can also help you to get out of this situation. Always ask your doctor for recommended dose of the supplement.
10. Fatigue
Fatigue is a feeling of getting tired quickly and most properly remaining tired for 24 hours of the day. This is one of the common symptoms pregnant women feel during their first trimester. Basically your body is going through many changes where your body is growing due to the growth of the baby, blood volume is increasing by 50% to supply blood faster to the fetus and above all you ovaries are producing good quantity of progesterone, which gives a very sedative effect that makes you feel tired and dizzy.
Anemia can be one major reason of excessive exhaustion. Some extra iron is required by the mom-to-be to develop blood cells in herself and the baby and if your body lacks iron than your baby takes all the iron it requires, leaving you short-handed. Your doctor will recommend a blood test at the beginning of your first trimester to check the level f iron and other important minerals and if your lack it then some supplements are usually prescribed by the doctor.
There are some tips to combat exhaustion and tiredness. Let’s see what all you can do:
- Proper Sleep: To overcome the feeling of fatigue you need to follow a proper sleep schedule during your pregnancy. Go bed as early as possible and take a healthy nap and whenever you feel like. Don’t hesitate to take short naps.
- Keep Moving: To keep a little active take some walk in fresh air that might keep you energized for the whole day. Perform some body stretches can give you an instant lift.
- Prenatal Vitamins: Always remember to take your prenatal vitamins as these will fill the gap if you are not in a habit of eating more. It contains iron and will help you overcome anemia.
- Head and Shoulder Massage: Get some relaxing head and shoulder massage to stimulate your body cells and reduce exhaustion. Let your body relax for few minutes before doing the next chore.
9. Sensitive Sense Of Smell
Many mom-to-be complain about sensitive sense of smell during their pregnancy. Pregnant ladies usually start vomiting or they feel nausea when they smell something they don’t like. To prevent this they must stay away from any kind of foods they don’t wish to eat or any type of fragrances they don’t like. The theory is sensitive sense of smell will let you stay away from food that is high in bacteria or toxins and is extremely unhealthy for your coming baby during its development. This sensitivity in smell usually decreases as the months pass during pregnancy. If the sensitivity persists during some chilled water or smell fresh mint as this might help you overcome your sensitivity.
8. Acne Problem
Pregnancy is all about ups and downs in your body system, where your hormones work for over the time that causes your skin to become more greasy and oily. Acne may appear any time of the pregnancy but it can certainly be controlled using some proper precautions and remedies. Let’s see what all can you do to prevent acne:
- Use an oil-free moisturizer: If you are using normal oil based moisturizer for your face, try and switch it to a nice oil-free based moisturizer that is light on your face. This will control the oil residues and will let your pores produce less oil.
- Stop Scrubbing or over-washing your skin: Try to wash your face with some light cleanser facial wash rather than using heavy scrubs just to avoid overdrying of skin.
- Check the labels of skin products: Using skin product containing Glycolic acid is ok but try to avoid products containing salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, steroids or retinols. These things might cause any sort of birth defects.
- Neem based products: Try to use neem based natural skin products to kick off acne from your skin.
7. Frequent Urination
Uterus is the main part of the body that also grows during your pregnancy. This growth doesn’t show much up at the beginning but certainly this growth causes a few health issues such as frequent urination. This can be one irritating symptom of first trimester pregnancy and applies too much pressure on the bladder that lets you urinate frequently. This also helps your kidney to flush the waste out of body and work for overtime. The result is the need to pee throughout the whole day and night as well.
Frequent urination doesn’t mean you start cutting down your liquid intake, as liquid is extremely necessary for the growth of fetus. Holding urination can also cause serious urinary tract infection that is extremely painful for pregnant mothers. To reduce the problem of frequent urination, try not to drink loads of water before bedtime, cut down caffeine intake at night and use the wash last time before going to bed.
6. Headaches
Pregnant women usually face bad headache during their first trimester due to low blood sugar level. The blood sugar drops because of changes in the metabolic system of the expected mom. Increase in hormones and less blood flow to the brain also cause bad headache. If you are having frequent headaches try to follow these instructions:
- Try to have some hot drinks such as tea, coffee or hot chocolate.
- Having child juices and water can also reduce the pain of severe headache.
- Have a head massage especially near the temple.
- Get some fresh air and have a little walk outside in the open air.
- Have acetaminophen which is safe for pregnant women.
- In case you’re suffering from migraines consult your doctor.
5. Dry And Itchy Eyes With Changing Vision
Because of increased blood circulation your body might feel a little swollen and this may include your sensitive eyes. During pregnancy your corneas curve and expand causing refract vision, dry and itchy eyes. Try to avoid wearing contact lens and using your specs rather until your delivery. This might reduce the dry and dullness of your eyes. But that’s not all pregnant moms who wear glasses can also face vision problems. Due to frequent fluctuation in hormones your eyes may feel dull and dry causing itchiness. All you can do is use some soothing eye drops or rose water to lubricate your eyes and visit your doctor for some extra consultation.
4. Breathlessness
Pregnant women usually require more air and they breathe deeply in order to get fresh and better supply if air. This procedure provides them extra oxygen that increases the flow of blood towards the brain. Don’t panic if you feel breathless in spite of inhaling fresh air as this is the beauty of being pregnant. It is just because your baby is throwing more carbon dioxide and on the other hand you require more oxygen.
3. Swollen Breast
The very common symptom of the first trimester of pregnancy is swollen breasts. Even your little baby is just a size of a dot, your breasts starts preparing to nurse your little angel. The milk ducks in your breast expands and hormonal changes produce some growth in the breast. You will start feeling this situation at the sixth week of your pregnancy, so to reduce the ache of tenderness you can follow these instructions:
- Buy a soft cotton bra to reduce the soreness of your breast. This will ease your sleep and will let you relax for longer.
- Try to bra bigger sized bra and with extra hooks for proper adjustments. Don’t waste your precious money on tight fitted or fancy bras.
- Massage your breasts with some essential oil to reduce tenderness.
- You can also use some hot towel to reduce the tenderness or breast ache.
2. Emotional Roller Coaster
Increase in hormones, exhaustion and lack of sleep are the basic realities of pregnant life. These all factors can contribute together to form a roller coaster of emotions. The ups and downs in your emotions can make you feel worried, quiet, withdrawn, angry, sad or joyful at many times. It all depends upon how your pregnancy is developing and how your hormones are functioning. The key is to stay calm and relaxed so that your loved ones don’t get irritated with your sensitive emotional situations. Get much rest, relax and exercise at the same time.
- Share your emotional stories with your friends and family to overcome this problem.
- Try not to in force extra tension and avoid watching emotional drama movies.
- Eat chocolates to brighten up your mood.
- Feel yourself comfortable at home and take a little walk if you feel uncomfortable at home.
1. Changes In Libido
Your vagina and clitoris gets affected during pregnancy due to surge in the hormones and increased flow of blood. This makes them hypersensitive and soft that can cause multiple orgasms. In some women the libido overdrives and becomes intense. Your sex life becomes extra special and tempting. You just need to keep relaxed and try to keep your partner in the loop. Share your feelings with your partner and let him know what you feel. What are the things that turn you on and what to avoid that turns you off. Keep cuddling, touching and pampering each other to increase your sex involvement.
Some Tips To Follow During Your First Trimester
- Remember to get your iron level, blood sugar level and blood pressure checked.
- Have a full physical examination including the major pelvic examination.
- Keep yourself hydrated by drinking more water and fresh juices.
- Maintain a healthy diet.
- Change your lifestyle and try to quit smoking and alcohol.
- Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables to keep oneself at the safe side and to keep one healthy.
- Try to eat dairy products to maintain the glow on your skin.
- Above all think positive and happy, as this will help you overcome many problems.
