What to expect when your expecting! Hope Calderon

Pregnancies typically last the full 9 months, Nonetheless so much happens to the mother during that time period it ludicrous! Here I will be taking to you about the changes that happen to the mother during her typical 9 months or 3 trimesters that the mother goes through while being pregnant, her body will be constantly be changing and growing, up until she has the baby.

First let’s talk about what happens to the fetus/baby while in the mothers womb. In the 1st trimester (month 1,2 and 3)the eggs and the sperm combine and form a zygote, then during the 1st week the zygote will travel thorough the Fallopian tube and be called a morula. After the 1st month the heart will begin to beat, at 9 weeks the embryo is considered  a fetus. Third month the fetus’s face will be clear and the excretory system develops rapidly. In the 2nd trimester (month 4,5 and 6) the fetus is 15 cm and the integumentary system begins to develop (the nails and hair).  At 5 months the lung sacs develop and there is rapid brain development. At 6 months the fetus’s eyes open, fetus increase rapidly in size and is 30 cm long. In the 3rd trimester (month 7,8 and 9) the fetus is fully developed but it cannot survive without medical care, and at the 8th and 9th month the fetus is about 46-56 cm and fat will start to grow onto the body, and the organ system will  completely be developed.

Now we will discuss what happens to the mother while she is carrying around her fetus/baby for  9 months. The mothers body will be doing so much extra work so her body will be constantly changing and growing. In the early stages of pregnancy (1st trimester) the mother will have nausea and morning sickness. She will have frequent urination later in her pregnancy because the baby head will be lying on her bladder and her hormone levels will increase.  Her uterus will expand because of the baby and her liver will be compressed, she will not be able to consume large meals, and she may get acne or even stretch marks. She will be kind of hunched over because of the weight of the baby (her center of gravity shifts). The mother will experience tender breast because her milk ducts are larger and she will have to produce milk. The mother throughout her pregnancy will have to keep an overall healthy diet and exercise daily. It is also recommended that the mother should take vitamins such as folic acid.

After learning about pregnancy, I have learned about what happens both to the baby and also the mother. This topic is super interesting and very informational. Its crazy to think about how much is happening inside of the mothers body and how all of our mothers went through this process and here we are. I could not believe that it only takes  9 months for a human being to be brought into the world.