Tiredness in Pregnancy – Why Do Pregnant Women Feel So Tired?

One of the common symptoms of pregnancy, and one that may be experienced fairly early on by women is tiredness in pregnancy. The feelings of not wanting to get out of bed in the morning, feeling lethargic during the day, and just not feeling up to doing all that was accomplished in a jiffy are all the hallmarks of early pregnancy.

Why tiredness during pregnancy is so common in the first trimester

Many pregnant women find that chores that they did effortlessly earlier, they now face with reluctance and seem not to have any energy to do all the stuff they enjoyed doing. In particular women who work outside the home may find it difficult to cope with a full day’s work and at the end of the day feel completed fagged out and can’t wait to hit the sack.

Tiredness In PregnancyQuite simply this tiredness in pregnancy occurs because the body is doing a lot of extra work at the beginning of the pregnancy, making sure that the embryo is getting all the sustenance it needs.

There are huge hormonal changes ongoing that also take a toll on energy levels.

Further nausea and throwing up, the other hallmarks of early pregnancy may mean that some women are not able to eat normally as they should and feel all the more drained due to this.

So getting tired for no reason, being fatigued by no particular effort, feeling sleepy at odd times, and wanting to go to bed hours earlier than the norm are all frequently seen in early pregnancy.

For most women however this tiredness will disappear after the first trimester.

When tiredness in pregnancy could be problematic

While most instances of fatigue in pregnancy are par for the course, in some cases they could indicate underlying problems. Sometimes the fatigue and tiredness could be symptoms of depression.

If the tiredness is accompanied by feelings of sadness, hopelessness and sleeplessness then it could be depression; in particular if the pregnant woman is also having thoughts of harming herself, the doctor should be called immediately.

Other physical conditions such as anemia or thyroid imbalances could also be causing the tiredness and also may require medication or supplements. If there are other symptoms such as dizziness, pale skin, palpitations or shortness of breath that accompany the tiredness then these could be warning signs of other problems and the health care provider should be contacted promptly.

Tiredness during the third trimester of pregnancy

Most women find that they have a resurgence of energy during their second trimester of pregnancy and this is the time that they get stuck into all the new born shopping and nursery decoration and so on.

At this later stage of the third trimester, tiredness is likely to resurface since this is the time that the baby is getting really big and placing a lot of pressure on the mother’s insides. The baby moving about can disturb and cause backache.

This could mean that the mother is unable to sleep properly or comfortably, resulting in tiredness in pregnancy. Backache, heart burn and other aches and pains could also be interrupting sleep and causing the tiredness. Anxieties about impending motherhood may also be contributing factors.

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