Pregnancy Signs & Symptoms, Week by Week Pregnancy Guide

State of pregnancy is generally measured in terms of pregnancy trimesters.

Normally, a pregnancy lasts for nine months and it is divided into three trimesters: first, second and third trimester.

First trimester of pregnancy ranges from week 1 to week 12. When you are 13 weeks pregnant to 27 weeks pregnant, you are in second trimester.

Finally, the third trimester will be from week 28 to week 40.

Although the baby remains approximately 38 weeks in the uterus, the average length of the pregnancy is measured as 40 weeks because the pregnancy calculation starts from the day of the last menstrual period not from the date of conception. Generally conception occurs two weeks later.

The state of pregnancy where you realize about your pregnancy is the first trimester. This state comprises of first three months of the embryo development in the uterus. The symptoms of pregnancy initially develop in this period.

The symptoms that you experience in the first state of pregnancy include the following:

Missed menstrual period is the first symptom that indicates you are pregnant. It is not that missed menstrual period always result in pregnancy. Morning sickness is a common symptom that develops due to hormonal changes in the body.

Constipation is so common that it affects 50% of pregnancies and occurs when the progesterone hormone slows the process of digestion. Dizziness is another symptom that occurs due to dilation of the body’s blood vessels during pregnancy.

Fatigue is one more symptom of pregnancy where you feel to sleep all the time. This condition develops due to an increased production of progesterone, which stimulate sleepiness.

Heartburn is a pregnancy symptom that occurs when the stomach acids flow back into the esophagus, the tube that transfers food from mouth to stomach.

Vaginal discharge and vaginal infections are also symptoms of first state of pregnancy. Vaginal discharge is common during pregnancy and occurs due to an increase in the production of vaginal lining cells.

Frequent urination is also a symptom of first trimester that generally occurs because of increased pressure of the growing uterus as well as metabolic rate in the body during pregnancy.

Urinary tract infection, bladder infection and kidney infection also develops the hormone progesterone, which relaxes smooth muscle such as urinary tract.

Breast enlargement and tenderness also occur due to the maturity of mammary glands during pregnancy. Mood swings and headaches are also the signs of the first state of pregnancy.

In the second state (trimester) of pregnancy, you can notice darkening of the areola, development in breast size and nipple size. The skin also changes due to raise in melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH) in the body.

In the third (last) state of pregnancy, there will be a huge change in the shape of your abdomen. In this state, you can develop stretch marks and feel uncomfortable lying flat to sleep. Due to the increase in the abdomen size, you also get backache.

So, taking proper prenatal care can help reduce the symptoms at each state of pregnancy.