The first trimester of pregnancy
Once you've taken the test and told your partner you're pregnant, you start to feel the typical symptoms: nausea, sore breasts... These are the pregnancy hormones kicking in. Your vaginal secretions are undoubtedly more important: they help protect your vagina from infection. You may also experience some minor bleeding, as the uterine lining prepares its cozy nest to welcome your baby. As for appointments, you'll have your first dating ultrasound, to determine your due date, and a few blood tests, notably for toxoplasmosis.
The 2nd trimester
Your belly is getting rounder. This is the trimester when you're often the most fulfilled! You feel your baby's movements, but you're still free to move. You should have renewed energy, so take advantage of this time to travel and prepare the baby's room. The morphological ultrasound will tell you the sex of your child, if you want to know! Watch out for stretch marks, which may already be showing. The skin on your belly is becoming tauter, and may even be itchy: it's time to moisturize and apply cream! You may even begin to feel false contractions: this is the uterus training.
The 3rd trimester
The one when you sleep the least! With your due date getting closer and your baby moving around more and more, and not just in the middle of the day, you could be in for some sleepless nights. Your pretty, rounded belly is probably making it difficult for you to find the right sleeping position. Your skin and back may be tugging. It's also the start of maternity leave. Take advantage of this time to ease off and get some rest - you won't have as many hours of sleep afterwards! The mucous plug that used to seal the entrance to the cervix may have appeared, all at once or several times, or maybe not at all! The signs of labor are imminent: repeated contractions every 10 minutes or the breaking of water signal the start of labor. It's time to go to the maternity ward!
The post-partum period
You've given birth and your body is slowly recovering from the effort. Things may not have gone according to plan, and with the drop in hormones, you may experience a few crying spells and a temporary state of depression. This is perfectly normal! Your post-delivery bleeding will be heavy for a few weeks, just long enough for everything to return to normal and for your return from childbirth (your first period) to make its appearance: this will be the resumption of your usual cycle.
Elia will accompany you throughout your pregnancy and into the post-partum period. Take a look here to discover our menstrual panties for pregnancy and find out more about the solutions we offer young and expectant mothers.
