The Ninth Month of Pregnancy

Your pregnancy: weeks 23-27. Your baby develops movements that will later help it take its first whiff of air in the world, inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid. You may feel rhythmic movements which is your baby hiccupping.

Your pregnancy: weeks 28-31. The changes in your body continue to take place as you enter your third trimester! As baby prepares for its future exit: its eyelids are uncovered and eyelashes have formed, meaning your baby can blink.

Pregnant women will tell you they experience almost irrepressible cravings for certain foods – salty, sweet, spicy or fatty foods. Some think it’s the body signaling what the growing baby needs. More likely, they’re due to hormones playing havoc (again!) with your senses of smell and taste – and your dietary habits.

The influence of hormonal changes, and the effect of the changes in the size of the growing uterus, can lead to eating complications during pregnancy.

NUTRITION CHECKLIST

Are you eating enough nutritious food with sufficient nutrients, kilojoules, vitamins?

Your pregnancy: weeks 14-17. Your baby's individual features and sensory organs are now being fine tuned. Iron requirements increase during this period as the blood volume increases due to the building of the reserves of the foetus and placenta.

You may need to consider some personal issues before you become pregnant.

Confirm a suspected pregnancy immediately to avoid unnecessary risks to your baby.

What signs and symptoms during pregnancy to be aware about.

Protein (and the amino acids within) is the most important building blocks for all human cells. Given the rapid cell development of your baby-to-be it should be an essential part of your diet. Your requirements for protein are highest during the second and third trimesters due to this extremely rapid development and growth.

As your pregnancy advances, the uterus exerts an increased upward pressure on your diaphragm. As you near your due date you may find that you breathe less deeply, although more efficiently. You may have a tendency to hyperventilate. To avoid this, breathe more slowly and evenly.

Physical changes

The female body is designed to conceive, carry, give birth and nourish babies.
Pregnancy brings about vast changes to your body, emotional adjustments for you and your partner, and dynamic growth and development of the foetus. Nearly all changes are due to the increased production of female pregnancy hormones.

The Pros

• Offers immediate relief.

• Decreases tension and offers good pain relief.

In most instances, the baby’s head is the presenting part that moves into your pelvis before labour begins.

Labour support is a concept that has been around for thousands of years. Throughout human history and across many cultures, women in labour have been assisted by the companionship and aid of another person. The type and amount of support will vary from woman to woman, but every woman can benefit from focused, individualised attention and sensitive nurturing during labour.

Ideally, you should assess your health and fitness. You may need to make some changes to your lifestyle

Foetal movement counts (after 28 weeks)
Be aware of your baby’s pattern of movements on a daily basis by counting four foetal movements in the hour after a meal every day.

As a mom, whether you have a child yet or not, you look into the lens of the future to envision memorable moment after memorable moment together. We want to do every bit we can to have those fantasies realised. Iron has had its benefits recognised for centuries, and to this day, nothing has changed.