Welcome to the Pregged pregnancy week-by-week series. Each week-by-week post is separated into three handy sections.
1. Mom – Section one covers the changes mom will experience and the things she may need to consider health-wise.
2. Baby – Section two looks at the development of the fetus and what’s going on with baby inside the womb.
3. Nutrition – Section three covers nutrition for each week of pregnancy so that you know what foods are important to include in your diet at each stage.
6 WEEKS PREGNANT – MOM
Your belly is probably large enough that you can’t see your legs anymore when you’re standing by the 29th week of pregnancy. That could be good if you’re like the nearly third or more pregnant women who develop varicose veins sometime during pregnancy. These swollen blood vessels can either develop or worsen when you’re expecting, though they rarely cause for concern. They come out because of the increased blood volume during pregnancy, because your growing uterus puts pressure on the pelvic veins and because of the relaxation of the veins due to hormones.
Have you counted your baby’s kicks today? You should start these now. Once you’ve entered week 28, you should be counting them every day, once in the morning and once after dinner. Babies don’t slow down with regard to the number of movements. The movements might not be as dramatic or forceful, but they do not stop. To do the counts, lay on your left side, see how long it takes to feel 10 movements. If it takes longer than an hour, call your health care provider.
It’s time to stock up on breast pads now! Your breasts may leak colostrum — the nutritious pre-milk that will be your baby’s first food at birth.
Baby Development
What the heck is Rhogam? Rhogam is a solution of antibodies that is injected into mothers who have the Rh-negative blood type. What does that mean? Well, it turns out that you can either be Rh negative or positive. Most people carry the Rh protein on their blood cells. When an Rh-negative mother is pregnant, the baby’s red blood cells can cross the placenta and enter Mother’s bloodstream. If Baby is Rh positive, the mother doesn’t recognize that protein and makes attack antibodies to kill those cells. To prevent this attack on her baby, Rhogam is administered at 28 weeks to coat those positive proteins so that Mother doesn’t make antibodies. It’s a little more complicated, but thanks to an Austrian immunologist who won the Nobel Peace Prize and for scientists, later on, babies do not die from ‘fetal hydrops’ which is when the baby is severely anemic and has heart failure. If you haven’t heard of Rhogam, it’s because you are Rh positive. A Rhogam shot is also given postpartum. So, the baby keeps growing, and life is getting very exciting for expectant parents.
Pregnancy Nutrition Week 6
Go on eating often but not much to strike heartburn, drink fresh water, be sure you follow your pregnancy diet – eat fruits and veggies, dried fruits, dairy, cereals, meat, fish… If you’re unsure of the rules on fish and pregnancy, you’re not alone: There’s been plenty of conflicting views over the years. Baby-unfriendly toxins like mercury can be found in the larger, fleshier, long living fish—like tuna. Others — especially those that live in polluted lakes and rivers —may have PCBs and other pesticides and toxins. Most fish are considered safe to eat when you’re expecting, including wild salmon, shrimp, catfish, tilapia, sole, flounder, haddock, halibut, ocean perch, pollock, cod, and trout. Salmon is the hands-down favorite due to its abundant DHA. But to ensure you’re not also feasting on the high levels of PCBs often found in farmed salmon, opt for wild (which also contains more of omega-3 fats) or organic farmed salmon. Make sure to cook seafood to an internal temperature of 145° F and fish fillets should be white and flake easily with a fork. Clams and oysters that don’t open with steaming should be thrown away.