Parenting - Prenatal to preschool/Parenting_PrenatalToPreschool.bin/dp/0040/00407.txt

Text File | 1993-07-15 | 4KB | 67 lines

$Unique_ID{PAR00407}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Pregnancy:  The Second Month:  Your Changing Body}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{
Editors of Consumer Guide
Ellis, Jeffrey W
Ellis, Maria}
$Subject{Second Month Changing Body tired tiredness hormone hormones
metabolism working woman women fatigue fatigued breast tender tenderness
fullness breasts size uterus cervix blood production enlarge enlarging heart
enlarges emotion emotions emotional}
$Log{
Your Changing Body (Second Month)*0040701.tif
51-Day Embryo, in its amniotic sac*0060203.tif
55-day Embryo*0060204.tif}

Miracle of Birth


The Second Month:  Your Changing Body


     During the second month of pregnancy, you will normally find that you
become tired more easily and that you require extra sleep.  The daily
routines that were so simple before pregnancy now wear you out before the end
of the day.  This is understandable if you stop to think about all of the
changes that are now going on in your body.  Your developing baby is taking
nutrients and energy from your body, your ovaries are churning out large
amounts of hormones, and your body's metabolism is changing rapidly.  It takes
time for your body to adjust.
     If you are a working woman or have young children at home, this may be a
very trying time.  But you can look forward to the end of your first
trimester, when the fatigue and the morning sickness are gone and you discover
a renewed sense of energy.
     Other discomforts that begin at this time are breast tenderness and a
sensation of fullness.  They occur because the estrogen and progesterone made
by the ovaries and by the developing placenta are preparing the breasts for
milk production after you deliver.  So whether or not you are planning to
nurse your baby, your breasts will enlarge and develop more blood vessels as
pregnancy goes on.  In most women, breast size increases during pregnancy by
at least one whole cup size and by one bra size.  For example, bra size may
increase from a 34B to a 36C.
     These feelings of breast discomfort are similar to those that you may
feel immediately before your menstrual period--tingling, throbbing, fullness,
and increased sensitivity to touch.  Like other common discomforts of early
pregnancy, much of your breast tenderness will begin to subside after the end
of the third month.
     During your second month of pregnancy, there are many changes that are
going on in your body, some of which will not be apparent to you.  For
example, even though you can't see or feel it yet, your uterus is growing
rapidly, and by the end of your second month of pregnancy, it will be about
four times larger than it was before pregnancy.  Your cervix (the part of the
uterus that protrudes into the vaginal cavity) is enlarging, softening, and
turning slightly blue in color due to increased growth of blood vessels.
     To supply the increasing oxygen and nutrient requirements of the baby and
the placenta, the amount of blood being produced in your body increases, and
your heart enlarges slightly and beats faster.  You will take breaths about
two to four times more often per minute and your breathing will be deeper.
     Pregnancy changes not only your body but also your emotional state.  By
the end of the second month, it is common to have self-doubts or even to feel
ambivalent toward your baby.  You may be unhappy that you are pregnant or
you may begin to doubt your ability to care for your newborn child.  At one
moment you may cry or be angry and in another feel joy and dedication.  If you
are acting differently than you usually do, be assured that these changes are
not abnormal.