Your Nutrients Of The Week²

Slow digestion for you = better absorption for your baby!

When you are 12 weeks pregnant, the hormone progesterone causes digestion to slow down.^1,2 This offers positive benefits for your baby, as your body has more time to absorb nutrients needed from the food. Your colon is also absorbing more water during pregnancy, which can cause harder stools.

Your Wellness Tips This Week

Gas and bloating are also common complaints in the early months of pregnancy. You unknowingly might be aggravating the situation by gulping air in response to nausea.³ Here are a few tips to help:⁴

• Eat slowly.
• Don’t lie down right after eating. Give your food time to digest while you’re still upright.
• If constipation persists, speak with your doctor about which medications are OK.
• Keeping constipation in check will also help with gas or bloating.

Your Baby's Development at Week 12⁴

From the tiny details to major developments, your baby’s growth continues with significant progress during your 12th week of pregnancy:

• Your baby is almost 7.5 cm long! That’s about the length of a plum.
• When you are 12 weeks pregnant, your baby’s facial features continue to become more defined, particularly his nose and chin.
• Tiny fingernails and toenails arrive for your baby when you’re 12 weeks pregnant.
• Your baby’s heart might even speed up by a few beats per minute.
• By the 12th week of your pregnancy, your doctor might be able to hear your baby’s heartbeat for the first time, using a special Doppler device. You can ask about this at your next prenatal visit.

Your Changing Body at Week 12⁴

Congratulations! You are almost at the end of your 1st trimester. For most women, the next 12 weeks of pregnancy represent some of the most comfortable weeks. Many of your pregnancy’s early discomforts, such as morning sickness and frequent urination, are declining or are already gone at 12 weeks pregnant. The pressure on your bladder might be gone as your uterus continues to expand upward.

• Hormones are still at work, but now your baby and your placenta are producing more estrogen and progesterone than your ovaries.
• While your increased blood volume will continue throughout your pregnancy, after the 12th week of pregnancy it might not increase as dramatically as it had in the early weeks. Your heart has most likely adjusted to the extra volume and is pumping faster now.
• Breasts might not feel quite as sore as they did a few weeks ago, although they still might feel heavy.

References:

¹ Alqudah M et al. Physiological research. 2022; 71(2): 193-198. doi:10.33549/physiolres.934824
² Trottier M et al. Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien.2012; 58(8): 836-8.
³ American Pregnancy Association. Pregnancy gas. Available [Online] at: https://americanpregnancy.org/healthy-pregnancy/pregnancy-health-wellness/gas-during-pregnancy. Accessed on 23 August 2023.
⁴ Verywellfamily. Week 12 of your pregnancy. Available [Online] at: https://www.verywellfamily.com/12-weeks-pregnant-4158934. Accessed on 23 August 2023.
* Comparison among all maternal milk in Singapore as of January 2022, as declared on the label.

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