Your Nutrients Of The Week

Include Choline
As a B-vitamin, choline helps prevent neural tube defects. In the growing foetus, choline is involved in the development of the hippocampus, which is known to be the seat of memory in the brain. The goal is to aim for 450 mg per day.

Where to find Choline?
Choline is found in eggs, beef, chicken, turkey, salmon and baked beans.¹

Choose low fat foods
While fat is an essential nutrient at this time, lower fat food choices will help you achieve appropriate weight gain, so after birth you don’t have to deal with losing too much excessive weight gained while pregnant.¹

Your Wellness Tips This Week²

Your doctor visit
You may have another prenatal doctor visit during the 13th week of pregnancy or very soon after. From this point until you are about 28 weeks pregnant, most of your doctor appointments will follow a routine.

• Your doctor will monitor weight, blood pressure, urine (to check for proteins and sugar), baby’s growth (by measuring the size of your uterus) and any signs of swelling in your face, ankles, hands or feet.
• You might be hearing your baby’s heartbeat for the first time during this visit! This is often possible after the 12th week of pregnancy.
• If you have not decided about prenatal testing, now is a good time to discuss the options with your doctor. CVS, or Chorionic villus sampling, is one test that detects chromosome and other genetic abnormalities, usually between the 9th and 14th weeks of pregnancy.
• Remember to bring your list of questions or concerns to each visit. If you have immediate concerns, discuss them with your doctor right away.

Your Baby's Development at Week 13^3,4

By your 13th week of pregnancy, your baby’s organs, nerves, and muscles have formed and are beginning to work together. It is time to focus on growth!

• This week, your baby is about the length of a plum.
• Eyes and ears are clearly defined. Your baby’s eyelids are fused together to protect her still-developing eyes.
• Tissue, which will harden into bone, is developing in your baby’s head, arms, and legs. Tiny ribs might be visible.
• She’s already on the move! Your baby might be moving her body in jerky motions as she flexes her arms and kicks her legs, but you will not feel her move for at least several more weeks.
• Vocal cords develop.
• Your baby’s circulatory system helps clear toxins from her body.
• When you are 13 weeks pregnant, your baby’s head is probably about half the size of her body.

Your Changing Body at Week 13

• At 13 weeks pregnant, you might feel, like many women, that you can relax more because the risk of miscarriage goes down greatly by this point.⁵
• The changes in your body might become more obvious to others.
• The top of your uterus, called the fundus, now is expanding beyond your pelvis.⁵
• Hormones released by your placenta, ovaries, adrenal glands, and pituitary gland guide the growth of your baby as well as changes within the organs in your own body.⁶
• By your 13th week of pregnancy, your blood pressure drops as your circulatory system quickly expands. This may continue through the 24th week of pregnancy before returning to pre-pregnancy levels.⁷
• Your blood supply increases, but most of it is plasma, or the fluid of your blood. Red blood cells, which take longer to develop, catch up around the 20th week of pregnancy.
• Short of breath? You might notice that you are breathing a little faster or have shortness of breath. This is normal. Why? Your body reduces the carbon dioxide level in your blood in order to carry more carbon dioxide from your baby. Your breathing volume and rate adjust to this change, leaving you slightly short of breath.⁸

References:

¹ American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Nutrition during pregnancy. Available [Online] at: https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/nutrition-during-pregnancy Accessed on 23 Aug 23.
² Mayo Clinic. Pregnancy week by week. Available [Online] at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/pregnancy-week-by-week/in-depth/prenatal-care/art-20044581. Accessed on 23 August 2023.
³ Mayo Clinic. Pregnancy week by week. Available [Online] at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/pregnancy-week-by-week/in-depth/fetal-development/art-20046151. Accessed on 23 August 2023.
⁴ MedicalNewsToday. Your pregnancy at 13 weeks. Available [Online] at: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/300000. Accessed on 23 August 2023.
⁵ Healthline. 13 weeks pregnant: Symptoms, Tips and more. Available [Online] at: https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/13-weeks-pregnant. Accessed on 23 August 2023.
⁶ Baud et al. Frontiers in endocrinology. 2019;(10): 179. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2019.00179
⁷ GE Healthcare. Cardiovascular changes during pregnancy. Available [Online] at: https://www.gehealthcare.com/insights/article/cardiovascular-changes-during-pregnancy. Accessed on 23 August 2023.
⁸ MedicalNewsToday.Causes of shortness of breath during pregnancy. Available [Online] at: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322316. 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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