Your Nutrient Of This Week

Iron
Ensure adequate iron intake. Increased blood volume during your pregnancy as well as the demands of your growing baby put you at higher risk of iron deficiency or anaemia.

Where can you find Iron?
Iron-rich foods include leafy greens, beef, eggs, and nuts. ¹Prenatal supplements also contain extra iron.

Pro-tip #1: Relief for your digestive system
Nausea, vomiting, heartburn, indigestion, and other symptoms in your digestive system can make eating a little challenging. Try:

• Eating smaller, more frequent meals.
• Limiting foods that may irritate your digestive system.
• Drinking plenty of fluids, especially water.²

Pro-tip #2: Keep taking prenatal supplements
Prenatal supplements provide an extra source of iron, folic acid, and other important vitamins and minerals.¹ Maternal milk holds these ingredients and can be a good source of making sure your body get what it needs during your pregnancy. But remember, prenatal supplements are not a substitute for a healthy diet.¹

Your Wellness Tips This Week

Other than nutrition, exercise and rest are also essential parts of a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy. Practicing good habits now will help you throughout your pregnancy, during labour, delivery and beyond.

Exercise for yourself and your baby³
If you’re already active by the 7th week of your pregnancy, you’re off to a great start. If you haven’t been as active as you’d like to be, this is a great time to get going. And remember:

• HealthHub recommends 30 minutes of exercise at most, if not all, days of the week.
• You can break up exercise into small segments throughout the day or do it all at once.
• Pregnant women with medical or obstetric complications should speak with their doctors about an exercise plan.

Your Baby's Development at Week 7 ⁴

In the first 6 weeks of pregnancy, your baby’s heartbeat was the big story. At 7 weeks pregnant, the most exciting event is your baby’s developing facial and physical features. Here are the highlights of your 7th week of pregnancy:

• Your precious one is 0.8 to 1.3 cm long now — barely the length of your pinky fingernail.
• Your baby’s face becomes more defined when you’re 7 weeks pregnant. His/Her mouth, nostrils, and ears begin to appear.
• When you’re 7 weeks pregnant, the lenses in your baby’s eyes begin to form and the iris colour is visible.
• His/Her arms, shoulders, hands, legs, and feet begin to take shape by the 7th week of pregnancy, with the early formation of fingers and toes just another week away.
• Around the 7th and 8th week of your pregnancy, your baby’s body elongates and her neck straightens.
• Your baby’s brain becomes more complex during the 7th week of pregnancy. The skull is also growing.

Your Changing Body at Week 1

Your body continues to undergo a lot of change to support your growing baby during the 7th and 8th weeks of pregnancy. Here’s what’s going on:

• Your hormone production increases during the 7th week of pregnancy.⁴
• You might continue to experience some of the common symptoms of pregnancy such as breast tenderness, fatigue, or faintness.⁴
• You might feel like you have PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome) with your emotional ups and downs.⁴
• By the 7th week of your pregnancy, a mucous plug now blocks the cervical canal, helping to prevent germs from getting into your uterus. The mucous plug will pass later on in the pregnancy.⁵

References:

¹ My Cleaveland Clinic. Your Guide to Healthy Pregnancy. Available [Online] at: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/-/scassets/files/org/obgyn/healthy-pregnancy-guide-20.pdf Accessed on 21 Aug 2023.
² My Cleaveland Clinic. Heartburn During Pregnancy. Available [Online] at: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/12011-heartburn-during-pregnancy. Accessed on 21 Aug 2023.
³ Pregnancy Exercises, HealthHub. Available at https://www.healthhub.sg/live-healthy/978/pregnancy-exercises
⁴ NHS. Week-by-Week guide to Pregnancy. Available [Online] at: https://www.nhs.uk/start-for-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/1st-trimester/week-7/#early-pregnancy-signs. Accessed on 21 Aug 2023.
⁵ My Cleaveland Clinic. Mucus plug. Available [Online] at: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/21606-mucus-plug. Accessed on 22 August 2023.
* Comparison among all maternal milk in Singapore as of January 2022, as declared on the label.

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