Your baby’s skin is still fine, transparent and slightly wrinkled because they do not have fat layers yet. The many blood vessels flowing underneath their skin makes their complexion appear purple-red in colour. There is now plenty of fluid around your baby, allowing them to turn, twist and change position frequently. A few women feel their baby move for the first time at this stage, but most do not experience this exciting event (called quickening) until 20 to 22 weeks! Your baby now explores their own body with their hands and if you are having twins or triplets, they may try to locate each other, by touching and exploring their brother or sister.
Physical changes
Warm and sweaty
Pregnant women usually feel warmer and sweat more, due to increased blood flowing through their body. The pregnancy hormone progesterone also makes the tiny blood vessels in the skin (called capillaries) relax and dilate to become fuller and closer to the skin’s surface, referred to as vasodilation. Vasodilation and increased metabolism slightly increases your body temperature. This may mean you prefer to sleep with only a sheet covering you, while your partner lies under blankets in the winter months!
Vaginal changes
Many women notice differences in their vaginal discharge, with perhaps more of it. Pregnancy hormones can also make the vaginal acidity (or pH) more alkaline, making pregnant women prone to annoying infections such as thrush or gardnerella. You can read more in thrush or gardnerella.
Emotional reactions
If you have been experiencing moments of forgetfulness and feeling vague you are not alone! Many pregnant women have lapses in concentration, which is often put down to hormones or ‘placenta brain’. However, this often has more to do with a shift in focus, to thinking more about what is going on inside your body, rather than the many ‘outward’ day-to-day issues in your life. Interestingly, mental and cognitive tests carried out with pregnant women show that their reflexes are much sharper and their short term memories much better, when asked to perform motor tasks or memory exercises, when compared to women who are not pregnant.
Other considerations
Over-the-counter drugs and remedies
In recent years, pregnant women have become aware of substances they take or use frequently. However, not everyone associates home remedies they find in the kitchen or the product they buy over-the-counter, as being a drug, or potentially unsafe for their unborn baby. Essentially, any substance that has the ability to affect the way your body functions is classified as a drug. This includes a wide range of self-help remedies and medications (both medical and natural) as well as other day-to-day substances.
Raspberry leaf products
Raspberry leaf is a traditional herb that has been recognised as a possible uterine tonic for childbirth. It is now estimated that up to 20% of pregnant women take some form of raspberry leaf extract (as a tea, tablet or tincture) during their pregnancy or after the birth of their baby. However, most caregivers do not recommend taking it until 33 to 34 weeks of pregnancy.
Natural therapies in pregnancy
Dietary therapy uses diet to treat and prevent illness, based on ‘you are what you eat’ in a sense, with the belief that disease is often due to vitamin and mineral deficiencies that can lower the immune system. Some health conditions that can be treated include infertility, miscarriage, babies growing small for dates, diabetes, postnatal depression, stress and viral illnesses.
