Week 10 Of Pregnancy – What To Expect

The baby…

During the 10th week of pregnancy, the baby is already 4 inches long and his development is extremely fast. Be amazed by the pace of brain development: according to medical observations, about 250. 000 neurons are produced every minute! The baby begins to form teeth.

Ther fingers and toes are fully formed and separated from each other. But the most interesting and exciting: the little fetus already has made gestures: about now he begins to stick his finger in his mouth! This week and the next are the last who are at high risk for the proper development of the fetus: once the formation of organs was completed, growth can continue without major risks.

… and the future mom:

At week 10 of pregnancy, sleep problems continue (or if you did not have them, you have them now), caused both by hormones and by impairing normal breathing and digestive problems – bloating and indigestion. Breasts are not only large, but can also become painful to any touch.

Hormones (estrogen and progesterone) can upset you even more: you can get up crying for no reason and then start to laugh with lust, then … you want to scream  at whoever had the misfortune to be near you. .. Mood changes are very common, adding to the possible nausea and even fainting (so it is important to try to rest and avoid congestion – if possible, ask your husband to drive you every day to and from work by car).

What to do in week 10 of pregnancy:

•  Health and hygiene. Try to pay more importance to daily hygiene – wash your hands more often, stay away from public toilets where you can get an infection, avoid congestion and people thar seem cold or sick, take care of dental hygiene (very important now, when the teeth and gums are sensitive). Try to pay attention to your health and increase consumption of vitamins and minerals from fruits, vegetables and supplements.
•  Vaccine? Usually (except for the presence of allergies), influenza vaccines are quite necessary, during the flu season: September to March. Discuss with your doctor and listen to his advice, because a vaccine can protect you from serious problems in the evolution of pregnancy.
•  Job. Already, most likely, even from the 10th week of your pregnancy it’s more difficult to accomplish your daily tasks and responsibilities at work. Talk to your partner to find solutions for the moment, and for the future (if you temporarily leave from work, who will take parental leave). You have the right to ask for better working conditions (if you work in an environment with risk: pollution, exercise, physical inactivity) and to ask for at least an hour to be reduced from the work program (either at lunch or before the end of the program). If the employer refuses such requests, consult with your human resources specialist.
• Depression? It is quite normal, even if you wanted to get pregnant for a long time and it’s a dream come true, that you feel sad, stressed, frustrated and not know why you have these emotions. Feelings of sadness, crying for no reason, irritability are normal.

However, if they are very common and not half a day passes without feeling sad, anxious, if you have frequent insomnia, nightmares, if nothing can freshen and cheer up, you should give more attention to your emotional reactions. If you are not happy at all, the activities that you enjoyed before you find useless, if you start to have some morbid thoughts and the whole thing is really pointless, if you constantly feel intense hunger or on the contrary, the total lack of appetite,  we could talk about depression!

Unfortunately, in recent years, the number of pregnant women suffering from depression during pregnancy or after birth has increased. Talk with your partner, with the loved ones and do what your doctor advises – the time is right to detect a possible depression and to take action: from sharing feelings, relaxation techniques, counseling (it is not a sign that you are wrong, but it’s the first step to improve the situation). Even if you do not have signs of depression, you can really feel sad and alone: work to maintain an optimistic attitude and good thoughts!

•  Additional tests? Most likely, you already made the complete medical checkup – if not, what are you waiting for? Set a regular time to go for future tests. However, in some cases, it may be necessary to perform further tests. They are recommended by your doctor if: you age is past 35 years, you had miscarriages (voluntary or not) in the past, you had fertility problems, other pregnancy problems, or especially if there is a family history with cases of chromosomal abnormalities or genetic.

In these cases, starting with week 10 of pregnancy and the following (10-15 weeks), you can suggest performing additional analyses that seek the existence of these abnormalities in the fetus: screening (blood test + ultrasound) and the detection of possible defects, Chorionic villus sampling (placental tissue sampling) or amniocentesis (amniotic fluid taken from the uterus). The risk for such an analysis is increased, so it’s better to do it only if there is serious doubt about fetal development.