After the first month of pregnancy and after notifying the news to your husband and perhaps your family and friends (I say perhaps because there are people who prefer to wait for the first ultrasound) the second month of pregnancy and follow the changes both internally and externally.
The first month ends, as we explained in the previous entry, in week 6 since the last period, which coincides with week 4 of pregnancy (4 weeks since ovulation).
It is then in week 7 when the second month of pregnancy begins that will last until the end of the tenth week (counting the month as if it had 4 weeks).
Let's see what happens in this second month:
How the embryo grows
Around six weeks the embryo floats in a bubble filled with fluid that will become the amniotic sac. Next to the embryo, the yolk sac, which looks like a balloon attached to it, provides all the nutrients until the placenta is fully developed, more or less in week 12, and can assume that function.
Towards the eighth week is when it can be said that the embryo acquires a recognizable human aspect. His heart, which already has four cavities (around 5-6 weeks in the form of a tube) beats at a rate of about 180 beats per minute, twice the frequency of an adult heart.
At 9 weeks the baby is about 3 cm long and weighs about 3 g. The mouth, intestine and stomach develop rapidly, but still do not work.
If you want to know a little more about the changes that the baby is going through, you can see the pregnancy calendar (from week 5 to 8 and from week 9 to 12).
Mother's body changes in the second month of pregnancy
The physical changes in the second month are still little or nothing obvious. The belly is not noticeable even though the baby grows rapidly. You can say that for now, the procession goes inside.
The mother's body, at the time of becoming pregnant, has to change to support two systems, his and the baby's. This causes the heart to increase the heart rate (about ten more beats per minute) to also get blood to the uterus, placenta and baby. Breathing is also accelerated for the same reason.
The uterus also grows and the muscles of the uterine wall thicken, however the size of the abdomen does not increase because the uterus remains inside the pelvis until after the third month.
You may feel tired, nauseous, dizzy, ... although you may not feel anything at all. In any case, the body sends "clues" to the mother to do what she needs (usually rest).
The first visits
Between the eighth and twelfth week you will have the first visit with the gynecologist or the midwife. Ideally, within that period the visit is as soon as possible, so, as we mentioned in the previous entry, at the time of knowing the pregnancy you must contact the health center to request a visit.
On that first visit they will make your history asking about you and your partner and your respective families. They will weigh you, look at the tension and also ask you about tobacco, alcohol and drugs.
You will be prescribed folic acid and probably an iodine supplement (it is recommended). They will measure the abdomen, examine the breasts and maybe have a cytology if the ones you have already made are not recent.
Depending on the center or the community where you visit, you may have an ultrasound scan (if the one who visits you is a gynecologist and has an ultrasound) although the first one that social security has by protocol is usually done by 12 weeks.
That day they will also quote you for the first blood and urine tests and for the following visits. As a general rule, visits will be one per month.
The couple
The changes you live will be only yours, since your partner will not see them until later. Make him a part of the pregnancy explaining what you feel and are living and talk about it so that little by little he feels more committed to the baby.
It is a good idea to go with you to medical visits to wait with you, hear the baby and see it on the days when you have ultrasounds. In this way you will also feel more accompanied by your partner.
In a few days we will continue explaining what happens to the baby and the future mother during the third month of pregnancy. Do not miss it!
