Week 12 of Your Pregnancy

This is a week to celebrate for many reasons. First and foremost, your chance of miscarriage after this week drops significantly.  Because your little one is now fully formed, chance of your body rejecting the fetus is much lower than it was in the beginning of the trimester. From tiny toenails to tooth buds buried deep in its miniscule little gums, your fetus is ready for the growth explosion in the weeks to come.

At this point in its development, your fetus has a body full of working organs. Its heart is beating, pumping blood through its circulatory system. Its liver is producing bile and red blood cells and its brain is communicating with the rest of its body through impulses and hormones. Even its urinary system is up and running!

From opening and closing its mouth, to kicking and jabbing, your fetus has changed a great deal from the mass of cells it started as. Who would've imagined that the little blastocyst that made its way to your uterus three short months ago would now have its own pair of ears and an already uncontrollable urge to suck!  Ultrasounds taken at the twelfth week have shown fetuses practicing the sucking motion that will be so necessary for them in their first few months of life. Eventually, your fetus will even discover the joy of its own thumb and get started on its first habit before it's even seen the light of day!

Your Body and Emotions

You've done it! You made it through the often-troublesome first trimester! After this week, you should start to feel renewed energy and well being as you enter what many consider to be the 'honeymoon' of pregnancy.

Your placenta is now taking over the production of progesterone and the amount of mood swings, nausea and food aversion you experienced in the first trimester should decrease. If you’re embarrassed about your skin, it will start to rapidly clear up and the characteristic 'glow' that you've heard so much about will arrive. 

When you get your energy back, you may want to consider starting a pregnancy exercise program. If you have had a particularly difficult first trimester, you may have avoided exercise entirely and now be itching to get back into physical activity. Remember that your body is changing every day and no matter what you do, you need to pay close attention to how you're feeling. If you experience any cramping, spotting, dizziness or sudden headaches, you must stop what you are doing and seek help immediately.

You should be able to continue any exercise program you were doing before becoming pregnant with a few modifications.  There are many yoga/Pilates/weight training classes that are designed with the pregnant woman in mind and now that you are in your second trimester, you may actually have the urge to join them!  It goes without saying that engaging in certain sports during pregnancy is dangerous. If you are an avid horseback rider, mountain climber, diver, downhill mountain biker etc…you will need to enjoy a less dangerous sport until your little one is born. Try jogging, walking, or swimming at a reasonable pace. Although not as intense, you can still break a sweat and enjoy physical activity without risking your fetus.

Dad’s Tips

You and your partner can both relax now that you've made it through your first three months of pregnancy. Although not completely removed, your chances of experiencing a miscarriage are significantly lower and you may want to consider letting people know you're expecting. Let your key friends know and watch their jaws drop in awe and happiness. You're going to be a dad? You sure are!

Your partner is going to start acting like her old self again in a few days, thanks to her placenta taking over production of hormones. She may even feel like doing things again!! Why not go out for dinner together to celebrate the completion of the first part of your journey. You could always kill two birds and invite both sets of parents and tell the good news!