I can confirm that “morning” sickness does end and the thought of eating is exciting again! For me, the tide turned at around 16 weeks.
There is a few unfortunate souls who do suffer with “morning” sickness throughout pregnancy, but it is uncommon. Less than 10% of morning sickness sufferers will continue to have symptoms later on in pregnancy, but your GP, midwife or obstetrician is usually able to help with safe medications or advice.
A 12 week scan means you get to see your baby looking like a baby for the first time!
By the 20 week scan, your baby is moving around and waving at you!
One thing I was waiting for during this pregnancy was to finally LOOK pregnant.
I’d had enough of people studying my tummy region intently when I shared my news with them, I just wanted it to be obvious already! One thing I certainly wasn’t prepared for was the stage of pregnancy where your clothes don’t really fit or feel comfortable, but there’s not obvious baby bump. What an awkward time!
By 20 weeks, my baby had well and truly made her presence seen. Finally, a proper bump! That also meant my centre of gravity and posture had shifted A LOT! With this can come a few extra aches and pains as my body adjusts to the increased weight I’m carrying around.
Lucky I know some good osteopaths, right!
Generally in pregnancy, the pelvis tips forwards a bit and the lower back arches (or extends) a bit more. Then your upper back and neck have to do a lot more work to stay upright and keep your eyes level – otherwise there’s a good chance you’d see us pregnant women toppling over with all the extra weight (baby, boobs, fluid, etc) we’re carrying in front of us.
In addition to all of these mechanical changes, we can also add in hormonal changes to the mix.
In the second trimester, relaxin kicks in to help relax the ligaments around the joints, especially the ones around the pelvis and lower back. This is so the pelvis can open up and make room for the baby to make its grand exit on D Day! In the mean time, it can cause a bit of havoc for those joints because they lose some of the structural integrity that has been holding them together for so long.
The most common area for pregnant women to have discomfort or pain is usually around the lower back region, but can also include upper back, hips, or the rib cage.
I have struggled with some rib cage pain more recently. Lucky for me, the team at work have helped me to move a bit more freely using some Anatomy in Motion techniques and movement practices.
This stuff has helped me to find a few difficult movements in my body, sort out my posture and help relieve my pain! So good!
It has been so easy to just do a few small movements every day that really do take my pain away really quickly. It’s a work in progress, and some days are better than others, but I really feel like I am in better control of my body when I can move it to feel better.
