Eighth Week of Pregnancy
Eight Weeks Pregnant
YOUR BABY
Your baby is nearly a centimeter long crown to rump, around ⅓ inch (eight to eleven millimeters). This is when the gonads become specifi cally testes or ovaries. Last week, fi ngers were big; this week, it’s toes. In addition to toes, your baby’s bones are beginning to harden in spots, known as ossifi cation. Your baby is starting to develop elbows.
One of the most thrilling developments this week is that spontaneous movement begins. This means that your baby is beginning to use the joints and will try to wave, kick, and fl ip. An ultrasound now reveals quite the little acrobat— even when you can’t feel all that is going on inside your body—a very odd sensation indeed.
Monitor Your First Trimester Weight Gain
Most women don’t like to focus on weight gain during pregnancy. After all, when have you ever wanted to gain weight? But the fact of the matter is that weight gain in pregnancy is not only normal but also healthy and necessary. The good news is that the fi rst trimester is not a time of substantial weight gain.
In fact, of the three trimesters, the fi rst is typically the time you will gain the least amount of weight. Some mothers even lose a little weight because of dietary changes and changes in their appetites. (It is important to note that purposely losing weight is to be avoided in pregnancy because of the potential risks of reducing the appropriate amount of nutrients to your baby.)
The average fi rst trimester weight gain is about four pounds—one pound more if you’re underweight and one pound less if you’re overweight. Remember that your baby and uterus haven’t grown very big yet. If you’ve experienced a bigger weight gain than this, you might talk to a nutritionist to evaluate your diet if you can’t pinpoint an obvious explanation such as a drastic change in exercise or food intake. Most health insurance will cover this as a benefi t; if your does not, look for someone at a local hospital who off ers this service as an out-reach program for pregnancy.
Don’t Worry about Being Vegetarian
In the past, pregnant women who didn’t eat meat were told that their diets was harmful to a growing baby. Today we know that vegetarians and vegans can enjoy healthy pregnancies. Still, many vegetarian women are concerned that a lack of meat will aff ect their pregnancies in a negative way. This is simply not true. While lean meats, for some, can be a good source of protein, many foods that supply you with protein are not meat based.
If you have been a vegetarian for numerous years and have maintained a healthy lifestyle, you will probably not need to make any changes in your pregnancy diet. If you choose to become a vegetarian during pregnancy, that’s fi ne, but you should seek guidance from your practitioner and possibly a nutritionist.
Some women fi nd that during pregnancy the thought of meat makes them feel ill, and they wish to avoid it. Again, meat is not a necessary part of a healthy diet for pregnant women. Seeking the support of a nutritionist who has experience working with vegetarians is useful to many women.
Because protein is the building block of every cell, it is essential for a healthy pregnancy. Protein is available in many sources; in fact, almost everything has at least some protein in it.
The main sources of protein for vegetarians include:
• Nuts and nut butters, such as peanut and almond
• Beans
• Tofu
• Meat replacement products, such as tofu and other soy products
Nuts can be a great snack during pregnancy. They are fi lled with protein and good fats. They also store nicely in your purse or backpack for quick snacking.
My baby feels my presence
Eating a healthy diet without meat is not diffi cult. Maintaining a food log is highly recommended for all pregnant women to help them assess their diet, and for a new vegetarian, it is essential. Your practitioner or nutritionist can help you evaluate your diet for inadequacies and help make suggestions to guarantee that you and your baby are getting all the nutrition you need.
Be Familiar with the Signs of Miscarriage
The loss of a pregnancy prior to 20 weeks is known as a miscarriage. It is nothing you want to worry about, but most pregnant women will worry about it at some point.
The following are signs to look for because they indicate the possibility of a miscarriage:
• Bleeding
• Cramping
• Backache
• Complete loss of pregnancy symptoms
If you experience any of these signs, you should immediately call your midwife or doctor. Many times there is nothing that can be done. It is estimated that about 1 in 5 pregnancies will be lost to miscarriage, including many before a positive pregnancy test.
However, it is possible to have the signs of miscarriage and not actually miscarry. For instance, vaginal exams and vaginal ultrasounds can cause bleeding, which is a sign of miscarriage but doesn’t really pose a threat to the pregnancy. This is known as a threatened miscarriage. (Any bleeding from the vagina is called a threatened miscarriage because it may or may not cause a threat to the pregnancy.
Other terms used to describe bleeding can be associated with other symptoms such as an open cervix, which is more ominous than simple spotting or bleeding that may be caused by other issues, including the sensitivity of the cervix to mere touch as with a vaginal exam, transvaginal ultrasound, or with sexual intercourse.)
Prepare for Wild and Weird Pregnancy Dreams
Pregnant women will be quick to tell you that their dreams can be pretty wild. Wild can mean very vivid, realistic, weird, or thought-provoking. Dreams can provide insight into what you’re thinking or worried about—such as dreams about leaving your baby at the store or forgetting to feed her. Some women dream about babies that look like small animals or about having more babies than they are gestating, such as ten or twelve.
Your dreams are a pleasant way to free your mind of things that are worrisome. This is true even if you are not consciously aware that you are worried about something. You might even enjoy these sneak peeks into something like the sex of your baby or even how many babies you have in your uterus. Mother’s intuition is usually spot on, even when it takes the form of dreams. So don’t be so quick to dismiss them as meaningless.
Occasionally these dreams will become incredibly worrisome or keep you up at night to avoid returning to the dreams. If that is the case, you should talk to your doctor or midwife to get a referral to a counselor who can help reduce your rate of dreams and help you sleep more peacefully.
Lab work needn’t be worrisome. Be sure to know what blood work is being done, why, when, and how you can expect the results. This can prevent some concern later.
Learn about Common Lab Work in the First Trimester
Lab work or blood work is ordered at various stages of your pregnancy. At your fi rst prenatal visit, you may feel like you’ve been ordered to donate blood based on the number of vials that get fi lled. The following basic tests are ordered for almost everyone:
• BLOOD TYPE AND RHESUS FACTOR: This is to see what your blood type and rhesus factor are, so that your practitioner can know about potential complications should your partner be a diff erent rhesus factor, from you.
• RUBELLA TITER: This test is to see if you’re immune from this childhood illness that can cause problems with the pregnancy if contracted. If you are not immune, you will need to avoid people who have rubella and be immunized after giving birth.
• VDRL STATUS, SUCH AS SYPHILIS AND GONORRHEA: These are tests for various sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that can cause problems during pregnancy or birth.
• IRON LEVELS: This is to check for anemia, which is when your iron levels are lower than normal. This aff ects how much oxygen you get, causing you to feel tired, sluggish, and even short of breath. It is fairly common in pregnancy, particularly at certain points because of the large expansion of blood volume you go through to help nurture your baby inside the uterus. Low iron can potentially cause problems during your birth and postpartum as well.
You may also have more specifi c lab work done if you have chronic issues or other problems, which includes the following:
• Liver function tests
• Thyroid levels
• HIV/AIDS status (This is mandatory in some states.)
• hCG levels
Be sure to discuss any blood test that’s been ordered with your doctor or midwife. It may be that they need information to adjust your current medications, or it may be that they are looking for something specifi c. They should always be willing to take the time to explain what is going on with your lab work.
You should also remember to ask not only what they are testing and why, but how the results will be given and when the results will be made available. Some practices have a special line you can call for lab results, or they may ask you to wait until your next appointment to discuss the results. Sometimes, however, an immediate answer is needed to treat you promptly. For example, if your thyroid hormone levels are low, you should start treatment as soon as possible. Waiting a month between appointments would be detrimental.
Watch out for Hyperemesis Gravidarium
Throwing up during pregnancy is awful, but it’s also fairly common, and you’re entitled to complain. An abnormal level of nausea and vomiting is called hyperemesis gravidarium. Technically this is defi ned as the loss of at least 5 percent of your body weight, and it aff ects only 1 out of 300 women.
If you have been diagnosed with hyperemesis, you will most likely be given a variety of treatments until one is found that works for you. While many cases of hyperemesis can be treated on an outpatient basis, some are severe enough to require treatment in the hospital.
Treatments include the following:
• Alternative therapies, such as vitamins, talk therapy, and acupuncture
• Various medications
• IV hydration
• Total parental nutrition (Using an IV to feed someone so she doesn’t have to worry about food or digestion)
• Tube feedings
If you have reason to believe you might be suff ering from hyperemesis, be sure to bring it up with your doctor or midwife.
Consider Where You’ll Give Birth
Where you give birth is a very important decision. There are a number of places available for you to give birth, including the following:
• Home
• Free-standing birth center
• Hospital birth center
• Hospitals (various levels)
Unfortunately not all communities will have the resources to fund or support each type of place of birth. You may have only one or two options where you live, or you may have the full range of options from which to choose. You need to understand the perks of each before deciding which appeals most to you.
HOME BIRTH: Women who choose to give birth at home do so for a variety of reasons, including a desire to avoid unnecessary interventions during labor and birth and a wish to control their environments. Home birth may be an option for you if you have practitioners who practice at home, and you meet their requirements, which usually include being healthy with a low-risk pregnancy. During your pregnancy, you will be screened constantly for signs of not being low risk, at which point you would transfer to the care of a diff erent birth place.
FREE-STANDING BIRTH CENTER: A freestanding birth center is not located within a hospital and is typically not on hospital grounds. A centralized location for care providers, it has very little medical equipment other than the basics for dealing with emergencies. It is a place for healthy women having low-risk pregnancies to safely have babies with practitioners who choose to practice there. Typically women giving birth here are choosing to minimize certain interventions in birth.
HOSPITAL BIRTH CENTER: A hospital birth center gives expectant mothers less autonomy than a free-standing birth center, and it may be housed on a separate fl oor of a hospital. Some hospitals may call their maternity wards “birth centers,” but they lack the philosophy that birth is normal. “Normal” is a term used to describe a birth that proceeds physiologically the way the body is meant to, free from routine interventions such as epidurals and Cesarean sections. A belief in and support for normal births is what tends to set birth centers of all kinds apart. Ask if your hospital’s birth center has separate staff trained to assist in helping you labor with minimal intervention.
HOSPITAL: The majority of women give birth in hospitals of all levels, from hospitals with only well newborn nurseries (for infants who are not ill) to hospitals with Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU). Each hospital will have its own philosophy of birth and care for a variety of women. Some hospitals see more high-risk patients than others, so be sure to ask if that matters to you. Hospitals have all sorts of interventions and medications available and are accustomed to using them. If you choose to give birth in a hospital and want to minimize the use of medication, be sure to plan ahead for pointers from the hospital on navigating that path.
Resist the temptation to run out and buy maternity clothes. You will have plenty of time for that in later weeks, and it is considered a fashion faux pas to wear them too soon. Instead consider baby doll style tops and loosefi tting pants if you’re feeling bloated due to constipation or other gastrointestinal distress.
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