Week 12

BABY DEVELOPMENT

As your first trimester is coming to a close, you can now see the face of your baby. And frankly, what a gorgeous face it is! His bone marrow is now mature enough to start producing its own red blood cells, and will, from now on, take over the liver. It will continue this exclusive role during the entire life of your child. If your baby is a boy, his penis is already apparent and visible on ultrasound. If you want to wait until he or she is born to know whether you’re having a son or a daughter, make sure you let everyone know so they don’t spoil the surprise.

YOUR BODY

Good news – the end of the first trimester is when most mothers-to-be report their nausea disappearing overnight. Second great news – if you have been dying to feel the baby move, it generally starts around the 4th month of your pregnancy. Don’t worry if it doesn’t happen immediately, especially if you are a first time mum. You just might not know what it feels like. It isn’t a huge earth-shaking sensation, more like light, butterfly-wings flapping inside you. When you do feel it, you can rub your belly to say hello right back!

NUTRITION

There are lots of foods you can eat that nourish the developing brain of your baby more than others.

 The B vitamins can be found in brewer’s yeast, wheat germ, fish and eggs. Folic acid, important throughout your pregnancy, is in green, leafy vegetables. You can find the essential fatty acids in oily fish and oils like walnut and colza. Talk to your doctor to be sure you are including all the right kinds of foods in your diet.

TIPS

A lot of women wonder what can happen if they get ill while pregnant. A cold or a stomach upset usually has no effect on an unborn child. It is just important to inform your gynaecologist about any illness because they will know exactly which treatment and which medicine will help a mother-to-be without damaging the child. Don’t try to choose medicine on our own.