[trustindex no-registration=google]
You have now reached the 10th week of your pregnancy. Not much longer and the sensitive first trimester is over! This is also the last week of the embryonic phase. From week 11 onwards, we no longer speak of an embryo, but of a foetus. Your baby has developed splendidly and now looks like a little person. It is busy doing its gymnastic exercises in your belly. In part 10 of our pregnancy calendar, you can find out which symptoms can occur in week 10, what you should pay attention to in terms of nutrition and what else is important.
The size of your baby in week 10 is 25 to 32 millimetres. This means it is about the size of a walnut. However, only the size of a nut is comparable. Your little treasure has already taken on a very human shape! The embryo weighs around 4 grams at the beginning of this week of pregnancy and has doubled its weight compared to the previous week.
Until now, the embryo was mainly nourished by the yolk sac. Now the placenta, also known as the placenta, has developed to such an extent that it can take over this task. The placenta will supply your baby with all vital nutrients and oxygen until birth. At the same time, it absorbs the waste products produced by the baby's circulatory system. But it can do much more. It also produces the important hormones that are needed to maintain the pregnancy. It keeps many pathogens and harmful substances away from your child. The placenta is a true marvel of nature! In turn, the yolk sac now begins to recede as it is no longer needed.
With every week that passes, your baby's shape becomes more human. Its head is now erect. Eyes, nose, ears and lips are recognisable. The forehead and chin are also beginning to develop. Even the eyelids are already big enough to close the eyes - your baby can blink. The eyes are still closed most of the time.
Your little one can now bend their arms and legs above the elbows and knees. The wrists are also present. In this week, the webbing between the fingers and toes recedes. The finger lines develop. The fingerprints develop from these. These are unique and will characterise your child for the rest of its life. In addition, the embryonic tail, a remnant of our ancestors, has completely disappeared.
Your baby is now becoming more and more active, moving around a lot and exercising his muscles in this way. If you have an ultrasound scan this week, you may be able to admire his gymnastic exercises. You probably won't feel them yet. Because your baby is still hidden behind your pelvic bones in your belly.
In the coming weeks, the main thing for your baby is to grow, grow, grow. All internal and external organs are already in place and many of them are already functioning. For reasons of space, a loop of the intestine was moved into the umbilical cord in the previous weeks. This physiological umbilical hernia still exists, but it is slowly beginning to recede.
New nerve cells are constantly developing in your baby's brain. This enables more and more movements. From this week onwards, your little one will be able to open and close their mouth. Sensory perceptions are also sharpening. The first taste buds develop on the tongue in week 10.
Practical help for you:
Emergency service midwife Katharina explains the most important things about the maternity pass online.
A few weeks have probably passed since your positive pregnancy test and you have slowly realised that a little baby is growing inside you. You are no doubt thinking a lot about the course of the pregnancy and your future life as a mum. Turn to trusted people such as your partner or midwife if you have any worries or doubts. You can also take a look at our range of online courses for pregnant women, such as our workshops "1st trimester", "Maternity passport" and "Pregnancy care". Midwife Katharina shares her valuable midwifery knowledge with you in these online workshops and the exchange with other mums-to-be will certainly do you good.
Pregnancy is an incredibly exciting time. To collect your thoughts and remember all the wonderful details in a few years' time, it's worth keeping a pregnancy diary. Stick in a few nice photos and you'll have a precious memory for you and your child.
Your uterus is now about the size of a grapefruit. Its upper edge, the so-called fundus, is just below the upper edge of your pubic bone. Your blood volume has also increased to provide your baby with the best possible supply. As a result, the amount of water in your body has also increased and your kidneys are working at full speed. Support your body by drinking enough. Additional exercise activates your vein pump. This allows your veins to better transport the increased blood volume through your body. You will feel that gentle additional exercise stabilises your blood pressure, helps to combat tiredness and alleviates the symptoms of nausea.
Typical symptoms in week 10 still include an altered sense of smell and taste, shortness of breath and a pulling sensation in the abdomen due to the growing uterus. Many pregnant women are still plagued by nausea. The good news is that the hormone hCG, which is responsible for this, has now peaked. In the coming weeks, its concentration will decrease, and with it, pregnancy nausea.
Although your baby is still very small, some pregnant women already notice a slight bulge in their belly. This is mainly due to the softening of the abdominal tissue. But the growing uterus, embryo, placenta and increasing volume of amniotic fluid are already taking up space. The intestines are pushed upwards. This also contributes to the bulging of the abdomen. Don't worry if you don't notice a tummy yet. For many women, it takes a few more weeks before the pregnancy becomes visible. If your trousers are already pinching, this may also be because your pelvis is getting wider to create enough space for your baby.
Breasts and stomach grow - this puts strain on the connective tissue. The dreaded consequence for many women: stretch marks. It will be a few weeks before these appear. It is also not always possible to prevent them from appearing. However, there are a few things you can do to reduce the risk of stretch marks.
These include a balanced and healthy diet and sufficient fluid intake. You can also make your skin more supple and elastic with massages. Massages improve blood flow to the skin. This allows it to stretch better. It is worth starting to massage your stomach, breasts, thighs and buttocks regularly at the end of the first trimester. A massage oil that promotes blood circulation is perfect. If you are not allergic to arnica, this plant is an ideal ingredient for massage oil against stretch marks.
Alternatively, you can mix them yourself and use essential oils that are pleasant for you. Almond and jojoba oil, for example, are suitable bases. Adding essential oils such as lavender, neroli, camomile, rose or cedar makes the massage particularly relaxing. Do something good for yourself and use this little massage ritual to calm down and concentrate fully on yourself and your baby.
If you have an ultrasound in the 10th week of pregnancy, your little one may be doing somersaults. Its face with eyes, nose, lips and ears are now clearly recognisable. You can also admire the little hands and feet. Although the reproductive organs have already started to develop, the ultrasound does not yet show whether you are having a boy or a girl.
In principle, you can eat almost anything you like during pregnancy. However, you should be careful with some foods as they can pose a risk to your unborn child. Raw foods in particular harbour a risk for Infectious diseases. These cause little or no symptoms in adults. However, they can severely impair the development of the embryo during pregnancy and have fatal consequences.
Whilst listeria does not usually cause illness in healthy people, these bacteria pose a serious risk to your unborn baby. They can be found in raw milk products, opened tinned food, freshly prepared mayonnaise, seafood and on lettuce. For this reason, you should clean fresh vegetables thoroughly before eating them, only use pasteurised dairy products and heat critical foods such as fish and meat well before eating them. Listeria is reliably killed during cooking if the temperature is at least 70 degrees for two minutes or longer.
In adults, listeriosis often causes no symptoms at all. However, flu-like symptoms such as a high temperature and malaise may occur. If you are suspected of having listeriosis, your blood or stool will be tested for the bacteria. If you are infected, you will be given antibiotics for at least two weeks. Treatment should be started as early as possible to minimise the risk of transmission to the baby.
Similar to listeriosis, toxoplasmosis in adults is either asymptomatic or causes mild symptoms reminiscent of a flu-like infection. However, the toxoplasmosis pathogens can cause severe brain and eye damage in the unborn child. However, only the initial infection is dangerous during pregnancy. If you have already developed antibodies before pregnancy, they will protect you and your baby from re-infection if you come into contact with toxoplasma.
The disease is caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which can be found on cat faeces, raw meat and in the soil. As a preventative measure, you should carefully clean salad, fruit and vegetables and wash your hands after preparing raw meat. Gardening should be done with gloves. Wash your hands thoroughly afterwards. Meat should be cooked thoroughly to kill the toxoplasma. You can still stroke your cat. However, it is advisable to wash your hands afterwards. It is also advisable for your partner to clean the litter tray during pregnancy.
It may well be that you have already had an unnoticed toxoplasmosis infection in the course of your life and are therefore already immune to the disease. A blood test is offered to find this out. However, this is not usually covered by health insurance, so you will have to pay the costs yourself.
Copyright 2024 NotdienstHebamme // Website by AAD
