Tenth Week Of Pregnancy
You are now ten weeks into your pregnancy. Congratulations! Things are really moving along! At the end of week 10, your baby will officially graduate from an embryo to a fetus.
What does my baby look like at 10 weeks?
At week 10, your baby will be around 3.8cm long. It is now a little over an inch or so long from crown to bottom and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce. This week, your baby is the size of a lime and takes on a more human-like appearance.
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- The most critical stage of your baby’s development is now complete. Your baby continues to develop into a real little person and he or she is starting to enter the fetal stage where tissues and organs grow rapidly.
- Your uterus will have enlarged to the size of a grapefruit to cater needs for growing size of your baby. You may now be able to feel it above your pubic bone.
- The jawbones start to form, and, amazingly, they contain their future milk teeth already. Don’t worry; the teeth won’t break through gums until your baby is around 6 months old.
- The heart is now fully formed and beating 2-3 times faster than yours.
- During this week, your baby begins to swallow fluid and produce digestive juices.
- On an ultrasound scan at 10 weeks, you can see that your baby is making jerky movements.
- Now, fingers and toes of your baby are no longer webbed. He or she can bend their arms at the wrist.
- Your baby’s nails are starting to form.
- Your baby has developed peachy fuzzy hair on the skin.
- The spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from spinal cord. His embryonic tail, located at the bottom of his spinal cord, has disappeared.
- If your baby is a boy then he will already be producing male hormone testosterone.
Like your baby, changes are occurring within your body also. You might notice following changes within your body at 10 weeks pregnant-
- You may experience pressure in your lower abdomen. It occurs due to increasing size of your uterus and increasing blood flow. This pressure may urge you to urinate more often.
- You might notice some changes with your eyes such as thickening of the cornea due to fluid retention, dry eyes, and puffy eyelids. Do not worry, these symptoms are temporary and your eyes will become normal after you give birth. But speak with your doctor if you see spots, or if blurred vision occurs suddenly because such changes in your eyes are a cause of concern.
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You’ll continue experiencing many of the same symptoms you’ve encountered throughout last week. This week you will experience increased vaginal discharge and sharp abdominal pain.
Vaginal discharge
Vaginal discharge occurs due to increased estrogen level. This discharge will be milky and thin with a mild odour. Although vaginal discharge is normal, you must watch some serious signs to make sure you are not suffering from any infection. If vaginal discharge has any of the following characteristics, it is time to seek immediate help of your doctor.
- Discharge with a foul odour.
- Green or yellow colour discharge.
- Discharge occurs with redness or itching of the vulva.
- Discharge mixed with blood.
- Discharge associated with painful urination.
Abdominal pain
It is common to have abdominal pain during pregnancy. This week, you may experience sharp or dull pain in your abdomen, and it is benign. So, from this week onwards, try moving more slowly, and take your time standing up. This may help to reduce your pain to some extent.
How many calories should I take at 10 weeks pregnant?
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A healthy diet is the key to good health. By choosing good foods from all of the food groups, you can provide nourishment to your growing baby with a broad range of different nutrients. Limit food that is high in fat, salt, and sugar. Make sure you are getting good mixture of vitamins and minerals.
Add about 300 calories a day to your diet during this week, when your baby is growing at his fastest. That’s equivalent to an egg with toast, a banana with milk, or slightly larger portions of your normal meals.
You’re almost there!
Now, it is a time of relief for many women because they are almost at the end of their first trimester. At this stage, changes are fast and furious for you and your baby as well. So, keep enjoying the changes and take care.
