6-weeks pregnant: baby development and diet tips
Your baby’s growth is in overdrive right about now. So many exciting developments in such a tiny little being! Read more about this week.
Baby development
Guess what? Your baby is now starting to develop skin! And, amazingly, all their other organs, while still tiny, are already in place. Optic nerves are developing, and their head is now well-formed, though still much larger than the rest of them. Their heart and liver are taking up a lot of room in your womb this now. Their arms and legs are lengthening, and the little ‘tail' will soon disappear. In the next couple of weeks, their ‘webbed’ hands and feet will make room for proper, well-separated fingers and toes. What a busy week!
Your body
You are well on your way, with your baby due in around 33 weeks. Many women have to shift down a gear around this time. Some of the less-than-pleasant side effects of pregnancy might be rearing their heads. They include for example, the much talked-about nausea, sleeping problems and mood changes. They appear because of the normal hormonal changes in your body due to pregnancy.
Still, don’t push yourself too much right now! Being pregnant may not be an illness, but there is still a strain on your body. Perhaps your daily routine and your working life will allow you to take an extra break here or there.
Nutrition
Experts recommend women eat a diet of folate-rich foods and take a multivitamin with at least 0.4 mg of folic acid, and iron, every day starting at least 3 months before pregnancy, and then continued throughout pregnancy and for 4 to 6 weeks postpartum and throughout breastfeeding.
Tips
Been wondering if you can or should stay physically active during pregnancy? The short answer is yes! Speak to your doctor if you have any questions about maintaining or starting exercise during pregnancy.
Reference:
SOGC. Pre-conception Folic Acid and Multivitamin Supplementation for the Primary and Secondary Prevention of Neural Tube Defects and Other Folic Acid-Sensitive Congenital Anomalies. SOGC Clinical Practice Guideline, No. 324. J Obstet Gynaecol Can. 2015;37(6):534-549.
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