second trimester Content | Baby Billy
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Why your pregnant belly feels tight and heavy?
Your belly is getting tight and heavy to prepare for labor. You're almost there so buckle up and get ready for the rest of the journey.Why does your belly start feeling hard during pregnancy?🤰Growing uterusAs you're stepping into the third trimester, your uterus pushes against your abdominal wall and makes your belly feel hard.🤰 Your growing uterus also crowds your internal organs such as lung and bladder. Stretch marks on your belly become more visible and itchy.🙁🤰Gas and bloatingGas and bloating can also contribute to belly hardness. You get gassy because hormone changes slow the rate of digestion, leaving the food longer in the intestine🍲 and giving time to bacteria to produce gas.🦨 🤰Braxton Hicks contractionsIf you feel sensations of stomach tightening, it could be Braxton Hicks contractions. They appear more frequently in the third trimester as they prepare your body for labor.😃 🤰Preterm laborSharp pains on one or both sides of your belly might be caused by round ligament pain. However, if you feel excruciating pain accompanied with your belly feeling hard, this belly cramping can signal a more serious problem such as preterm labor.🙁 When to call doctorIf your contractions are so painful that you can't endure it, you should consider calling your doctor.👩⚕️ Any signs like vaginal bleeding, less fetal movement, amniotic fluid leaking can be dangerous so you should call your doctor immediately.🏥
Common pregnancy aches and pains
Growing a new person in your body takes a toll on your body. You should expect some body aches and pains along the way. Causes of body aches during pregnancy😩Hormonal changesSurges of relaxin and progesterone hormones relax your ligaments and joints to prepare your body for labor.🤰 Your body then feels all the aching and pain😫 as these unstable ligaments slightly move.😩Weight gainYou're gaining weight and putting extra pressure on your joints. Your growing uterus👶 also shifts your center of gravity and stretches abdominal muscles, causing inevitable pain to your back and spine.Relieving body aches in pregnancy😩HeatYou can apply heating pads, a hot water bottle on your abdomen. However, don't apply heat to your body for longer than ten minutes because you don't want to heat up your baby.👶😩ExercisesOne of the best remedies to reduce pain is to stay physically active.🚶 Pregnancy safe exercises help keep weight gain in check, strengthen muscles, support your blood circulation🩸 and reduce swelling. Common body aches in pregnancy😩HeadachesFeeling a squeezing pain on both sides of your head is a sign of tension headache.🤕 It's usually a harmless symptom due to hormonal changes and increased blood flow.😩HemorrhoidsHemorrhoids are swollen blood vessels🩸 in the rectal area due to straining during bowel movements. The growth of the uterus puts pressure on your rectal veins, making you feel downright painful.😩 😩Heartburn Burning sensation in your chest strikes you after you eat. During pregnancy, progesterone hormone relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter, allowing the stomach acid🍲 to travel up your throat. Your baby👶 also contributes to pushing on the stomach and adding to the burn.😩Leg crampsLeg cramps🦵 can be rooted from vitamin deficiency, electrolyte shortage or other reasons. Changes in your body🤰 during pregnancy can cause unprecedented pains in your body.😩Carpal tunnel syndromeDuring pregnancy🤰, you experience tingling pain in your hands✋, wrists and arms. Extra fluid and swelling are the main culprits causing these symptoms.
Pregnant belly button
Your pregnant belly's growth keeps pushing your belly button out. It looks weird and makes you feel a bit uncomfortable but it will return to its normal shape after delivery. During pregnancy🔘Belly button changesYour belly button🔘 doesn't connect to the uterus. It's just the remnant of your attachment to your mother in the womb from years ago.👩 As your belly grows, it puts pressure on your belly button and causes some inconvenience. The belly button is out in the open making you feel weird😕 when it rubs against your clothes.👚 🔘Belly button painsUmbilical hernia happens when a piece of your intestines protrudes through the small hole in abdominal tissue into your belly button and gets stranded.🙁 Umbilical hernia is usually harmless, but you'll experience intense pain😣 when this piece of intestines gets stuck and squeezed in a small space of your belly button.After pregnancyThe belly button is likely to return to its normal size and shape after delivery.😃 However, sometimes your belly button may stay permanently outside, making you uncomfortable and diffident.You can choose umbilicoplasty, a surgery that makes the stretched belly button more vertical and less wide.👩⚕️🏥 The surgery is only recommended for moms who have no intention of getting pregnant again because another pregnancy will give you the same result.🤰
Have your baby’s movements changed?
Can you feel your baby's movements today? There is a baby kicking in there!Fetal movement👶When does fetal movement start?The first fluttery movements are called quickening. You can expect to feel your baby's first kick between 16 to 22 weeks of your pregnancy.🤰 But there is no exact timeline to feel fetal movement so you may feel it a bit earlier or later.😃👶What's movement like in the second trimester?Your baby's movement is still unpredictable at the beginning. As your baby is getting warmed up, you can feel more intense and frequent kicks and punches from your little angel.👶 You can also put your hands on your belly and feel the moving underneath.🤗Kick count👶Kick countYou pick a time of day and count the number of times your baby kicks during that exact time frame.🧮 It's best to pick the same time frame everyday so you can compare and notice any movements drop off.🙆♀️ 👶Decreased movementsIf you accidentally start kick counts when your baby is napping, decreased movements are harmless. However, there are more potential reasons like your baby's growth might have been slowed down, or problems might happen with the placenta or the uterus.😟 Call your doctor immediately if you notice any strange silence when monitoring yourself at home.👩⚕️
Braxton Hicks contractions
Braxton Hicks contractions are also called false alarms of labor. You can feel them early on in your pregnancy, but usually most moms won't feel them until mid to late pregnancy.😃 Braxton Hicks contractions🤰What are Braxton Hicks contractions?Braxton Hicks contractions are mild and sporadic contractions that you probably won't notice until mid to late pregnancy.🤰 They feel like tightness in your abdomen, typically last less than 30 seconds, then go away. They are uncomfortable but rarely painful.😃 Since Braxton Hicks contractions are often mistaken for early signals of preterm labor, you should not make any diagnosis yourself just to be safe.🙅♀️ You should consult with your doctor👩⚕️ if you experience abdominal pain that doesn't get better even after you rest. More regular and stronger contractions accompanied with vaginal bleeding as you approach your due date are also warning signs of possible preterm labor.⚠️ 🤰What causes Braxton Hicks contractions?The exact cause of Braxton Hicks contractions is unknown but you can think of them as a practice before your true labor.🤔 You will notice them more clearly when you're dehydrated or have a full bladder, or after having sex or doing physical activities. The difference between Braxton Hicks contractions and true labor🤰PatternBraxton Hicks contractions often appear sporadically and don't get closer together. True labor signals come at regular intervals and get closer together over time.🧐 🤰DurationBraxton Hicks contractions are weak, rarely causing any pains and lasting shortly. True contractions last 30 to 90 seconds.⏱️ 🤰PositionBraxton Hicks contractions occur in the front of your abdomen. However, real contractions feel like they start in the back and gradually progress to the front.🤰 🤰ChangeBraxton Hicks contractions stop when you change your position.🚶 True labor contractions continue despite position changes and intensify over time.
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