There are three stages of pregnancy development: the first trimester, the second trimester and the third one.
In the first trimester at the gynecologic examination the uterus is soft and globulous, the cervix is violaceous and the cervical glera is missing. These signs (which are accentuated in time) lead (after eight weeks of amenorrhea) to the pregnancy diagnostic. The pregnancy can be confirmed before eight weeks using the pregnancy test (available in every pharmacy). After five weeks of amenorrhea the embryo sac can be observed during an echography and after six weeks we can see the embryo and the pregnancy’s localization. At seven weeks we are able to discover the cardiac activity of the embryo and at eight weeks it can be confirmed a multiple pregnancy (the presence of more than one embryo). During the fist trimester, the volume of the uterus grows step by step. Beginning with the second month, it grows four centimeters in height per month. At three months, the bottom of the uterus grows a little bit out of the pubis. The woman can describe a constipation, irritability, sleep disorder (insomnia or accession of irresistible somnolence), weird abdominal sensations, and excessive salivation. She can gain or lose weight.
During the second trimester, after the twelfth week the uterus is growing, the abdomen bellys out and the pregnancy becomes visible. The movements of the foetus are percept between the twentieth and the twenty-second week of amenorrhea (for the first baby). The breasts grow up in volume and in height. The skin pigmentation is accentuated (it can appear spots on the face). The skin of the abdomen gets thicker and the height increases (between five and seven kilograms).
In the third trimester the uterus pushes on the urinary bladder at the lower side, so as cough, sneeze, laughter can provoke a urinary incontinence. In the upper side, the uterus pushes on the stomach, provoking burns and it pushes on the diaphragm, causing pursiness. The abdomen extends and the basin’s articulations become painful. Height grows with another four kilograms to reach a total increasing between nine or thirteen kilograms. The mammary glands produce a special substance (milk). During the eighth month the foetus lays normally, with the head downward. During the ninth month, the head of the foetus gets into the little basin, making easier the pushing on the diaphragm. There are produced intermittent uterine contractions which are not painful. Finally, the pregnancy term is announced by the appearance of uterine contractions which are getting stronger and regular, which marks the beginning of the birth’s effort, the first phase of birth.
To give birth to a healthy baby, the future mother has to be in the “custody” of a doctor who will analyze all stages of pregnancy development and will take care that everything is done correctly and the birth should take place without any problems or complications.