Pregnancy First Trimester

It is important that the first trimester be treated with much care because only if the first trimester is healthy will the development of the fetus in the mother’s uterus be normal. The expecting mother during this period may not show too many symptoms on the outside but inside she can feel the changes that her body is going through – all her organs and systems as well as the baby are already beginning to accommodate to the moths to follow. The moment the embryo has planted itself into the walls of the uterus, a number of changes begin to take place.

Throughout the state of pregnancy there is a sac that is filled with a liquid called the amniotic fluid the surrounds the growing fetus in order to protect it from slight bumps and nudges from the exterior. This fluid is made by the fetus itself as well as the membrane that protects the fetal side of the placenta which helps to protect the unborn from injury and also helps to keep the baby warm inside by regulating the temperature accordingly. Other than the amniotic fluid the placenta and umbilical cord also need to be discussed as they have important roles to play in the process of pregnancy.

The placenta is a flat organ that grows only at the time of pregnancy. It is attached to the wall of the uterus with the help of small projections which are known as the villi. Blood vessels grow out from the umbilical cord to the villi and help to transfer nourishment from the mother’s blood to the baby and waste materials from the baby to the mother’s blood which with the help of the mother’s system is then excreted. The blood vessels of the fetus are separated from the blood vessels of the mother with the help of a thin membrane. The last connector is the umbilical cord which looks like a rope and connects the placenta to the fetus. It comprises of two arteries and a vein and helps to carry nutrients and oxygen to the fetus from the mother and waste products back to exterior from the fetus inside.

It is during the first trimester that the baby might incur damages most easily either from the inside or the outside. Substances such as drugs, smoke, alcohol, certain medicines and diseases such as measles might harm the baby at this stage. It is also during the first trimester that the baby’s body as well as the mother’s body is changing at a rapid rate. During the first eight weeks the fetus is called the embryo and by the end of this phase the embryo is called a fetus. Important changes occur and the embryo becomes fully formed, gains sufficient weight, and grows significantly long.

Just as how each individual child takes his own time to grow in the world, so does every fetus while it is inside the womb. Though certain things can be generalized it is possibly not fair to assume that the expected child will behave accordingly to the assumptions.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/