How to find out how long you are expecting a baby?

To begin with, it is worth considering that the period of conception and the period of pregnancy differ. The gestational age is formally counted from the first day of the last menstrual period. Normally, it is 10 lunar (28 days each) months of pregnancy or 40 weeks. Pregnancy is divided into three trimesters of 13 weeks, and at the end of the 3rd, at 40 weeks, birth is expected... theoretically, because nature does not always agree with mathematics. A baby is considered full-term from 38 weeks of pregnancy and has the right to sit in the mother’s belly until 42 weeks. Further, the pregnancy is considered post-term. From 22 weeks, doctors try to save the life of the child if he was born prematurely.

Conception normally occurs from 8 to 18 days of the menstrual cycle - an egg is released from the ovary and the sperm has a chance to meet it. But options are also possible. The cycle sometimes shifts due to abortion or miscarriage, hormonal drugs, illness, stress, climate change. Occasionally, both ovaries release an egg, and twin children can be conceived within a few days of each other. And with a rare pathology - duplication of the uterus - the difference in timing can be as much as a month. In the BBC story of Arifa Sultana from Bangladesh, the woman gave birth to one child in February 2019, and two more in March.

Sometimes a woman makes the mistake of mistaking implantation bleeding for her last menstrual period. Or cannot remember the dates of the last menstruation due to a lost or irregular cycle. And we should not forget about conception during the period of lactational amenorrhea. In these cases, standard counting does not work.

Pregnancy period - how to determine exactly?

Few women know exactly when they became pregnant. Even if you approached conception responsibly, measured the basal temperature chart and chose the most favorable day, variations still occur in married life. And ovulation may go astray and the cycle may be late, or even not start at all, due to breastfeeding - yes, mothers, they also get pregnant during lactation. Meanwhile, pregnancy management is an exact science, especially in the first trimester. At 5-6 weeks, a heartbeat appears and the embryo is visible on ultrasound; if it is not there, then the pregnancy has not occurred or has frozen. The calculation of the due date depends on the duration of pregnancy.

When should pregnant women be concerned?

 When should pregnant women be concerned?

• The abdomen abruptly (within a few hours) changes size and shape - perhaps amniotic fluid has leaked, polyhydramnios has begun, childbirth is approaching, etc.

• The belly is much larger than it should be and is growing quickly - multiple pregnancy, polyhydramnios, hydatidiform mole (a dangerous complication) or the mother overeats is possible

• The abdomen is much smaller than expected and grows slowly - possible delay in fetal development or insufficient nutrition of the mother

• The abdomen has the shape of an oval lying on its side shortly before birth - the baby is in a transverse position and he has not turned upside down

• The abdomen is tense and does not relax, it has become hard and painful - inflammation may have begun in the abdominal cavity.

• The abdomen has become asymmetrical – it is necessary to check the development of the fetus, especially the size of its head.

In any case, if you feel unwell or notice something unusual or frightening, it is better to consult your gynecologist as soon as possible. Or with our specialist at CIR - we will answer all your questions. The calmer the mother, the healthier the child.

Will stretch marks appear?

Unpredictable. But if there is only one fetus, the belly is growing without ahead of schedule, the woman monitors her weight, wears a bandage and carefully rubs cream or oil against stretch marks into her delicate skin every day - most likely not. And if they do appear, they will disappear after childbirth. At risk for stretch marks are women who developed stretch marks on their chests in adolescence, for example, due to rapid growth, women with excess body weight and sensitive thin skin.

Does it happen that the belly is not visible during pregnancy?

Yes, to the point that the woman herself does not realize she is pregnant until the end of her term. This can happen with a small fetus in a primiparous woman, a tall and large athletic woman with a trained abdominal wall, or an overweight woman with wide hips and severe obesity in the abdominal area. Sometimes women tighten their bellies with belts or corsets to deliberately hide their pregnancy, but already in the second trimester this becomes dangerous.

At what age does the belly become noticeable?

Depends on many factors - the woman’s physique, posture and weight, the size of the fetus, and the condition of the abdominal wall. Normally, a small bulge below the navel is noticeable by 11-12 weeks, but variations are possible. If a short, fragile girl has multiple births or a large fetus from a large father, the belly will become visible a little earlier; if the expectant mother is full or her belly itself is convex and round, a little later. But by 23-24 weeks it is already difficult to confuse.

The exact size of the abdomen during pregnancy.

During pregnancy, the belly increases primarily because the uterus enlarges. At 12 weeks it is the size of a large orange; at 24 weeks it reaches the navel with its tip; at 38 weeks it reaches the costal arches. The size of the uterus depends on the size of the fetus or fetuses and the amount of amniotic fluid. The size and shape of the abdomen depends on the elasticity and fitness of the abdominal wall, hormonal levels and the weight of the mother.

In primiparous women, the abdomen is usually more elastic and sharp, in multiparous women it is wider and saggy. A week or two before birth, the stomach drops and the baby's head is located near the pelvic ring. During examinations, the doctor measures the height and width of the abdomen and the height of the fundus of the uterus to check whether the fetus is developing correctly.

There is no difference in shape between a girl and a boy pregnancy, but since boys are slightly larger, the belly may be slightly larger. But pregnancy with twins or triplets is noticeable by the end of the first trimester.

What causes your belly to grow?

In addition to the three points that were listed above, there are also such factors that influence the increase in abdominal growth in a pregnant woman:

• Women who are pregnant for the first time usually notice that their belly has enlarged quite late. And it grows slowly. This is explained by the fact that in nulliparous women, the abdominal muscles are still strong and they resist stretching. And those women who have become mothers more than once say that with each new pregnancy, the belly becomes noticeable earlier and earlier. This happens because the muscles stretch and become much more elastic.

• Heredity. This factor also greatly influences how the pregnant woman’s belly grows. You can ask your mother and grandmother about the age at which the belly begins to grow in your family. There you just have to navigate by what they say and prepare to see the main evidence of your pregnancy by about this time.

• The anatomical features of each woman also have a very large influence on the growth of the abdomen. For example, when a woman is thin and small, her figure will change faster than that of her plumper friends. In addition, the belly will not only appear earlier, but will also grow faster and appear very large.

• If you cannot be called thin and you are the owner of curvy figures, wide hips and tall stature, expect that the people around you, and you yourself, will notice the growth of your tummy only in the middle of your entire pregnancy.

• Naturally, the size of the fetus also has a very large influence on the size of the abdomen. That is, the faster the baby develops, the faster you will see changes in your figure.

• In addition, how exactly the baby is positioned in the woman’s womb is important. For example, when it lies closer to the spine, there is no need to expect a quick increase in the tummy. In this case, it will remain small and unnoticeable for a long time. And when the fetus is adjacent to the front side of the uterus, the abdomen appears very early.

Naturally, absolutely every expectant mother is interested in which month the belly appears. This is especially true for those who become pregnant for the first time. It is difficult to realize that a new life is emerging and developing inside you and that all this is very serious.

There is one very banal and interesting reason for women to find out when a belly appears: to understand how soon you will have to completely change your wardrobe.

The timing of the appearance of the belly is very individual. For example, if you are a regular visitor to forums for expectant mothers, you have seen girls whose belly became noticeable already in the fifth week. And there are also those for whom it is visible only at the thirtieth mark. And this is absolutely true. Just look at what is said specifically about the stomach. And, as you know, it can increase from excessive nutrition, for example. Or due to increased gas formation, which often happens to expectant mothers.

Because of this, we can say that those who claim that the abdomen becomes enlarged already in the first trimester are mistaken. They simply confuse the uterus and the stomach. Uterine growth begins around 16 weeks. And already at 20, it becomes clear to those around her that the woman is in an interesting position.

How long does it take for the belly to grow?

The most significant and completely undeniable sign of pregnancy is a woman’s increased belly. But for what reason does this happen? It would seem that what could be simpler and clearer: due to the fact that the baby himself is increasing in size inside him. And this naturally should happen to every normal mother. Pregnancy still lasts for 9 months.

But besides this obvious reason, there are others that are much more complex. It turns out that the way a woman’s belly grows tells specialists a lot.

During pregnancy, the belly begins to grow due to three factors: the enlargement of the fetus itself, the increase in the amount of amniotic fluid and the growth of the uterus.

How long does it take for the belly to grow? Don't think the answer is as simple as you think. After all, the question is delicate and rather ambiguous. The enlargement of the abdomen in size is influenced by the factors described above.

Doctors have determined the average when most girls develop a noticeable belly. This is approximately 16 weeks, that is, about four months. But it often happens that women manage to hide their interesting position almost until the very birth, simply because the stomach turns out to be completely invisible. But this, of course, is a rare case.

It also happens quite the opposite, when a pregnant woman’s belly grows so quickly that it becomes noticeable already in the second or third month.

In general, only one thing is clear from all this: the tummy can begin to increase in size in almost any month and trimester. Moreover, it may not appear at all. But in this case they talk about the phenomenon of the so-called “hidden pregnancy”.

Growth parameters of the uterus and abdomen during pregnancy.

The expectant mother should know that the uterus is constantly growing, only visually its rounding begins to be noticeable at certain times. How does the uterus grow over the weeks of pregnancy? At what pace?

It goes something like this. At 4 weeks of pregnancy, it resembles the size of a chicken egg. At week 8, its size increases to the size of a goose egg. The uterus “looks” like a man’s fist at 12 weeks. Then its bottom reaches the top point of the pubic symphysis. By 16 weeks of pregnancy, the fundus of the uterus is determined midway between the navel and pubis. At 24 weeks, the fundus of the uterus is at the level of the navel, already 4 cm above it at 28 weeks, and at 32 weeks the fundus is between the navel and the xiphoid process. The uterus reaches this process at 36 weeks, and at 40 it descends.