About You

Week 11 is the eleventh week of the 1st trimester, which is almost at the end of the first three months of pregnancy - the first trimester, and your uterus has risen above your pelvic bones and your midwife can now feel it during an external examination. If you are having a nuchal translucency test, you may see the first images of your baby in the next few weeks.
At this stage of pregnancy, the cause of major concern for most women is their weight. As you are already experiencing the pregnancy symptoms, you may have lost weight (due to morning sickness) or have it on the same scale as before pregnancy, or like many women, have gained weight. There is nothing to worry about as this is all normal. What you need to focus on is healthy lifestyle and healthy diet. Generally, during the first trimester, it is pretty normal for a pregnant woman to gain 0.5-1kg of weight per month. However, don’t fall into the trap of “eating for two” – this is just a myth, and will cause you to put on more weight than you should. It is a good thing to stop eating junk food and rely on fresh fruits and vegetables to keep your body fit and healthy

A dark vertical line of pigmentation, called the linea nigra, may appear on your abdomen... this is just one of many changes to your belly to come.

About Baby

The foetus is now about four centimetres long from crown to tail and has all body parts – even tooth buds and toenails. Fingers and toes are now fully separated and it is busy kicking and stretching. At this stage, most critical development has finished, it will now start to grow to survive outside the womb, and the chances of miscarriage will soon drop considerably.

This week's activities for the pregnancy to-do list

✓Moisturize your belly, hips and thighs daily to prevent itchy, dry skin as it stretches

✓Watch your weight and eat healthily– don’t binge on junkfood or make excuses to overeat just because you are pregnant

✓Avoid hot tubs, saunas, steam rooms, intense hot-weather workouts, super-hot baths, or anything else that could raise your body temperature above 102 degrees, which is dangerous in pregnancy

✓Get a first-trimester screening to help your practitioner decide what tests may be warranted

✓If it's recommended by your doctor, get tested for chromosomal abnormalities through a nuchal translucency (NT) and chorionic villus sampling (CVS)

✓Listen to the baby's heartbeat with a Doppler at your doctor's appointment, if possible

✓Reach out to other mothers — including your own. Women who've already made the transition to motherhood can offer good advice, a comforting shoulder, and the camaraderie of shared experiences. If you and your mother have a good relationship, she may be the best source of support. In fact, many women find pregnancy brings them closer to their own mother or their mother-in-law

Note that this article contains general information only and is not intended to replace advice from a qualified health professional.

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