Metamorphosis Human Pregnancy
Uploaded by allupinu69 on Oct 31, 2011
This essay describes the changes that take place in a woman’s body during pregnancy, and whether or not she should sleep on her stomach.
I Introduction
The development of human embryos is well documented. This paper discusses the development of the fetus, the changes that the woman’s body goes through and what changes in shape will occur during the pregnancy; it also includes research about the risks (if there are any) of pregnant women lying on their stomachs.
II Trimesters
Pregnancy is usually described in terms of trimesters—three three-month periods of time that together cover the entire length of the gestation period. Examining each will give us a way to understand the entire pregnancy. The following comments are for what is considered a “typical” or “normal” pregnancy, but every woman is different and every pregnancy is different.
The entire pregnancy usually has a duration of approximately 40 weeks. The first trimester is week 1 through week 12. During this time, the woman will either stop menstruation or what periods she does have will be very light; her breasts will enlarge; the volume of blood circulating doubles; and the uterus enlarges to approximately three times its normal size. The first trimester is also the time during which most women (if they are going to have it at all) experience “morning sickness.” The name is a misnomer, because the nausea and vomiting that sometimes occur during pregnancy can happen any time of the day or night. They can also last throughout the entire pregnancy, and not just during the first trimester, unfortunately.
In addition to these changes, many women suffer from constipation and heartburn; some have bleeding at the time they would normally have had their period; and many feel fatigued. Although many changes are occurring in the body, outwardly there is little sign that the woman is pregnant; she usually doesn’t start to “show” until sometime in the second trimester.
In the second trimester (week 13 – week 26), many of the discomforts of the earlier part of the pregnancy will have passed. (Usually morning sickness stops at this point.) However, other unpleasant things happen; again, these are common to many women, but certainly not all. Most experience water retention (edema), particularly in the feet and ankles; walking may become difficult. Some women have nosebleeds and nasal congestion, and hemorrhoids and varicose veins may develop....