Exercise is still good for you during your pregnancy, as long as you listen to your body, take it slow and look for pregnancy-adjusted exercises. Keeping your body strong will only help as your baby gets heavier to carry and during the birth.
Everything is there
Pretty much all the important parts of your baby have now developed! Your baby’s organs are now in place, they only need to mature and grow. Most functions of the brain and nervous system are also in place; the outer genitalia are still developing, therefore it’s still too early to determine the gender on scans.
By the end of week 10, your baby will be approximately the size of a ripe fig.
When should you tell at work?
Many women wait until the 1st trimester is over before they tell their boss and colleagues at work. At this point, the risk of miscarriage has lowered greatly, and you probably don’t show yet. However, if your job includes hard physical labor or maybe coming into contact with dangerous chemicals, it might be a good idea to tell sooner. Maybe some of your closest colleagues have already guessed that you’re pregnant; if you suffer from severe sickness and nausea, or you’re suddenly snacking on crackers, nuts and fruit during the day, chances are, they’re onto your sweet little secret.
Pelvic and ab exercises
Exercise is still good for you during your pregnancy, as long as you listen to your body, take it slow and look for pregnancy-adjusted exercises. Keeping your body strong will only help as your baby gets heavier to carry and during the birth. Training your abs and pelvic floor muscles are especially important.
Training or keeping up the strength in your abs can help maintain your entire core strength, as your body adjusts to carrying the extra weight of your baby. It can reduce the risk of back pain, and it helps support your pelvis. Also, around 50% of pregnant women experience something called diastasis recti, which is a separation of the abdominal muscles, during and after pregnancy. And while ab exercises can’t prevent it entirely, a strong core and strong abs can help limit the separation and make recovery easier. Remember to consult your doctor if you feel any discomfort.
Training your pelvic floor muscles can also help support the weight of your baby and prevent stress incontinence, which is a very common type of incontinence for pregnant women, both during pregnancy and after (sometimes long after); stress incontinence happens when your weakened pelvic muscles are put under stress and can’t stop your bladder from leaking, for example when you sneeze, cough or exercise, particularly jumping exercises or running. During pregnancy and birth your pelvic muscles stretch, and healthy, fit muscles will mend more easily after birth.