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Completely having left the embryonic stage and fully present in the fetal stage, your baby has made incredible headway through its many transformative phases. Important to note is that the 10th week of pregnancy marks the period in which there is significantly less risk of your baby developing congenital abnormalities. As you make your journey through the remainder of the pregnancy term, your continued healthy habits and regular doctor visits will ensure that you deliver an optimally healthy baby.
By this time, many women will have gained anywhere from one to three pounds, with many women having gained much more, and still others actually experiencing a loss in overall weight.
Bloating is a ubiquitous condition for pregnant women and will continue through the 10th week of your term while many of the frustrating symptoms you experienced earlier will lessen in frequency and severity. Morning sickness symptoms, in particular, will fade into a much more manageable state for pregnant women, with symptoms occurring far less often along.
The fetal stage is an important stage of pregnancy. Right now, your baby is not just growing at a rapid pace, but rather, at an incredible speed. Illustrating the speed at which your baby is growing is the fact that he or she was roughly the size of a grape just a mere week ago.
Now in week ten, your baby is the about the size of a lime! As the weeks quickly go by, your baby will continue to grow at an accelerated rate while many of their vital organs begin to function on an autonomous level, including but not limited to, their liver, intestines, brain, and kidneys.
In the coming three weeks as your baby maintains its expeditious growth, they will begin to exhibit the tiniest physical details that will fascinate you immensely, such as the appearance of tiny little toenails and soft and downy peach fuzz on the surface of their skin.
Your Physical and Emotional Health
10 Weeks Pregnant: Symptoms
At the tenth week of your pregnancy, you can expect to experience a continuation in bloating symptoms in addition to experiencing heartburn and indigestion due in part to a slowed down and impaired digestive system.
Headaches are also a common condition that is ubiquitous among pregnant women in their tenth week and is often reconciled by the safe use of acetaminophen (better known as Tylenol)
Even more common than conditions such as headaches and migraines is vaginal discharge. Referred to as leukorrhea, it is a necessary process that assists in removal of bacteria and the ultimate prevention of infection making way up through the vaginal cavity to the womb. Pregnant women will be glad to know that vaginal discharge is perfectly normal, despite its unsettling existence and appearance.
Discharge may have mild fluctuations in color, with the overall appearance resembling a milk-like fluid that emits a mildodor. It’s only when pregnant women experience vaginal discharge that is distinctive in color that there is cause to visit your doctor. Vaginal discharge that is brown, very yellow, or even green, with the presence of blood, should be addressed immediately by a trip to your physician.
When you do make your next doctor’s appointment, you may or may not also have the experience of hearing your baby’s ultra-rapid heartbeat via a device called a Doppler. Placed right on your growing belly, the Doppler will enable you to hear your baby’s seemingly thunderous heartbeat, which for many women is an emotionally gripping experience.
Meanwhile, your uterus is still undergoing growth. By now it will approximately measure the size of a grapefruit and the frequency of your urges to use the bathroom will still be in high gear.
Your Baby’s Health and Status
Now the size of a lime, your baby is undergoing a range of transformational processes at an accelerated rate of speed.
With baby’s rapid growth, they are now equipped with fully-functioning kidneys, liver, brain, and intestines and are shifting within your womb making small and intermittent kicks with their now bendable limbs.
Able to flex their wrists and swallow fluid, your baby is experiencing profoundly new physical abilities that will both leave you breathless with excitement but also fatigued from the additional strain put on your body.
Tips, Tricks, and Knowledge
10 Weeks Pregnant
- Women still firmly in the throes of morning sickness symptoms can try eating bland foods such as crackers in order to keep some food down. Soon the morning sickness symptoms should decrease in severity and occurrence.
- Infections during pregnancy are of critical importance. Among the most common infections include the following
- Urinary Tract Infections – The #1 most common bacterial infection experienced during pregnancy. Due in part to increased levels of progesterone resulting in a relaxed urinary tract that slows down the flow of urine, bacteria is given ample opportunity to cultivate
- Cystitis – A common infection experienced during pregnancy that occurs when bacteria from the intestines makes its way from the rectum to the urethra and onwards up to the urinary tract. Symptoms can include immense discomfort and burning pain when urinating, a pronounced urge to urinate (much more so than usual), pain located within the lower abdominal area, and the presence of cloudy urine that emits a foul odor. Cystitis requires a round of antibiotics that are safe for use during pregnancy. If left unattended to, Cystitis can result in kidney infections that can further result in a range of complications for your pregnancy
- Asymptomatic bacteriuria – When bacteria located in the urinary tract beings to populate in an asymptomatic manner (no apparent symptoms), you will still need to take a round of antibiotics to ensure the problem doesn’t’ later result in a kidney infection. This condition is recognized and checked for by your physician via urine sample
Week 10 To-do List and Reminders
10 Weeks Pregnant
- If you haven’t already, purchase new bras, underwear, and clothing. Your growing waistline and immensely larger breasts will be comfortably swathed in maternity clothing that fits your new, albeit temporary, measurements
- Keep up with your doctor’s appointments
- Maintain healthy living habits
- Keep a close lookout for signs of any infections, with any pain, discomfort, or burning symptoms reported to your doctor immediately
Leukorrhea: The medical term for vaginal discharge; it is an essential process that pregnant women experience that assists in the removal of harmful bacteria and keeping it far away from the vaginal cavity and more importantly, the womb
Cystitis: One of the more common infections experienced by pregnant women. It occurs when intestinal bacteria journeys from the rectum to the urethra and into the urinary tract
Asymptomatic bacteriuria: A bacterial infection located in the urinary tract that presents no readily apparent symptoms
Cool Things to Know
- At ten weeks, your baby can swallow, grimace, squint, and do cool things such as kick, flex its wrists, and more!
- By now, your baby will have arm joints that are fully functional, and their cartilage and bones will be experiencing rapid growth in the coming weeks
- The blue veins appearing on your body aren’t just a minor annoyance; they actually serve a purpose by transporting an abundance of critically needed blood supply to your growing baby
Ready to find out what’s next in your pregnancy journey?