What's Happening to Me

• You have missed a menstrual period, and you may feel nauseated any time of the day (morning sickness). These are generally the first two signs of pregnancy. When you missed your first period, you were already 2 weeks pregnant.
• The placenta is forming and making hormones that prepare you for pregnancy.
• Your breasts begin to feel tender.
• Your uterus is growing larger, but you cannot feel it.
• You have not gained weight or changed body size.

What's Happening to My Baby

• Hereditary characteristics were set when the sperm met the egg.
• Father's sperm determined your baby's sex.
• Your baby develops from a single cell to an embryo. He already has a head and body.
• Baby grows inside a sac of amniotic fluid (bag of waters).
• His brain, eyes, mouth, inner ears, and digestive system are starting to develop.
• Brain, nervous system, heart, and lungs are forming.
• His heart begins beating around the 25th day.
• Tiny spots for ears, eyes, and nose exist, and arm and leg buds are forming.

Things I Need to Do

A lot will happen during your pregnancy. Use these convenient tips to help ensure the safety of you and your baby:

• Make an appointment with your health care professional to start prenatal care. There are many important things you will learn during your prenatal care examinations.
• Check with your health care professional or clinic before taking any medicine (including prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, herbal medecines, etc.).
• Avoid x-rays while you are pregnant.
• Avoid cigarettes and alcoholic drinks.
• Limit drinks that have caffeine (colas, teas, coffee).
• Eat balanced meals (whole grain breads and cereals, fruits and vegetables, meat, fish and milk).
• Talk with your partner about feelings you both have about this pregnancy.
• Decide when and how you will tell your family, friends and employer about your pregnancy.
• Continue to take or start taking prenatal vitamins, as directed by your health care professional.

Determining Your Due Date

Although no one can predict the exact day you'll have your baby, knowing more about delivery trends can help:

• Your baby's due date is just a guide to help predict when he or she may be born. Most babies are born within 2 weeks before or after their due dates. Only about 1 in 20 babies are born on their due date.
• The average length of pregnancy is 40 weeks from the first day of the mother's last menstrual period. Most women give birth between 38 and 42 weeks of pregnancy; these pregnancies are considered full term.
• Pregnancies are considered preterm when the baby is born between the 20th and 37th week; approximately 7.1 percent live births in Canada are preterm. When a pregnancy exceeds 42 weeks, it's considered post-term.

Helping Siblings Adjust

Parents expecting their second child tend to have fewer baby-care questions, but sometimes they don't know how their older child will react to the new arrival. Ways to help your firstborn or older children share the excitement—and reality—of your baby include:

• Once your pregnancy is confirmed, tell your older child that you're pregnant. Sharing the good news early gives him time to adjust and ask questions.
• Let her get to know the new baby while you're still pregnant. She can feel the baby's movements—and even talk to the baby inside, if she wants.
• Take him to as many prenatal visits as possible, if he shows interest. Hearing the baby's heartbeat and looking at "pictures" (sonogram photographs) during visits give him a sense of involvement.
• Consider enrolling her in a sibling class at a nearby hospital or neighborhood resource center if available.
• Read her books about her new sister or brother. Show her pictures of when she was born, so she'll know she was a baby once, too.

Tips for Dad: You're Both Expecting

A healthy lifestyle is especially important during pregnancy. Do your best to take care of mom-to-be and your baby from the start. Show your support by encouraging your partner to:

• Attend prenatal appointments. Routine prenatal care is essential to a healthy pregnancy. Try to reschedule any missed appointments as soon as possible. Talk to the health care professional about the advantages of taking childbirth education classes, which are especially helpful if you're expecting your first child.
• Avoid harmful substances. Healthy habits are easier to follow when a partner practices them, too. Cigarettes, alcohol, and street drugs or any medications that are not medically-approved must be avoided during pregnancy because they can harm the baby. If your partner uses any of these substances, help her stop. If you use them, it's best if you quit, too. Don't let anyone smoke near mom-to-be during pregnancy—or around your baby.
• Eat a balanced diet. It's easier to eat right when people around us eat healthy foods. When you do the grocery shopping, try to buy nutritious foods and snacks. Show your support by eating balanced meals together whenever possible.
• Talk with her health care professional before starting or continuing any exercise program. The proper type of exercise is important during pregnancy.
• Get extra rest. If you do the laundry, grocery shopping, cooking and other chores, mom-to-be can get the extra rest she needs during pregnancy. Encourage her to lie down on the couch when she feels tired. If you have older children, spend more time with them so she can rest more.

Tips for Dad: Mom's Mood Swings

Don't be surprised if mom-to-be has mood swings. Think twice if her emotions get to you—once for her, and once for the baby developing inside her. By the third month of pregnancy, she may enjoy a new sense of calmness. But mixed emotions are likely to return, so it's good to share your feelings with each other from the beginning. Be understanding if she seems moody or uncomfortable. Give her a back or foot massage. Ask her how you can help make her pregnancy a little easier for her—then follow through!

Tips for Dad: Couvade Syndrome

Dads-to-be occasionally experience variations of their partner's physical ailments during and after pregnancy. This is known as Couvade Syndrome. Symptoms may include weight gain, morning sickness, and even swelling, but they generally pose no serious threat to well being.

Tips for Dad: Your Relationship

During these months of major change in your lives, it's natural for you both—mother and father—to have many different feelings. At times, you'll be delighted with the idea of becoming a parent; at times, you won't. And concerns may grow into worries about the baby, yourselves, and your relationship.

All of these feelings are normal as you learn about having a baby. Just how much your moods may change depends on your personality, how much stress you are under and how much assurance and support you receive. Support each other, talk over anxieties and concerns, and be open to the caring of your family and close friends. Also, be sure to discuss these feelings with your health care professional. He or she can provide information that discusses both the challenges and rewards of being a parent.

A portion of the information contained within this page has been taken from patient education material from www.medicalcenter.osu.edu. © the Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio. All rights reserved.

The information contained in the www.medicalcenter.osu.edu Web site is provided as a public service by The Ohio State University Medical Center. It is posted for informational and educational purposes only. This information should not be construed as personal medical advice. Because each person’s health needs are different, a physician should be consulted before acting on any information provided in these materials. Although every effort is made to ensure that this material is accurate and up-to-date, it is provided for the convenience of the user and should not be considered definitive.