Pregnancy Guide: What You Need to Know at 10 Weeks Pregnant

10 Weeks Pregnant is How Many Months?

Do you track your pregnancy by week or by month? At 10 weeks pregnant, you would be approximately 2.5 months pregnant. Pregnancy is typically divided into three trimesters, with each trimester lasting approximately three months.  You’re almost through the first trimester, and approaching the second one, which is usually the easiest for most expectant mums.

Pregnancy Week 10: Baby

You may be starting to feel more like a parent than just another person with a bump. Your pregnancy is now in its 10th week, and it’s time to start thinking about the baby inside of you.

Your baby is growing fast and has a lot of things going on inside his or her body. The brain is still forming, so they’re not yet capable of anything other than reflexes and basic responses to stimuli. But soon, they will begin to develop into a true human being with their personality, thoughts, and feelings.

Baby’s Growth

At 10 weeks, your baby is the size of a kumquat or a prune. They are around 3.1 cm and weigh around 3.9 g.

At this point in your pregnancy, your baby’s heart beats 180 beats per minute. That’s three times faster than yours! Your baby is growing rapidly and developing more complex organs, including the kidneys and liver.

By week 10, your baby will have grown more than 50 per cent of their total weight and length.

This week, your baby’s face is starting to look more like it should. The eyes are half closed, but they can react to light!

The head still is not proportional to the rest of the body yet, but it will get there soon. Your baby’s heart is pumping blood through its body, and all its organs are developing well. Your baby is also forming fingerprints and getting a little hair on his or her head!

Baby’s Development

At 10 weeks pregnant, you’ll learn that:

• Your baby’s brain is developing astoundingly: nearly 250,000 neurons are forming every minute!
• All their vital organs, including their kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver, are now in place and starting to function.
• The main parts of your baby’s eye that enable vision – the cornea, iris, pupil, lens, and retina – are fully formed. Eyelids cover them, but they’re still tightly shut until the 27th week.
• Their hands and feet begin to separate into fingers and toes, and there are beginnings of tiny fingernails. The synapses in their spinal cord allow baby to move their limbs and fingers.
• Their bones are starting to harden to take shape.
• They started developing buds for teeth at pregnancy week 10.
• Your male baby has started producing testosterone.

Baby’s Hearing

At this point in your pregnancy, your baby’s ears are still developing. The external ear canal also forms and eventually leads to the eardrum, which separates the middle and outer ear.

Your baby’s ears are growing more sensitive to sound now than they were at the beginning of pregnancy—which means you can start talking to your baby through your belly!

Baby’s Teeth

At 10 weeks of pregnancy, your baby’s mouth is still developing. During this time, each tooth resembles a cap. Soon it will grow into a small tooth with two roots connected to the jawbone. By the end of this week, your baby will have 20 primary tooth buds where teeth will eventually form.

Baby’s Movement

Can I feel my baby at 10 weeks?

During the 10th week of pregnancy, your developing fetus reaches approximately the size of an apricot, measuring around 30 millimetres in length. While you can observe their delicate, jerky movements through ultrasound imaging, it’s important to note that you won’t be able to physically feel these movements yet.

At this early stage, the baby’s motions are too subtle to be detected externally, but rest assured, the excitement of feeling those tiny kicks and flutters will come a bit later in your pregnancy journey.

10 Weeks Pregnant: Your Body

What can you expect at 10 weeks pregnant? Well, you will notice that your body will start showing signs of pregnancy, if it hasn’t yet. Your belly will expand as your uterus expands to make room for your growing child. Your breasts may start producing milk (if you are pregnant with twins).

Your skin may become oily due to hormonal changes in your body. You may also be experiencing more morning sickness than ever before!

What 10 Weeks Pregnant Looks Like

Does your belly show at 10 weeks pregnant?

At 10 weeks pregnant, you might be wondering if that baby bump is going to make its grand debut anytime soon. Well, the answer is, not quite yet!

At this stage, your belly probably won’t be showing much, if at all. It’s still early days, and your little one is only about the size of a strawberry. Most of the “bump” you might notice is actually bloating or changes in your body due to hormonal shifts.

Don’t worry; that adorable baby bump will make its appearance in the coming weeks. So, for now, enjoy this stage of quiet growth and get ready for the bump to steal the spotlight soon!

10 Weeks Pregnant Symptoms

What should I be feeling at 10 weeks pregnant?

Why do they say that week 10 is the worst week of pregnancy? It may be because of the surge of hormones that brings about the following symptoms:

• That annoying, nauseating feeling won’t seem to budge. Morning sickness has already peaked because the hCG levels are highest at 9 to 10 weeks pregnant. But give it a couple of weeks, and it’ll subside … hopefully.
• Along with that morning sickness are excess saliva and a metallic taste in your mouth.
• It feels like you have so much air in you, and all that gassiness is coming out in loud (embarrassing) burps and farts, too.
• You may be having a lot of vaginal discharge at this point. It should be clear or milky white in colour and mild smelling. If you see a sudden change in the type of discharge (like a colour change or gives off an unpleasant smell), don’t hesitate to consult your doctor.
• You may notice bluish veins across your breasts, chest area or belly. These are called spider veins and are common in pregnancy.
• Your fluctuating hormones, lack of sleep and morning sickness also affect your emotions. Mood swings are normal during pregnancy, but you can always do something to manage the highs and lows.

Maternal Weight Gain

The recommended amount of weight to gain during pregnancy is about 25 pounds. This number is based on the average weight gain of women delivering a baby at term.

The recommended weight gain is different for each woman and depends on many factors, including her pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and the number of babies she carries. It is important to discuss your weight gain with your doctor or midwife. They will be able to help you determine an appropriate rate of weight gain based on your individual needs.

At 10 weeks pregnant, you may notice that some of your clothes are getting tight. You may have trouble buttoning up shirts and dresses without straining yourself. Your breasts will also grow as they prepare for lactation after birth.

In addition to gaining weight, you may feel more tired at this point in pregnancy than ever! Try taking naps when you need them or asking loved ones for help with housework so you can rest up for labour ahead!

Nutrition

You may feel a little more tired than usual at this point in your pregnancy. You may have trouble sleeping through the night because of your growing belly—and that’s nothing to worry about! But you must get the right nutrients to keep you energised and healthy so your body can support its rapidly growing baby.

As the pregnancy progresses, eat plenty of iron-rich foods like spinach, beans, lentils, and lean red meat. Iron is crucial for fetal development and helps prevent anaemia (low red blood cell count). You’ll also want to make sure you’re getting enough calcium for strong bones in both mum and baby.

Calcium-rich foods include dairy products like milk and yoghurt and leafy green vegetables like broccoli and kale. Ensure to get enough vitamin D as well; it helps the body absorb calcium from food sources like dairy products.

And don’t forget about vitamin C levels! Vitamin C helps produce collagen, which aids in wound healing during birth or any other injuries that may occur during pregnancy (such as car accidents). You can find vitamin C in citrus fruits such as oranges or grapefruits.

10 Weeks Pregnant Ultrasound – What to Expect

At 10 weeks pregnant, an ultrasound can provide exciting insights into the development of your baby. During this stage, the fetus is about the size of a strawberry, measuring around 1.2 to 1.6 inches (3 to 4 centimetres) from crown to rump.

The ultrasound performed at 10 weeks is typically a transvaginal ultrasound, where a small probe is inserted into the vagina to obtain clearer images of the early pregnancy. This type of ultrasound allows the healthcare provider to observe the gestational sac, the yolk sac, and the embryo, providing valuable information about the baby’s growth and development.

It can also help determine the baby’s heartbeat, which is an exciting milestone for many expectant parents.

Pregnancy Care: Your Checklist at 10 Weeks Pregnant

• To beat nausea, try different foods to see what works in providing relief. Some mums go for salted crackers or even ginger tea to help them through the day and night. Otherwise, seek your gynaecologist’s advice for Vitamin B6 and/or B12, which many mums claim helps alleviate nausea.
• Keeping away from raw food– sashimi, uncooked vegetables, meats, and egg- is a wise choice. You wouldn’t want to risk food poisoning at this point, as having the runs would lead to uterus contractions and dehydration.
• If you notice any spotting or unusual foul discharge, seek advice from your gynaecologist. During the early weeks of pregnancy, the foetus may not be stable; thus, the first trimester is also the most vulnerable period.
• Avoid carrying heavy things now. So if you have things to move or carry around, get help instead of taking on an additional risk during pregnancy.
• Load up on healthy food such as spinach (folate), fruits (vitamins and fibre), and milk (calcium) to keep your body in tip-top condition.
• Go for short, slow walks to keep good blood circulation. Besides, the fresh air can do wonders to improve your mood. Go to the beach or a quiet park to enjoy serenity for a calm mind.
• Look into 13 weeks (beginning of the second trimester) and 32 weeks (before the ninth-month starts).
• You can find out if you’re having a girl or a boy as early as now if you decide to take the NIPT blood test (short for noninvasive prenatal testing), which also screens for Down Syndrome and other conditions.

You may not be feeling your best at 10 weeks pregnant, but think of how fast your baby is developing during this crucial phase. Follow your doctor’s advice, and don’t hesitate to consult them if you have any questions about your pregnancy.

Image Source: Shutterstock

Your next week: 11 weeks pregnant

Your previous week: 9 weeks pregnant

Updates from Pheona Ilagan

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