What To Expect During Pregnancy

PREGNANCY

The Typical Timeline

If this is your first pregnancy there’s no doubt you’ll be hearing a lot of unfamiliar pregnancy terms. During your midwifery care, there are three significant stages –

Prenatal/Antenatal

The period from conception until birth.

Intrapartum

The actual labour and birth portion of your pregnancy.

Postnatal

After you’ve given birth until your baby is 6 weeks old.

The Three Phases

How you’ll probably feel during the 3 Trimesters of Pregnancy

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First Trimester: Conception to 12 weeks.

During this time, it’s likely you’ll be feeling quite unwell. Your energy levels may be low. You may experience headaches, bloating or gas. You may experience also nausea and vomiting.

Some women may need to be hospitalized if symptoms are severe.

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Second Trimester: 12 weeks to 28 weeks

During the second trimester you usually begin to feel better. Your appetite returns and your energy levels are back up. This is usually the stage when you tend to blossom.

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Third Trimester: 28 weeks to 40 weeks

At this stage, your belly will be quite heavy, as your baby continues to grow. You’ll begin to slow down. It is possible symptoms such as nausea can return.

What does it feel like to be in labour?

There are 3 signs of labour:

Breaking waters, the mucus plug coming away or having contractions.

When you experience one of these symptoms, give your midwife a call to let them know what’s happening. This does not necessarily mean you must go to the hospital at that point. Your midwife will guide you to when it’s appropriate to head to the hospital.

I always encourage my women to stay home as long as possible, rather than coming into hospital during the early stages of labour. It’s completely normal to be at home for several hours before labour establishes.

What happens at the delivery suite?

At the hospital, you will give birth in the birthing suite. Your LMC midwife, is your primary carer during your labour and they follow your birth plan or list of preferences. If your birth is very straight forward, then they’ll follow hospital protocol to discharge you at the appropriate time. Some women are able to return home a few hours after giving birth, if all is well.

If you have had a complicated birth (e.g. excessive blood loss or instrumental/operative delivery), then it’s a combined decision between yourself, your midwife and the hospital team as to when to discharge you safely.

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