If you are pregnant, you have probably caressed your gut a few times while sketching a smile. And, have you already turned on your side in front of the mirror to see if it has grown a little at least?
It is normal. Your belly is the palpable part of your body that shows that your child is growing inside you. Too it is usual that as the pregnancy progresses, doubts also grow about this part of the body that changes so much in shape and size.
We try to answer the most common, although each pregnancy is unique and the gut appearance depends on many factors.
1. How is it growing?
It begins to widen below the navel and goes up to the chest, depending on the placement of the uterus:
During the first quarter it hardly increases in volume and does not pass from the pubis.
In the fourth or fifth month is when it is at the level of the navel. At the same time, mom notices how her hips are rounded while remaining waistless.
In the sixth month it exceeds the navel.
In the eighth month it will be when it is taller and bigger, placed between the ribs.
From the 36th week of gestation, the gut goes down a little because the uterus has descended.
2. When will I start noticing it?
The gut it will be more evident from the fifth month of gestation, when the bottom of the uterus reaches the level of the navel. Anyway, it can be noticed before or after in the mother depending on:
Your age. The larger, the more relaxed the skin of the abdomen will be and the gut is first appreciated.
Whether or not it is your first pregnancy. If you have been a mother before, the transverse straight muscles of the walls of your abdomen (those that go from the ribs to the dawn line) are more yielded and will be perceived earlier.
Your constitution The fetus usually fits before if the future mom has a narrow pelvis, so it shows earlier.
The weight you had before you got pregnant. If you had a few extra pounds, it will take longer for your belly to become apparent, since it will go unnoticed.
3. Is it possible to sleep with a huge abdomen?
It is true that as the belly grows, it becomes more complicated to find a comfortable posture. It is advised to sleep on the left side and with a cushion between the legs, since this position facilitates blood flow and reduces tension on the ligaments.
From the second trimester, it is not advisable to sleep on your back, since the weight of the belly can compress the veins of blood return to the heart. This results in dizziness or low blood pressure, and even less oxygen supply to the baby.
4. If it is round does it mean that I will have a girl?
There is no relationship between the shape of the maternal abdomen and fetal sex, although there is always a chance of hitting 50%. Hence, continue listening to 'experienced mothers' to ensure that if the pregnant woman has a beard gut she will have a child and she will be a girl if she has it round.
The shape of the gut depends on:
If the woman has more children or not.
Its constitution, wide or thin (more weevil).
Size of the fetus (when larger, more round).
If your uterus is elongated (more itchy appearance).
5. If it's big, will my baby be too?
The baby's weight is not the only thing that influences the size of the belly. A huge gut can be due to excess gas or fat or, simply, to a larger amount of amniotic fluid. Even the shape of the spine can make the gut look bigger, when it really isn't.
6. Does a small gut mean that my child does not grow?
Absolutely. You should not be distressed for this reason, since this dreaded growth anomaly is verified on ultrasound, measuring the size of the uterus and other variables, never of the abdomen.
7. Why are those taps I feel?
There is no reason to be scared, as it involves simple movements of your baby. Did you know that it is believed that the baby has hiccups if they are rhythmic? Or that if you rest on your back, your own heartbeat can be what you feel? Enjoy the interaction with your little one.
8. And those mysterious lumps?
It's not about aliens that have invaded your belly, even if you can think about it. They are neither more nor less than the legs, feet, arms or hands of your baby, which push your abdomen when the space inside your abdomen begins to run out. These little 'bumps' will be more frequent at the end of pregnancy.
9. Why has it come down?
Many mothers have to face the machacona phrase of "the belly is still high, so you still have left for childbirth". And also at the end of pregnancy, when they are more tired.
It is true that when the gut descends it can mean that the time to give birth is approaching, since this occurs when the baby has been put in the right position for the delivery.
But The lower belly does not necessarily mean that childbirth is imminent. If the woman opens as a mother, she can notice how her gut goes down even a month before she has her child. So it is better not to trust the shape of the gut, even at the end of pregnancy.
However, specialists remember that The gut should not be a concern for future mothers. The important thing is to know if the baby grows or not, and that is controlled through the assessment of parameters such as the size of the head, trunk or legs, data that can only be seen through ultrasound and never by the appearance of the belly.
Photos | iStock
