You are 12 weeks pregnant

Your baby

In the second trimester, your baby develops the ability to swallow, breathe and discharge amniotic fluid. (A bit of trivia: The amniotic sac contains about 50 millilitres of fluid at this point .) ...Read more

Your body

This is it - the final week of your first trimester! As you approach your second one, any nausea - or full-on morning sickness - you may have experienced will probably begin to subside. If it doesn...Read more

Your life right now

It’s probably time to tell your boss you’re expecting - and you might be excited to share the good news, nervous, or maybe a mix of both. Before you march in to her office, it’s a...Read more

Mums like me

About Constipation: ‘Often it's caused by the additional iron in the antenatal vitamins. Be sure to eat plenty of fibre - whole grains, fruits, fresh veggies and drink lots of water. Try ...Read more

In the second trimester, your baby develops the ability to swallow, breathe and discharge amniotic fluid. (A bit of trivia: The amniotic sac contains about 50 millilitres of fluid at this point .) Around this time, the placenta has the important task of hormone production. Your baby’s face has become more defined, tooth buds begin to appear, most organs and structures are fully formed, joint and muscle development allows more movement, and the foetal heartbeat can probably be detected.

This is it - the final week of your first trimester! As you approach your second one, any nausea - or full-on morning sickness - you may have experienced will probably begin to subside. If it doesn’t happen right away, though, don’t be disappointed. After feeling rotten for so many weeks, it’s easy to (optimistically) believe you’ll wake up one morning early on week 13 and ahhh! suddenly feel completely fine again. In reality, your symptoms may gradually lessen before finally going away. Sometime in the second trimester you may begin to notice a dark, shadowy line running right up the middle of your belly. It’s called the linea nigra (translation: black line). Not all women get it (and if you do, it will usually fade after delivery) but it is not uncommon, particularly among those with darker skin complexions. In other news, your uterus - which is now about the size of a grapefruit - has risen from the bottom of your pelvis, and your doctor will be able to feel the top of it during an exam. And have you begun to show yet? If this is your first pregnancy, your baby belly may not be obvious yet (a testament to your strong abs!). But by this week, many women do have a little potbelly.

It’s probably time to tell your boss you’re expecting - and you might be excited to share the good news, nervous, or maybe a mix of both. Before you march in to her office, it’s a good idea to do a bit of pre-planning. Find out what your company’s maternity leave policy is and think about how much time you’d like to take off. Are you aiming to work right up until your due date, or stop a week or two before to get things in order and chill out at home? Be ready to discuss how any long-term projects may be temporarily handed off or handled while you’re out of the office. Even if your superior isn’t the most maternal of people and doesn’t jump up and down for you, any good boss will appreciate and be assured by the thought and preparation you did. Good luck!

About Constipation: ‘Often it's caused by the additional iron in the antenatal vitamins. Be sure to eat plenty of fibre - whole grains, fruits, fresh veggies and drink lots of water. Try a bit of prune juice. Try to avoid binding foods like sugary processed foods and bananas. You might be able to split your antenatals in half-doses twice a day. Ask your GP if it's okay.’ - cl-bradleyteach