Contents
Pregnancy by week: when the belly starts to grow, in what week
New roundness is one of the external manifestations that pregnancy gives. Knowing when the belly begins to grow during pregnancy week by week, the expectant mother will be able to plan a wardrobe change or attending important events. Some of them want to boast of an interesting position, others – to hide it longer.
At what week of pregnancy does the belly begin to grow?
The body of each woman is individual, so there is no specific period when a noticeable tummy appears. In some women, it occurs already in the seventh week after conception, while others manage to hide an interesting situation until the ninth month. Science knows cases of latent pregnancy, which was not at all accompanied by the development of noticeable roundness.
Doctors examined the pregnancy week by week. When the belly begins to grow, it depends on the characteristics of its course.
The following factors lead to the appearance of a rounded tummy in the expectant mother:
- an increase in the size of the uterus;
- weight gain by the fetus;
- weakening of the muscles of the abdominal wall;
- accumulation of additional amniotic fluid.
All of the above physiological processes do not occur chaotically, but according to an algorithm set by the nature. Therefore, experts can predict the approximate time for the appearance of a noticeable belly – 15-16 weeks. During this period, external modifications are noticeable only to the woman herself, for others they become obvious only at the 19-20th week.
The exact timing of the silhouette change depends on many additional factors:
- What kind of pregnancy does a woman have? If the first, the abdomen does not protrude for a long time due to the fact that it is restrained by the abdominal muscles.
- The area of the uterus to which the placenta is attached. If it is at the back wall, the abdomen will be less convex and appear later, if at the front – much earlier than the 16th week.
- The weight of the future baby. If the fetus is overweight, the woman will have significant volume in the waist area.
The shape and volume of the abdomen is affected by the location of the fetus in the uterus. During the second and third trimester, it is constantly changing, and therefore a woman may notice that her figure is slightly different on different days.
Determining which week of pregnancy the belly grows, doctors are unanimous in the opinion that roundness cannot appear earlier than the 12-13th. Until this moment, the uterus is located below the pubic bone, and therefore cannot bulge.
If a woman thinks that she has roundness in the 5-10th week, this is an attempt to pass off wishful thinking or a consequence of disturbances in the digestive tract: bloating, stool retention, etc.
Obstetrician-gynecologist of the 2nd qualification category N.I. Pirogova, ultrasound doctor
-Many women, when they just find out about the onset of pregnancy, immediately want the tummy to be visible and palpable, but this is impossible due to physiological reasons. Firstly, a non-pregnant uterus is the size of a chicken egg, and is located in the pelvic cavity, where it “hides” behind the pelvic bones up to 11-12 weeks of pregnancy. Only by this time the uterus reaches borderline dimensions with the pubic articulation. However, at this time, too, we will not see a rounded tummy. In the period of 15-16 weeks, the size of the uterus allows you to feel it through the anterior abdominal wall. But a slightly rounded tummy is most often noticed only by the woman herself. After 16 weeks, intensive growth of the fetus begins, and, accordingly, its “home”, therefore, the tummy can be seen by others. Secondly, in early pregnancy, the volume of the abdomen may increase under the influence of the hormone progesterone (the hormone is responsible for maintaining and prolonging pregnancy), which causes bloating. Thirdly, the condition and tone of the muscles of the anterior abdominal wall also plays an important role, the stronger the muscles, the longer the pregnancy remains invisible to others.
healthy-food-near-me.com, Rumiya Safiulina