Written By: Debjani Arora | Updated : December 14, 2014 4:49 PM IST
By now, your morning sickness, nausea and excessive fatigue have reduced to a great extent, if not gone completely. Soon, you will finish your first trimester and you would feel more energetic and relaxed in your pregnancy.
Changes that happen to your body
By the eleventh week, even if you don't make an official announcement about your pregnancy many would be able to guess the secret. You have gained a few kilos at least, despite the regular bouts of vomiting and nausea, and your belly will be protruding out a bit more than the previous week. But remember it's more due to the wind inside because of the increase of progesterone hormone and not due to the baby's growing size. Fatigue will still keep bugging you to some extent even now.
Apart from the growth and development of your baby the placental growth is in full swing with more blood vessels being added to it. This is an important phase of placental development which will help your baby to get oxygen, nutrients and other vital substances from the mother's blood stream. Probably during the start of your second trimester when the placenta would be fully developed your energy levels would start to soar and adjust to the hormonal changes of pregnancy.
Other common worries like frequent urination because of the bulging uterus pressing the bladder, constipation, back ache, tender breasts, heartburns, food aversions can still keep you company. Remember though you will gain back some energy and relief from some of the symptoms of early pregnancy with time, most of them will stay till the end of your labour. Know about your first trimester to-do list which you should abide by.
Development of your baby
The head of your fetus makes about half the size of the body now and the facial features appear more prominent and distinct this week. Hair follicles, finger nails, distinct fingers and toes start to appear beginning of week 11. There is a lot of development happening in the face and mouth area. The palate of the mouth begins to form and so does the tongue. The ears start to take shape and are now present on either side of the head; also the nostrils are more clearly visible.
The genital organs take shape now. Ovaries are formed in the female fetus and the testicles in the male. It is the stage at which the sex of the child can be determined. However, if you are in India, remember that it is illegal.
At this time of development your baby might be super active in the womb, but it's not time yet to feel those movements. Some mothers tend to mistake the gas inside the stomach for baby movements at this time.
Floating in the amniotic fluid your baby has also started to swallow it. This practice will help your little one survive once out of the womb during breastfeeding. All the other vital organs that are now functioning and continue to grow and develop and so does the skeletal system of the baby. Each day the bones grow stronger and bigger.
What you should be doing
If you wish to know what happened to your body while you reached week 11 of your pregnancy, then read:
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