Pregnancy
Great your wife is pregnant congratulations
Weeks:These sections will cover the development of your unborn child.
0-8 9-12 . 13-16 17-20 21-24 25-28 29-32 33-36 37-40
What your wife is experiencing throughout the weeks and how you can help support her.
0-8 weeks
Your wives breasts are likely to become fuller and extremely sensitive; therefore you may want to be very careful when handling.
Morning sickness usually starts around week 6. This is where she will begin to have nausea throughout the day and may even throw up in the mornings. She will probably go of certain foods so make sure you stock up on the foods that make her feel better. She may also become very sensitive to certain smells that may trigger of the morning sickness, so you may not be able to cook smelly foods or even wear clone for a few weeks.
9-12 weeks
The need to urinate will start to increase during this period, so if you’re a light sleeper expect disturbance throughout the night due to her visits to the toilet.
If experiencing morning sickness, she may not have much energy to do anything, so if possible help her by taking over some household chores and also helping cook the meals.
13-16 weeks
The need to urinate will begin to decrease around week 16, so she will not need to take as many trips to the toilet.
Hormonal changes begin to rapidly take place and you may find her becoming upset and irritable over the most minor things. Try to exercise patients!
She maybe experiencing an increase of wind, which can be very uncomfortable and will cause her to pass wind or even belch frequently. This can be very annoying and off putting but try to look past it and help by rubbing her back, in order to help relieve the pressure.
17-20 weeks
Morning sickness normally dies down by now and your wives energy levels will return “She is back and things are beginning to take order again”. Well done! You have made it through a very difficult milestone. Your wife may now begin to experience cravings for certain foods, try to make you are stocked up with all her favorites.
21-24 weeks
The need to urinate has increased dramatically due to the growing baby putting pressure on her bladder; therefore visits to the toilet will begin to increase again and will continue until the baby is born.
Her sex drive is likely to decrease as the baby grows, making it more difficult to enjoy sex. Try to understand if she really does not feel up to it or try to offer alternative positions for her comfortably.
25-28 weeks
Nights are beginning to become uncomfortable; therefore she will need to take over most of the bed. You may need to make new sleeping arrangements until the baby is born.
As time goes on her pelvic floor muscles will begin to become more relaxed and she may wet her self when coughing or laughing. Encourage her to carry out her pelvic floor exercising which will help tighten the pelvic floor muscles.
If your wife is going to have stretch marks, they will begin to appear around now. You can help avoid this by rubbing oils on her stomach as many times as possible throughout the day. This can also act as bonding experience between you and your unborn child.
29-32 weeks
The weight of the growing baby can put an increasing strain on your wives back. You can help ease this by giving her back massages.
37-40 weeks
Some women experience depression in late pregnancy, this is due to a mixture of emotions about the forthcoming birth. Try to talk things over with your wife and get her to continuously express her feelings up until the baby arrives.
