You are 25 Weeks Pregnant!

WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH YOU

Itch, itch, itch. Your abdominal skin, which is being drawn taut, may be driving you crazy. Try massaging your skin with olive oil or cocoa butter, if not allergic. If persistent itching continues, be sure to mention to your care provider. It could be “PUPP” (pruritic urticarial papules and placques of pregnancy), the most common of all pregnancy skin conditions, or rarely, associated with a serious liver condition.

WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH YOUR BABY

Your baby weighs one pound, nine ounces, and measures 22 centimeters crown-to-rump. Your baby’s ears are fully functional now, and he or she may even blink in reaction to a loud noise. The brain is growing rapidly. If you could look inside your uterus, you’d see a well-proportioned head and body. Your baby’s first meconium stool has been formed in the large intestine and will be excreted in the days following the birth. Some babies will pass some meconium in the amniotic fluid before the birth. This would require suctioning at the time of your baby’s birth.

EATING FOR TWO

Some women suffer from constipation and hemorrhoids during pregnancy. Taking 25 milligrams of vitamin B6 at each meal for several days may help clear up hemorrhoids. Here are some high-fiber foods that may also help to alleviate these conditions:

3 dried figs: 10 grams fiber
1 cup baked beans: 8 grams fiber
1 baked yam: 7 grams fiber
1 cup kidney beans: 7 grams fiber
1 cup raisin bran: 5 grams fiber
3 cup popcorn: 3 grams fiber
1 cup brown rice: 3 grams fiber

FACT OF THE WEEK

If you are nursing, in the early days following your baby’s birth, he or she will receive small, but potent, quantities of your colostrum, which is loaded with nutrients and antibodies. During the first six weeks of life, a baby won’t produce many antibodies, making him or her more prone to infection. However, colostrum provides maternal antibodies, extending this special protection to the newest member of your family. Colostrum is the perfect food for your baby’s first days of life.

Preceding more mature breastmilk, colostrum also helps to clear meconium from your baby’s intestines. This prevents it from being partially reabsorbed, which can lead to jaundice in your newborn.