25 Weeks Pregnant


Baby

The outlook for a premature baby to survive is now growing rapidly with each passing day. His or her lungs begin to produce surfactant, a protein that makes lung tissue elastic. Surfactant prevents the lungs from collapsing, and makes lung inflation easier. As the baby grows fast, your womb space becomes narrow, and there is less movement space. He or she has eyelashes, the eyes and the nostrils begin to open, the bones become stronger. Baby’s sense of taste is quite advanced already. Studies have shown that babies prefer sweet tastes more than others.

You

Pink, reddish brown, purple, or dark brown, depending on your skin color, stretch marks may appear on Your abdomen when the belly is rapidly expanding to accommodate a growing baby. They later fade, although they never totally disappear. This is due to a lack of collagen in the connective tissue. Eat foods that help your body produce collagen. For a better feeling you can use creams, salves, although their effectiveness is questionable and there’s no proof that they actually work.

Your eyes may become dry and sensitive. Use artificial tears. You can feel the heartburn, cramps in legs or elsewhere (due to fatigue, uterine pressure on the nerves, lack of magnesium or too much phosphorus in your food), and may notice the increased need to pee. The latter is due to the fact that your uterus is already the size of a football and pressing against your bladder. Avoid fried and fatty foods. Eat more often, and in small portions. Natural oat muesli, for example, helps to relieve heartburn.

Ideas

  • Start thinking on how you want to give birth, and whether you want a support person for you to have by your side (your partner or another close person). The support person can be of help before, during and after childbirth.
  • Attend childbirth classes, if you haven’t done it yet. The lectures will help you and you partner to prepare better for the childbirth and becoming a parent.
  • You may experience “nesting instinct” to appear. Prepare for a pre-labor ritual that helps get your home ready for the baby. Knit a blanket for your baby.