Having a baby is a life-changing experience. You are literally growing a new person inside of you. But do you know what’s really going on in your womb through all those weeks? Are you curious about when the baby will be able to hear you? When the feet and hands will develop? About what your body is going through to accommodate your baby from month one to month nine? You can get all this information with a pregnancy calendar. A pregnancy calendar is a week by week report of your baby’s development before it finally comes into the world.
What information can I get from a pregnancy calendar?
- Your body will undergo tremendous changes during your pregnancy. From morning sickness to swollen feet, from constipation to cravings – a pregnancy calendar will not only tell you when these common pregnancy symptoms will occur, but also why they occur and how you can deal with the worst of them.
- All the new pregnancy hormones that are infusing your body during pregnancy play havoc with your emotions. So bouts of hysteria and ecstasy and everything in between are part and parcel of the joy of bringing life into the world. A pregnancy calendar will highlight which emotions will play on you the most during the different stages of your pregnancy. This can be quite helpful because the gamut of emotions that you experience when you are pregnant can make you feel like you are losing your mind. The pregnancy calendar will reassure you that everything is quite normal.
- One of the most beautiful things a pregnancy calendar brings to you is information about how your baby is developing. Right from the microscopic pre-embryo to a full-fledged foetus with ears, eyes and brain cells that kicks and prods, the calendar will give you detailed accounts of your baby’s development from conception to birth.
- Some pregnancy calendars have pictures of the developing foetus too. This can be the most exhilarating part of a pregnancy calendar. Although you will undoubtedly get an ultrasound picture every month, the images of a developing foetus on some of the pregnancy calendar websites are simply mind-blowing in their detail. They are more alive, so to speak, than a black and white printout of your ultrasound picture, and thus make the pregnancy seem more real.
Where can I find a pregnancy calendar?
The simplest way to find a pregnancy calendar is by doing an online search. You’ll across thousands of pregnancy calendars with different types of information about your body and baby during pregnancy. There are limited pregnancy calendars which will give you a couple of lines about what to expect in each week, and then there are extensive, practically encyclopaedic treatises. So there is plenty for you to choose from. There is a plethora of information in online pregnancy calendars, limited only by your ability to read it all.
If you prefer to get your information the old-fashioned way, through books and doctors, then you will find several options. There are hundreds of books about childbirth and pregnancy which have extremely detailed information about the week to week development of your baby.
You can simply schedule an appointment with your doctor as often as possible and ask her to explain what it going on at any given time of your pregnancy.
Is a pregnancy calendar accurate?
A pregnancy calendar attempts to describe the development of the foetus on a very general level. Since every woman is different, her body and baby will develop differently. The times and rate of change will differ too.
A pregnancy calendar can only give you an estimate of what is going on in your body and with your body as the weeks progress. It is impossible to know precisely what is happening to you and your baby in particular unless you do an ultrasound or a number of other sophisticated tests.
The calendar is meant to give you an idea of the changes that occur in the body during pregnancy. It is meant to be an educational and awareness tool to help you understand and appreciate the wonders of pregnancy.
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