Third Trimester Of Pregnancy
Contents:
- Changes During The Third Trimester
- Complications During The Third Trimester
- Critical Periods Of The Third Trimester
Changes During The Third Trimester
Childbirth is approaching. As fetus has grown up, increased in size and gained in weight, a woman may start feeling a shortness of breath. This physiological process is natural and occurs due to the expanding uterus compression to other organs. This fact limits the ability of lungs to expand fully, when you take a breath. However, the shortness of breath will decrease or completely disappear in about a month before childbirth, when the uterus with the baby goes down.
Therefore, during the last 4 weeks, women usually feel some (or even great) relief. Probably, you will feel it also! However, in the third trimester, a woman may still face some complications. One of them is insomnia. Sleep disturbance may occur by natural reasons. In late stages, a woman’s body has enlarged in proportions and weight, thus it may become difficult to find a comfortable position for sleeping and resting.
Another trouble may cause a nervous psychological state of a woman. She may get tired of long waiting or feel anxiety. Due to the gained weight of 4-6 kg (8,8-13,2 pounds) or more, she may become clumsy or lose coordination. A woman in this period may also suffer from pains in lower back, caused by the uterus growth. She may also have an excessive mobility of joints. Some women may continue suffering from morning sickness, feeling nausea and weakness.
Complications During The Third Trimester
Bleeding is one of the complications of the third trimester. It is caused by a low placentation (placenta praevia). Placenta may be located differently and individually. Sometimes it may be too close to the mouth of uterus. In rare cases, placenta partially or completely captures the lower segment of uterus. In this case, bleeding may start suddenly; the blood has a scarlet color. Excessive physical efforts, sexual intercourse, or even coughing can also be the causes of bleeding. Consulting a doctor for any form of bleeding is highly recommended. Bleeding may be not threatening to a fetus. However, in this case the delivery will be conducted in a surgical way, by a Caesarean section method.
Another reason for bleeding is premature placenta abruption (1/4 of cases, according to statistics). The majority of women (90%), diagnosed for premature placenta abruption, are completely healthy. The baby may feel good also, but the connection between a mother and a baby in the womb is broken. The red flag symptom is a reducing fetal movement, which should be most sensible in this period. The reduction of fetal movements is the reason for an immediate visit to gynecologist. It will be wonderful if a child turns out to be a huge sleeper. Nevertheless, it is better to be confident and let the doctor check the baby’s activity.
Considering possible complications during the third trimester, it is necessary to speak about the cases of stillbirth. A common physiological reason for stillbirth is an entanglement of the baby by the umbilical cord inside the womb and the lack of oxygen. The causes of tragedy may be also an amniotic fluid leakage, prolonged pregnancy, or even toxemia. If there is a danger of asphyxia or other threatens to a fetus, a doctor may suggest labor induction. Sometimes it is the only way to save life.
At this stage, it is not a miscarriage, but a premature birth. For a woman premature birth is the same process as common labor process, though it may cause danger for a baby. A premature infant is not physically developed. The infant’s organs are unable to work fully. Caring for premature infants is a difficult and time-consuming process. However, the innovative technologies in medicine may be helpful in most difficult cases.
Critical Periods Of The Third Trimester
In the third trimester, there are also periods of high threat of pregnancy interruption. The causes for such risks may be any negative factors or some pathological processes. All reasons and factors of each critical period should be reviewed individually.