Pregnancy Week 26
 How big is your baby?
Your growing baby now measures around 14.02 inches (35.6cm) and weighs about
1.68 pounds (760g).
How big are you?
Your uterus is about 2.36 inches (6cm) above your bellybutton or about 10.23
inches (26cm) from your pubic symphysis. In the second half of your pregnancy you will be growing nearly
0.39inches (1cm) each week and if you have been following a balanced, nutritious meal plan you would have put on a total of between 16 and 22 pounds (7.2 and 9.9kg).
How is your baby developing and growing
 Your baby now has some sort of sleeping pattern. You may find that at certain times of the day he/she is more active than other times. All his/her five senses will now be fully developed.
You should by now have also heard your baby's heartbeat on several visits to your healthcare provider
and hearing your baby's heart beating strong is always reassuring but you may be concerned if you hear a skipped beat. This is not unusual and is called an arrhythmia. An arrhythmia may occur as the heart is growing and developing but will disappear as it matures.
If arrhythmia is detected before
labor you may require fetal heart-monitoring during labor, but if it is only detected whilst in labor it may be advisable to have a
paediatrician present at the time of delivery to make sure the baby is fine or if a problem may occur, to treat straight away.
Changes In You
As your uterus, placenta and baby get bigger, so do you.
Back pain,
headaches, leg cramps and
pressure in your pelvis may be becoming more frequent now.
You can find solutions to some
common second
trimester complications that may make some of these discomforts a little
easier to endure.
As you approach the end of your second trimester, two-thirds of your pregnancy is almost behind you and it won't be long now till your newborn is to arrive.
Your Nutrition
Eating fish is particularly good for you during pregnancy. It has been proven that women who ate a variety of fish during pregnancy carried for longer, resulting in a healthier birth weight of their baby. It has also been studied that eating fish reduces the risk of premature labor due to the omega-3 fatty acids that cause a hormonal response to protect you from
pre-term labor.
Omega-3 fatty acids also help to lower your risk of pregnancy-induced hypertension and pre-eclampsia. Although fish is high in vitamin B, iron, zinc, selenium and copper you should also stay away from raw fish, which contains bacteria, parasites, viruses and toxins.
Raw fish or shellfish, if contaminated, can cause gastroenteritis, cholera or hepatitis-A. It is better advised that you should avoid all raw fish during pregnancy.
Visit our Media Center for pictures of your growing baby
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