A woman’s pregnancy is generally divided into three sections called trimesters. Each trimester lasts a little over thirteen weeks, totaling forty weeks for a typical pregnancy. During each trimester, the fetus goes through essential stages of development. With every stage, the fetus is growing and developing into the baby that you will soon meet. Each stage has its own unique nutritional needs.
Your baby will experience many changes throughout the first trimester, growing rapidly from a single cell to a fetus with limbs and the beginnings of all its vital organs. Despite this incredible progress, your baby will remain quite small at 14 weeks, measuring only 3 and a half inches long. You may be able to see your baby’s ultrasound picture during this phase of pregnancy. During this trimester, you will need to eat complex carbohydrates to provide plenty of energy to your growing child.
The second trimester is the next of the three stages of fetal development. Your baby’s growth will really take off during this time, and by the end of it, they will be a foot long or more! You’ll really start to feel movement as they kick and move their arms around in your uterus. Hair begins to grow, and all of their bones are formed. Getting good vitamins is just as important during this stage as it is for the rest of your pregnancy, but there should be a particular focus on calcium and vitamin D to make sure that the bones being formed are strong and healthy.
As your child develops during the final stages of fetal development, they will begin to construct muscle groups and store fat. On average, a child will gain 2 and a half pounds during the final trimester, but some may gain more or less. This is also the stage when very important brain development is happening. For proper brain function, omega 3 fatty acids are extremely important during the last part of your child’s development.
If you take an omega 3 supplement during pregnancy, it will enhance baby brain development. Your child will be born smarter and brighter. An omega 3 supplement is particularly important during the third trimester of pregnancy. You can get this supplement from fish oil, but you will have to eat fish. However, your doctor recommends you eat no more than 2 servings a month when pregnant. Therefore, you won’t get enough of the omega 3 supplement that both you and your baby need. In order to get enough, you will have to take it in capsule form.
