Exercises and swallowing

How is your baby growing?

At 14 weeks of pregnancy, your baby is constantly moving, even if you can't feel it yet. Your baby is making full use of the space in the amniotic fluid: on the one hand, it is exercising its muscles in a state of near 'weightlessness' and, on the other hand, it is drinking the slightly sweet fluid and expelling it, thus practicing swallowing. Your baby is growing about 1.5 cm: its legs are lengthening to better match its body.

How is your belly growing?

Your belly continues to grow. Not only because of your baby's growth, but also because the placenta and blood volume are increasing and the amount of amniotic fluid is increasing. Right now, your baby is swimming in about 100 milliliters of amniotic fluid.  

The skin on your belly will have to stretch a lot during pregnancy. By the end of your pregnancy, your belly circumference may increase by up to 40 cm, and if you are expecting twins or more children, the increase will be even greater. As a result, stretch marks may appear. In addition to your skin texture and the elasticity of your connective tissue, changes in your hormonal balance are also responsible for this. Due to pregnancy, you have more cortisol in your blood, which in turn reduces the elasticity of your skin. Even if you only have a small belly, you can already start keeping your skin soft. In addition to caring for your skin with lotions and oils, a pinch massage can also help prepare the tissue for stretching.  

You can find more details about stretch marks during pregnancy here.

As your belly grows, so does your weight. For women of normal weight, the appropriate weight gain is about 10 to 16 kg by the end of pregnancy. If you are underweight, you can gain 0.5-0.6 kg per week; if you are overweight, the recommendation is 0.2-0.3 kg per week. Most women gain weight more quickly during the second trimester, while weight gain is slower during the first and third trimesters.

What makes you grow as a family?

In the 14th week of pregnancy, your body produces increased levels of estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen in particular can make you feel restless. This can manifest itself in poor sleep quality and perhaps waking up very early in the morning. How about some new relaxing evening habits for you as a couple? Massages, warm foot baths, or drinking a relaxing tea together can help you unwind.  

You may want to use this time together to discuss how you want to shape your family life. There may still be some time before your baby is born, but are you considering taking parental leave? If so, there is a lot to organize. Now is a good time to think about it so that you have time for other things later.  

Here you can find out everything you need to consider and find good answers to many questions.