Hi, i’m pregnant with my first child and i’m trying to understand more pregnancy terms, like first trimester. How long does that trimester last? and what are the symptoms for that trimester? please……”
The first trimester lasts for 12 weeks, starting from the first day of your last period (the second trimester officially starts on the first day of the 13th week of your pregnancy). You can see an explanation of how calendars and trimesters work here.
During approximately the first two weeks of the first trimester, though, you actually aren’t pregnant yet. Conception typically occurs about two weeks before your period is due. Sometimes women experience a small amount of blood spotting when the fertilized egg implants in the uterine wall and begins to grow, about a week after conception. Other women don’t notice or feel anything different until later.
A missed period two weeks after conception is usually the first symptom of pregnancy, though some extra-sensitive women may notice breast tenderness or a sensitivity to odors first. Nausea also may set in around the time you get a positive test and will typically peak at around week nine (though not everyone gets queasy, and some unlucky women have bouts of nausea for the whole pregnancy), and you may also find that you’re extra tired and have to pee a lot because of first-trimester hormonal changes. You may also start to notice that your hair is thicker and fuller, you have more heartburn and gas than usual, and some women experience few or no symptoms at all, which is not a sign that anything is wrong.
By the second trimester, though, most women find that their symptoms have faded, and the nausea and fatigue have gotten better, though the sensitivity to odors and nipple tenderness have a way of sticking around until sometime postpartum.
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