25th week of pregnancy

Week 25 is the beginning of the seventh month of your pregnancy. By now the mother is has grown quite big and so has the baby. This is the time when the final preparations begin. We discuss the exciting changes during week 25 here.

Development of the baby:

The baby weighs around 660 grams at this stage. The head to heel length is about 13.5 inches.
The baby continues to gain weight during this week and the skin also develops.
The eyes have completely developed and the optic nerve also start functioning. This is evident from the fact that when sharp light is pointed towards the mother’s womb, the baby shows signs of movement like turning the head away.
Up till now, the baby’s eyes hadremained shut. But now the eyelids start parting and the baby might start opening the eyes.
The air sacs are developed and the baby’s first breathing exercise can begin this week. Surfactant continues to develop, which will help the lungs expand once the baby is born.
The nostrils, which had remained closed till now, also begin to open up.
The hair on the baby’s head start getting color now.

Changes in the mother:

The weight gain by this week is approximately 7 kilograms. By this time, the rate of weight gain has slowed down to around 0.25 kilograms a week.
Around this time, most women complaint of a throbbing pain in their lower back.
One rather painful pregnancy side-effect is haemorrhoids. Many women suffer from this because of the huge uterus at this stage. Due to increased blood flow to the area, there are swollen and itchy veins in the rectum, which can be very painful. They are completely harmless but can be very uncomfortable.
As the woman has grown quite huge now, it is not easy to have a comfortable sleeping position. Many women struggle in getting the right posture. It is recommended to sleep on your side and not on your back.
The usual pregnancy symptoms, heartburn, indigestion and constipation continue to trouble the mother.
Another symptom at this stage is numbness and tingling sensations in the fingers and hands, which is because the carpal vein of the wrist becomes swollen.

Complications & tips:

While most women suffer from the uncomfortable haemorrhoids, it is important to avoid getting constipated as it will aggravate the problem. Also, try doing pelvic- floor exercises to better your condition.
If the numbness of hands is not going away, and even causing loss of sleep, one must consult the doctor.
Seek immediate medical help in case of any preterm delivery signs, such as constant cramps, sever backache or increase in vaginal discharge. If the frequency of contractions also increases significantly, consult your doctor without delay.

Tips for dad:

It is important that if there is something out of the ordinary, immediately take your partner to the hospital. Taking good care of her health is extremely important now, give her fragile condition. Also, accompany her to the childbirth classes so that both of you can learn about labor, and help her in doing exercises that reduce pain.

Diet:

As recommended, the mother must consume extra 300 calories each day.

At this point, it is important that you include foods that are rich in iron and calcium, such as spinach, legumes, lentils, milk and other dairy products.

One may also include pills for supplementing body’s need of folic acid, iron and calcium.