Pregnancy is divided into Trimesters and is counted in weeks rather than months

• The first Trimester is made up if week 2 to 14 and is the time when the most care needs to be taken because all the organs of the foetus are forming and risk of miscarriage is highest
• The 2nd trimester is week 15 to 28
• The 3rd trimester is week 29 to 40

• Conception is calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period which is actually 2 weeks prior to when conception probably took place (ovulation being close to day 14)
• This means that gestation is actually 38wks not 40 or 9.5 months
• It also means that the foetus is actually 2 wks younger than the term of the pregnancy e.g. if the women is 24 weeks into the pregnancy, the foetus is 22 weeks old so at week 40 close to the estimated due date the baby has been developing for 38 weeks
• The term of a pregnancy is considered to be anywhere from 37 to 42 weeks, so once you reach the 37 week mark your baby is ready for delivery from this point on

Signs & Symptoms of pregnancy

The first signs of pregnancy are:

• Missed period, breast engorgement, nausea with occasional vomiting may be present; fatigue is often noticed and sometimes abdominal enlargement (bloating).
• Oedema, unnecessary weight gain, varicose veins, backache, constipation, haemorrhoids & heartburn can also occur during pregnancy but are not experienced by all pregnant women