At what month of pregnancy does the tummy appear, what does it depend on

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Having learned about pregnancy, all women are interested in any changes that occur in the body. The most frequent question of future mothers is the following: “At what month of pregnancy does the tummy appear and when will its “interesting position” be noticeable? Even a doctor cannot definitely answer this question, because each pregnancy is different, and the growth of the abdomen depends on many factors. This article will help to understand this issue in more detail.

Medical indicators of the growth of the tummy in a pregnant woman

Many believe that the belly begins to grow from the very first months of pregnancy, as the embryo grows, and the uterus, accordingly, increases in size. But this is far from true. The uterus in a woman begins to grow after the 16th week of pregnancy, at this timethe fertilized egg begins to grow rapidly. Accordingly, at a period of 16-20 weeks, that is, at 4-5 months of pregnancy, a woman can already notice an increase in her tummy, and an obstetrician-gynecologist will regularly measure an increase in the circumference of the abdomen and the height of the uterus.

Thus, for medical reasons, it is 16 obstetric weeks that is considered the start date for the growth of the abdomen in a pregnant woman.

What determines the growth of the abdomen in a pregnant woman

When the tummy starts to appear during pregnancy depends on many factors. Here are some of them:

• What a pregnancy. In primiparous women, the belly appears a little later. This is due to the fact that the abdominal muscles slowly adapt to the growth of the uterus, and in multiparous women, the abdominals have already stretched, and they quickly get used to the new position.
• Anatomical features of the expectant mother. At what month the belly begins to grow depends on the height of the woman and her physique. If a girl has narrow hips, then the belly will be noticeable faster than women with wide hips.
• Heredity. Often, the growth of the abdomen, as well as its size and shape, is influenced by a hereditary factor.
• The size of the fetus itself, its development. The larger the baby in the stomach and the faster it grows, the sooner the growth of the abdomen will be noticeable.
• Fetal presentation. The location of the baby in the uterus affects the growth of the abdomen - if the embryo is attached to the back wall of the uterus, then the stomach will appear a little later.
• Overweight during pregnancy. Sedentary lifestyle,overeating directly affects the growth of the abdomen. In athletic women with strong abdominals, the stomach will begin to appear later.

These are the main belly growth factors, but there are actually more of them. At what week of pregnancy the tummy begins to appear will also depend on the amount of amniotic fluid. Their volume may vary, depending on the duration of pregnancy, on the physiological characteristics of the female body, on how well the pregnancy is proceeding.

Small belly during pregnancy

At what month of pregnancy the tummy appears will depend on many factors, and for each woman this period is individual. But there are times when the stomach does not meet the established standards. In this case, the gestational age may not be accurately determined, or the fetus may develop pathology. Why the belly can be small:

• Fetal growth retardation is a pathology characterized by placental insufficiency. The fetus does not receive enough nutrients, gains weight poorly, develops inappropriately for its period. Usually, with such a pathology, children are born with low weight, weakened.
• Low water. This pathology may be the result of inflammatory diseases in women, hypertension, preeclampsia, transverse position of the baby in the uterus.
• Wide pelvis of a pregnant woman. This is not considered a pathology, just in this case, the uterus grows first to the sides, and only then forward.
• Undernutrition of the expectant mother.

Big belly duringpregnancy

There are times when a pregnant woman's tummy grows very quickly, the reasons may be as follows:

• Polyhydramnios. This pathology develops in the presence of infectious diseases in a pregnant woman, diabetes mellitus, abnormal development of the fetus, Rhesus conflict in mother and child.
• Large fruit. In this case, the tummy may grow faster than normal.
• Multiple pregnancy. At what month of pregnancy does the tummy appear in multiple pregnancies? If during a normal pregnancy the tummy grows at 4-5 months, then when expecting twins or triplets, it will begin to appear already at 3 months, that is, from 12 weeks, since the uterus does not fit well in the pelvic cavity.
• Puffiness of a pregnant woman and excessive weight gain.

Of course, a pregnant woman should not diagnose herself, and worry too much about this, because a doctor monitors her he alth, takes all the necessary measurements and prescribes tests.

The long-awaited belly of a pregnant woman is a symbol of new life, and all expectant mothers are looking forward to it. At what month of pregnancy does the tummy appear? No specific answer can be given here. All medical indicators are approximate, and each pregnant woman grows differently.