Welcome to Hello Bump, a podcast about what you’re not expecting when you’re expecting.
In this episode, hosts Jana Pittman and Grace Rouvray discover your baby is around the size of a chocolate bar or a small remote control! At week 16, your baby’s facial expressions are starting to develop and the umbilical cord is mostly formed by this stage. Some pregnant people might feel a change in their libido this week and start to feel their baby moving. Plus, Jana explains how long you can safely fly, and why you might have burst blood vessels.
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CREDITS:
Hosts: Jana Pittman and Grace Rouvray
Executive Producer: Courtney Ammenhauser
Audio Production: Thom Lion
Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.
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I am pregnant.
Welcome to Hallo Bump. We're making pregnancy less overwhelming and more manageable. I'm Grace Rubrey. I'm pregnant for the first time and number two's are now every second day.
I'm Yana Pittman.
I'm a former Olympic athlete, i am a mummy to six kids, and I'm training to be an obstitrician.
Each week, Janna and I will hold your hand week by week through the mysterious, perplexing and sometimes blocked miracle that is pregnancy, all the way from a poppy seed to a pumpkin. Week sixteen sixteen, this is getting big. What songs are we now, Well.
It's now the size of an avocado, which you probably should be having some more of grace if your bowels aren't working, but.
Or a small remote control.
And knock you at thirty three to ten.
Yes, Or we're now moving into some animals, a small guinea pig, a.
Small guinea pick. So when they get all of these shapes and sizes and fruits. Is it measuring length or girth length?
So we start measuring crown rump length initially, and then we move soon to the head of the head of the top of your babies head, to their little legs, to their toes. So there's a variation in time of when we actually look at just their bottom and as they start stretching out their whole thing. It's not quite yet, but you'll see as we come along, we'll all of a sudden jump ten centimeters.
And be like, hang on a second, the maybe didn't grow tens and es.
No, we change the way we measure the baby, so at the moment, it's still crown crump length.
Because sometimes Tom, I've seen ones that it's like it's a bunch of celery and you're like, what.
How No, at the moment they're around eleven to twelve centimeters, and we've got a weight now, so we've got abound an eighty five to one hundred and ten grams, so.
What what ways that you don't have to have any chocolate bar?
Think about it?
Eighty grams so sometimes one hundred grams, right, I'd love one right now.
Though, Let's move on, right, Jool and I'm not even pregnant.
Well, what's happening to them? What are they're getting heavier?
What is that as a result of Yes, they can now wriggle their fingers and their toes, which is quite cute. And they're starting to have early expressions, not that we'll be able to see them, but the facial muscles are starting to work. The umbilical cord is mostly formed. It's getting thicker though, and longer because it gets what's called Woban's jelly, which is like a fatty outer layer, and it'll supply your oxygen and your nutrition to your baby for the rest of pregnancy.
What's happening to me and what's happening to our body?
To you? Yes?
To me, what's happening to me?
Now?
This is the time we sort of said that people say they start feeling.
Now, if someone said it to me, I go, yeah, Okay.
Most don't feel their baby move, but some people do say that this is starting to happen. You might find you have that increase in libido or a bit of a dropping elevedo now, so again we'll have to talk about that ups and downs. The leg cramps are coming in, yes, and the Varraco's vein. Interesting, Yeah, not fun.
On all parts of you. You did mention varicose veins in like uncomfortable areas, But are we looking just at legs first or are they up for grabs anywhere.
It depends on your genetics predisposition. So some people have quite thin vein walls and they can get varicose veins all over their legs. It can be hemorrhoids. They're also veins and that sort of pelvic congestion area. So it comes around because you've got an increased bloo volume. We've talked about that several times, ongoing hormonal control. So those progesterone really relax those vessel walls. So if you've already predisposed with thin vessels and you've got of wobbly the valves inside the vein that usually stop the backflow from the blood going to the heart. The increased pressure of the uterus as it grows on what's called the iliac vessels, So they're the big vessels around that take all the waste products back towards the heart. If they're being squashed by the pregnancy, the blood has to go somewhere, so it backflows and it actually increases the diameter of those vessels and they become tortuous and wrigley. For most women it's legs, so they even get pain and cramps in their legs, and you can actually see there's sort of tortuous looking blue vessels on the skin. Now it doesn't actually it looks. It's a small risk factor for DVT, but it's not your main risk factor. They're deep veins, are superficial veins. It was my main symptom in pregnancy. So I had legit, as I said in one previous episode, testicles in my vagina on one side, so I had a single side and what we call a volvle variosity, and not a single person had ever spoken about it. I felt like I was the only person on the entire planet that experienced this until now. I've seen lots of vaginas, and I've seen lots of women who have them, but nobody talks about it, Which is why I was really keen and hopeful that you might let me discuss it, because if you are experiencing this, you are absolutely not alone. It's really common, and I want to reassure you that after pregnancy it.
Almost goes away.
Will you see them, You're like, oh, yes, okay, okay, so you know if you have them.
Well, I mean you could have small ones you may not notice, but that cares. If you have small ones you don't notice, then you don't need to know about it. I woke up in the middle of the night one time, felt this real release of pressure down the left right side of my leg and woke up with these terrible veins, like really really bad leg veins. And then the volvile ones came, and unfortunately each pregnancy, they got worse and worse and worse.
Is this normal?
Is normal?
It could be completely unrelated, or it could be I'm not quite sure, but I around this time, I did go to an optometrist just because it was time to get it check up, and there was a burst blood vessel in my eye, like not visually that you could see, but somewhere at the back. And she did say that could be as a result of pregnancy, or it could be a sign of gestational diabetes asolutely I had had my I had had my gestational diabetes test the following week and I didn't have it. And then she said, or it could be the force of vomiting that you.
All three okay, very well, she's very good. I like it, okay, and.
She did read me for three months. Time to go. Let's just double check that it's fine.
Yeah, And I think that's is if you do have pre existing diabetes, pregnancy makes everything worse. So we actually check women who have type one diabetes. For example, we actually prefer them to have really planned their pregnancy and really had good type sugar control because we know that the kidneys and the eyes can be quite significantly damaged. So we actually have that they have to have that check twice in pregnancy because of that exact thing. But your constant romity, grace, think about the pressures and you're leaning over in a toilet bowl.
Yeah, it's going to happen.
It'll also happen potentially when you push your baby out. Burst all the blood mistles in my eyes when I've got pushed the baby out, so as your.
Eyes or sneezing, because I've definitely noticed enough tick and sneezing as well, can that burst them? Well?
Again, I can't think that comes about.
Because you've got more and more blood flow to your nose and to everything. It's gonna leak and you're you're gonna have more congestion. You have nasal congestions really common in pregnancy. Again, increased blood flow, so anything that you're concerned about, I think it is just better to get your GP to get it checked. But eye health is something that often gets not talked about in pregnancy and is really really important to make sure that you're not in your eyes for life.
So it's something to look after.
So we have talked a lot of is this normal? But I've just got one more to add, which is constipation, which it hasn't gotten better from the start, So what can we do? One is this normal? To what can we do?
Sadly, in pregnancy, you have slowed transition of your bow, so you'd hope that well some people get don't get me get the runs as well, so it's not every woman yet again highlights how different pregnancy is. So that at least fifteen times so far. But we often have a slowed bow transition, so the food you're taking takes longer to absorb and go slower through your body. To make sure that you're optimizing the amount of nutrients you can remove from that food, we often vomit less, so you're more dehydrated, you are circulating more volume, so you got to try and keep that volume up. And women are just really chronically problematic with constipation. So it's probably, i'd say it is probably the most common symptom of the second and third semester is women say, oh, it cannot open my bows throwing. We often say, hey, Grace, why don't you start taking an iron supplement that's going to help you constipated? Hey have some on densitron for your nausea constipated. So the combination of all those things means women are struggling and then, unfortunately, let's go one step further. You then get hemorrhoids, which hurts when you're past stool, or you get an anal fisher, sorry, lady's taking it really low below the table today, which is basically a little cut in the anal verge of of your bottom, and it hurts like stink to pass the stool, so we get scared of passing, and so that you don't and it goes two or three days. It's a much bigger stool when it does come out, and it hurts even more. So you have that sort of reflex like a little toddler no, not want it to open your bouth. So key to that hydration and can I overcoal and colock so if you need.
It that a'll just sounds so terrible.
I'm sorry you didn't want me to be honest.
No, it's good. It's good. It is, and I hope people just feel not alone if exactly they've gone down one path to help another which has shut down something else. Yeah, what is it like one step forward to two steps back exactly?
And keep moving.
Actually, one of the things is you need to keep exercising. So that sort of walking and things can certainly help those bowers keep moving as well.
I will say when I do my big make eight k walks in the morning, it does helps. It does help.
Yeah, And a coffee sometimes ironically it's another old wives table, but it can sometimes help.
I was not too much.
But and what are some important things to check off on our list this week?
Okay, so now we're getting closer to starting to book that morphology.
It takes about an hour the morphology. It's long, and.
It's the really in depth review of the structures of your baby. And so it can for example, at our hospital where I work out, it can be three weeks wait to.
Get into that appointment because our guys are so.
Great because you've only got that window to do it in. Do you need to.
Book booking events?
Yeah, exactly, so I think that's probably my biggest one, to make sure you've had that booked. And a discussion around bleeding. Again, any bleeding in pregnancy, particularly at this gestation, needs to be followed up because that placenta is starting to grow and not all placentas are in the right spot. Now. I have a bigger chat about that later, but if you're having bleeding, it's really important now where at a point where we want to get this pregnancy to a viable gestation where you contact your birth team and just let them know.
We've talked about the ultrasound places being really good. Are the women's specific ones in every state.
Lots of them, So there are often women's centered places, and it doesn't mean the others aren't great. You might have an amazing sonographer at one of the other places, but it's just more that if they concentrate on women's imaging all the time, that's what they do all the time. If you came to our hospital and there was an abnormality on it. We would probably get it redone, but.
My took it this week. Helpful to everyone. But it's a travel tip. I had an overseas flight early on in my second trimester around this week, and I was quite anxious about flying on a plane because of blood volume, and because I was feeling sick, and because of a whole bunch of things. So I did get the compression bands great, well, compression socks, and I also got travel sickness mean okay, fair, And then I also packed snacks in my carry on and things that I knew just in case if the meal wasn't coming to me, that if it didn't vibe with what I needed, that I had some of those safe snacks like twisties or like some crackers and cheese and things like that. So if you are stressed, especially of going to another country, there are some things that that's what you can do. But I do want to ask about the compression socks. Because we do have so much more blood. Are we more worried about blood clots?
Absolutely?
Unfortunately, DVTs are much more common in pregnancy. Well, I mean, I you think about it when you got asked if you're going on the pill, for example, we know hormones can play a role in that. So pregnancy is one of the big times in life where you are at risk of a DVT. So traveling overseas is always better to just keep aware of it. Long haul flights move around on the flight, yes, where your support stockings. Media Australia make some really good ones or SRC and even belly Band makes some good ones. So there's a couple of good companies out there that support pregnants are specific for pregnancy, not just whack on some stockings. But obviously if that's what you can afford, that's what you do.
I want.
I also touch that VOLV variicosities, which we talked about already. There's a lot of things like what's called a V two supporter compression therapy. So there are things out there you can I mean I said against V two supporters. They make a huge difference to allow them. You can wear them on the plane, you can wear them every day from work, when you get out of bed. Some women may even need to wear these compression stockings that you only did it for the plane almost every day for that support.
But it's very important.
I didn't have that many medications. I just had vitamins. But are their problems with traveling with medications that are vital for you and your pregnancy.
Well, you just never know how long you're going to be going for something that might happen. So I think it's always good to take your you know, whatever medications and multivitamins and things you're on for pregnancy away with you and keep them in your hand luggage, and keep your favorite company of pajamas in your hand luggage because you know, we always look at it lose our baggage as well.
I do actually have one more question, when do you need the letter to be able to fly?
Like?
When is it no longer safe? Because I was looking up things and like I was one shop assistant who obviously was this shop assistant and knew nothing was like are you allowed to fly? And then it just like flew out of your head. Yes, So when should you stop flying?
That is a really difficult question to ask, because I mean the situation will be very dependent on whether you've got a higher risk or a low risk pregnancy. So firstly, do you feel safe to fly or not? You know, I think the airlines also have their fairly specific rules, some say thirty two weeks, some say thirty four weeks. I saw a lad in the day flying at thirty six weeks. Don't think I would have done that personally, because going into labor on the plane is not something.
Is that the right if you go into labor?
Mainly because what's going to happen if you have a baby.
On a plane? Hello? Is there a doctor on the plane.
So it's the safety, you know, if something We don't want to go into this right now. But labor can be dangerous, Okay, there's no way of getting around. These babies one hundred two hundred years ago didn't make it through like so it's ideal if you've got a low respregnancy you can have a wonderful home birth. I'm a big home birthing advocate, but you want to have access to maternity services if something goes wrong.
Not really easy to do an.
International long haul flight over the over Japan. So I think it's more a if your waters break your high you know you've got a member.
It's all inside fluid.
You flying it autitude with its increased pressures and changes that just flying later in gestation. Alis don't want to risk the potential bad outcome that.
Maker We hope you enjoyed this episode of Hello Bump. We have so many episodes of this series filled with tips and stories from women and experts who've been through it all before.
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This episode was produced by Courtney Ammenhauser with audio production by Tom Lyon.
We'll catch you next time. Bye.
This episode of Hello Bump was made in partnership with Huggis