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At 26 weeks pregnant , you've probably had family and friends guess the sex of your baby, simply by looking at how you're "carrying" your baby.
According to the old wives' tale, if you are "carrying high" (your "bump" is higher on your abdomen, right underneath your breasts), you are pregnant with a girl. If you're "carrying low" (the protruding part of your belly is lower and closer to your hips), you're going to have a boy.
If you believe this legend at 26 weeks pregnant, you have a 50 percent chance of guessing correctly! You have the same probability of guessing correctly by flipping a coin.
Since you are rather big by this point in your pregnancy week by week, this is a fun game to play, especially if you are keeping your baby's gender a secret until you deliver. (It's still fun to make other people guess whether you're having a boy or girl, even if you already know the sex).
What Determines the Shape and Size of Your "Bump?"
During pregnancy week 26, you should remember that the shape and size of your "bump" is determined by your muscle tone, your uterine tone, and how your baby is positioned. The only accurate way to determine your baby's sex is with an ultrasound.
At this point in your pregnancy week by week, you should already know your baby's gender (unless you asked your doctor to keep the news to himself). Your baby's genitals were recognizable as early as 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Pregnancy Weight Gain this Week
You will only get larger as your pregnancy progresses. Your pregnancy weight gain at 26 weeks pregnant is already at least 17 or 18 pounds for a normal-sized woman.
Rib Pain During Pregnancy
As your uterus expands and your baby rapidly packs on those layers of fat, you may start to notice some rib pain. During pregnancy week 26, your expanding uterus pushes your rib cage outward. As a result, you may notice rib pain or discomfort, especially if you are more petite, or if you're carrying twins or multiples.
Rib pain during pregnancy tends to be worse if you have a very active baby that kicks a lot, or if your baby's in the breech position (with his or her head pushing against your rib cage and diaphragm). It is very common in the third trimester of pregnancy, as you continue to gain weight.
Although there is not much you can do about rib pain at 26 weeks pregnant, you may want to move around, instead of sitting down (since sitting compresses your internal organs), until you find a position that is most comfortable for you.
Headaches in the Second Trimester
In addition to rib discomfort and pain during pregnancy week 26, another second trimester pregnancy symptom that you may experience are headaches. Though you may have experienced headaches in your first trimester, due to hormonal changes and increases in your blood volume and circulation, headaches at the end of your second trimester tend to be caused by poor posture and the stress of carrying all that extra weight around.
In rare cases, your headaches may be caused by preeclampsia, a serious pregnancy complication.
To relieve your headaches, you may want to:
- Use warm or cold compresses.
- Reduce your stress level. Yoga and relaxation exercises may help.
- Stay away from headache triggers, such as certain foods.
- Talk to your healthcare provider about taking Tylenol (which is safe to use during pregnancy) or another type of medication.
By 26 weeks pregnant, your baby is preparing for his or her grand entrance into the world. He or she is almost 14 total inches long and may weigh 1.7 pounds! If born early, your baby now has a 60 percent chance of surviving.
Your baby's face is getting rounder and fatter, as his or her fat reserves are giving his or her face a more rounded face.
Your little Einstein's brain continues to mature this week, and it will continue to do so throughout the rest of your pregnancy. Though all the nerve cells are now located on the surface on your little one's brain, they do not yet have neural connections with each other. As your pregnancy week by week progresses, these nerve cells will eventually make multiple connections with one another. Your baby's brain is still very smooth looking. It does not yet have that wrinkled appearance.
By pregnancy week 26, your baby can make coordinated hand and feet movements. Because his or her lips are very sensitive, your baby likes to act like a little monkey, bring his or her hands and feet to the mouth.
There is still ample room in your uterus to move about at 26 weeks pregnant. Since your baby is still flexible at this point, it's quite easy for your little one to do be in all sorts of positions, including performing full somersaults.
In most cases, headaches are a very common pregnancy symptom, especially in your first and third trimesters. However, sometimes they do signify a more serious problem, such as preeclampsia - a pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure and protein in the urine.
Preeclampsia affects at least 5 or 8 percent of all pregnancies, and it occurs in the second and third trimesters. A majority of cases occur around 36 or 37 weeks, though in 10 percent of cases, it is diagnosed before 34 weeks.
How Preeclampsia Affects You and Baby
This complication can range from mild to severe. In the most severe cases, this condition can cause damage to your organs (such as your liver, kidneys, and brain); and it can affect the blood flow to your baby, leading to poor fetal growth, low levels of amniotic fluid in your uterus, and placental abruption (your placenta separates from the wall of your uterus before your baby is ready to be born).
At 26 weeks pregnant, if you have this condition, you will want to know so that you can make the best choice possible for your health and the health of your baby. According to the preeclampsia foundation, preeclampsia and other hypertensive disorders in pregnancy are the number one cause of maternal and infant illness and death around the world.
Preeclampsia Treatment
Unfortunately, there is no "cure" for preeclampsia, only delivery of the baby and placenta. During pregnancy week 26, your baby has 11 more weeks until he or she is full-term, so if you have mild preeclampsia, your doctor may be able to place you on bed rest and prescribe you high blood pressure medications. (The longer your baby is able to stay in utero, the better his or her chances of survival).
The tricky thing about preeclampsia is that many of its signs and symptoms mimic normal changes in pregnancy. Symptoms of this serious pregnancy complication include:
- High blood pressure.
- Swelling or edema, especially on your hands and face.
- Protein in your uterine.
- A sudden weight gain, or gaining more than 2 pounds a week or 6 pounds in a month.
- Headaches. A dull, throbbing headache that is similar to a migraine headache that won't go away.
- Nausea and vomiting, especially if the onset is sudden in the second and third trimester.
- Vision changes, including temporary loss of vision, auras, light sensitivity, blurry visions or spots.
- Racing pulse, heightened sense of anxiety, difficulty catching your breath, mental confusion.
- Stomach pain (usually under the right side ribs) and/or right shoulder pain.
- Lower back pain.
- Hyperreflexia (overactive or over responsive reflexes)
When to Call Your Doctor
Call your doctor immediately if you start to experience any of these symptoms. If you have a mild case, your doctor or healthcare provider will want to monitor you very closely to make sure that your blood pressure stays in control and won't cause any harm to your health or your baby's.
Read About Your Pregnancy Week by Week - 27 Weeks Pregnant
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