Pregnancy Week - 25 Weeks Pregnant

Pregnancy Pillows Sale

Trusted Baby Bedding Stores

Baby Bedding Blogs

Baby Bedding Search

Return to Pregnancy Week By Week Articles Index Page		| E-Mail Page To A Friend |

Pregnancy Week 24< >Week by Week Guide Index< >Pregnancy Week 26

Pregnancy Week 25

What's a tired mom-to-be to do? Buy a Snoozer Pillow

**Please note- Your Due Date is calculated from your last menstrual period, which corresponds to our Pregnancy Week by Week articles.

Week 25

How Big is the Baby at 25 Weeks Pregnant?
By pregnancy week 25 your baby is approximately 1 ½ pounds and just under 9 inches long. From this point on however your baby's weight and length may vary somewhat. Every baby is different as you'll soon realize during your pregnancy week by week. Some babies will be born weighing 7 pounds and others 10.

Your Baby's Growth and Development

Your baby is continuing to mature during pregnancy week 25 and for the next several weeks. The structures that form the spine start to form around pregnancy at 25 weeks, and blood vessels in the lungs continue to develop this week. Other things that are shaping up during pregnancy at 25 weeks include our baby's nostrils, which may open up by the end of this week.

Your baby is starting to put on just a little meat, and will continue filling out as your pregnancy progresses.

Your Growth and Development
Your uterus is now about the size of a volleyball at 25 weeks pregnant. As your uterus continues to grow you'll notice it places some pressure on your back and pelvis. This can sometimes cause you to experience shooting pains either down your leg or in your lower back. For some women these pains get more and more severe during pregnancy.

Some women will experience a condition called sciatica during pregnancy. This often happens when the baby's head presses against the pelvic bones causing the nerves in your lower back and legs to be compressed. Severe pain often results and can occur in the lower back, leg or legs and even buttocks. Some women will also experience numbness or tingling in the legs.

For some women the pain is so severe they aren't able to lift their leg or walk without excruciating pain. So what is a woman to do? Typically most women will realize a complete relief of symptoms once the baby is born. Until then there are many things you can do to help alleviate the pain:

• Apply a hot or ice pack for 10 minutes to the area that is most painful.
• Sleep on a firm mattress.
• Avoid sitting for long periods of time.
• Avoid frequent bending at the waist.
• Don't engage in movements that make the pain worse.
• Consider physical therapy if your physician recommends it.
• Try to stand up straight.
• Use support cushions and a full body pillow in bed.
• Don't lift anything heavy and when you do lift be sure to bend from the knees.
• Consider chiropractic care or physical therapy.

Remember like anything else, this too shall pass. Some women find that their sciatic pain is greatly relieved simply by getting a few days bed rest. In many cases the pain subsides within 1-2 weeks, though it may not disappear completely until after delivery.

Changes in You
By pregnancy 25 weeks you are positively glowing, in the prime of your pregnancy. Measuring bigger but not yet bulky, at pregnancy 25 weeks you probably love every minute of attention that is poured on you as a mom to be.

If you have small children at home, they are probably just as eagerly anticipating the arrival of the newest member of the family as you are. Unfortunately you still have several more weeks to wait, thus many women prefer to hold off having serious conversations with their children until closer to delivery. This is particularly the case with very young children, who may expect the baby to pop right out if you start talking about delivery now.

By this time you should talk with your doctor to make sure you understand the signs of pre-term labor. There are many warning signs that may indicate your body is going into labor early. Some of the more telling signs include:

• Continuous cramping in the lower abdomen similar to menstrual cramps.
• Contractions that come at regular intervals or more than 4 contractions in one hour.
• Low backache that is constant.
• Pressure in the pelvis as if your baby were pushing down.
• Bloody or watery vaginal discharge.

You should talk to your doctor and find out what procedures they would like you to follow if you suspect you are in pre-term labor.

Discuss With Other Mothers To Be!

Click Here To See What Other Mothers Are Experiencing At Week 25

Some women start noticing an increase of vaginal fluid this time, which can sometimes be mistaken for amniotic fluid. It is not uncommon for women to leak a little bit of urine after this point in pregnancy, due to the increasing pressure on the bladder and pelvis. How can you differentiate between amniotic fluid and urine?

If you aren't sure wear a panty liner. If you soak it due to a constant small leak of fluid or a larger one, you should consult with your healthcare provider. Some women will notice a small trickle of fluid that can't be stopped when you squeeze the muscles you would squeeze to hold the flow of urine. If you are only leaking a small amount when you cough, laugh or get up on occasion, you might just be leaking urine. Be sure to consult with your physician if you are concerned. They can perform an ultrasound to measure the amount of amniotic fluid surrounding your baby. They may also do a vaginal exam and look for evidence of premature rupture of your membranes.

Nursing Pillows
Support During and After Pregnancy

I love a multi purpose pillow more than I like just about anything. Snoozer Pregnancy Pillows are unique in that they not only serve as comfy body pillows during pregnancy, but also work as supportive nursing pillows during breastfeeding. These pillows are made of the highest grade materials.

You'll find they provide some much needed relief from low back pain and leg cramps during pregnancy, to help you drift off into a comfortable sleep. Even better, once you have the baby they double as a nursing pillow. You can use them during the day to support your baby, but still take advantage of them at night to help ease you into a gentle and dream filled sleep!

Maternity Clothes
Career/Separates:
Experienced Moms Prefer Variety and Selection

Many pregnant women prefer buying career separates when shopping for maternity clothes. Some of these moms may already have a few career separates from a previous pregnancy, while others may find that they are simply trying to fill the gaps in their current maternity wardrobe.

Career separates are a good choice if you need a few pieces of career maternity items that you can mix/match and use time and time again. Take a look at Work Pant Sets from Motherhood Maternity for mix/match options with pants. Career separates can also be a good option if you are looking for a wardrobe with a little versatility and fun.

Pregnancy Health Tips
At some point between 24 and 28 weeks your healthcare provider will order a glucose-screening test. This test is considered fairly routine and is used to check for gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes is high blood sugar that sometimes results from pregnancy. When you arrive for this test you will be asked to drink a sugary solution that has 50 grams of glucose in it. It tastes somewhat like sprite or orange soda, only much sweeter.

You are required to fast for 8-12 hours prior to the test, and then must drink the sugar solution within five minutes of receipt. You then have to hang around for another hour, after which your healthcare provider will take a blood sample to measure your sugar level. Sometimes the reading comes back too high (typically according to the American Diabetes Association a fasting blood sugar level greater than 95 mg/dl is considered too high), and if that is the case you will need to come back for a three hour glucose test. This will confirm whether or not you have gestational diabetes.

Most women who test positive at first will not actually have gestational diabetes, but it is important to perform a back up test to be sure. The three hour blood test is a little more involved because you have to drink 100 grams of glucose and then endure three blood tests over the course of the next three hours. Unfortunately you won't be able to eat anything until after this test is completed.

Gestational diabetes is a serious complication of pregnancy. It typically surfaces by the 28th week of pregnancy. You may not have a history of diabetes in the family but it is possible to develop diabetes during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes typically affects around 4 percent of all pregnant women. Gestational diabetes does not cause birth defects but it can hurt your baby.

If you have gestational diabetes your pancreas will have to work extra hard to produce insulin. The insulin the pancreas is producing however will not be able to lower the levels of glucose in the blood. Thus extra glucose crosses through the placenta and results in high blood sugar levels in the baby. This can result in the baby producing extra insulin. This process causes the baby to get more energy than necessary to grow so the baby tends to store more fat than it normally would.

One of the more common complications of gestational diabetes is a condition called macrosomia, which translates into a 'fat' or large for dates baby (LGA). A baby that is too big to pass through the birth canal may experience shoulder damage during labor and delivery.

Fortunately gestational diabetes typically resolves itself after pregnancy. However it is important that you treat it during pregnancy to prevent unnecessary complications. Treatment will include nutritional counseling and daily monitoring of your blood glucose levels. It is more important than ever that mothers with gestational diabetes eat a healthy diet and exercise when possible during pregnancy. Some women may need injections of insulin during pregnancy. Most women who have gestational diabetes will be able to treat it and go on to deliver a healthy baby with proper care.