Dr. Marjorie Greenfield
Specializing in pregnancy and birth.
|
|
 Ask Dr. Greenfield
Showing at Week Eight | | | QUESTION | | | Dear Dr. Greenfield:
My wife is pregnant with our second child. She is only eight to nine weeks pregnant at this time, but she already appears to be showing (quite a bit). She claims that her sisters and herself included all have high water retention during pregnancy. Is there anything that she should do or take to lessen this?— Curious Husband | | | ANSWER |
February 20, 2002 | | | Dear Curious Husband,
There are a few reasons that your wife already is showing, and none of them signal a problem.
- In general, women "show" earlier in their second and subsequent pregnancies. The abdominal muscles never fully return to their old tone between pregnancies, and therefore the tummy isn't held in as much as the first time around.
- Water retention is quite common in pregnancy and varies person to person. While eight to nine weeks is earlier than average for water retention to begin, it can happen. Increased gas and constipation, both common in pregnancy, also can cause the lower abdomen to stick out before you would think it should.
- A couple other things to consider, since she is much bigger than expected, is that the dates are wrong, and she is further along than believed, or that you might be having twins. If her practitioner thinks that her uterus (as opposed to her tummy) is extra big, he will probably do an ultrasound to assess these possibilities.
All in all, though, pregnancy does change a woman's body quite a lot, and it is noticeable in some mothers-to-be more than in others. Try to be sensitive to any effect this may be having on her body image, which can be strained during pregnancy (especially if her partner is commenting on her size and it's only the first trimester)! Take care, and congratulations!— by Marjorie Greenfield, M.D. |
|
