Pregnancy Week 25: Anemia, Wide Feet, and Baby's Lungs Develop

Mom is experiencing more body changes during the twenty-fifth week of pregnancy. Her feet are growing and her belly button may be becoming an outie. Your baby has an important development this week: his lungs. Pregnancy week twenty-five describes baby's development, mom's body changes, and pregnancy anemia.

Pregnancy Week 25: Baby's Development

Your baby is now about nine inches long and quickly approaching the two pound mark. His lungs are getting ready for a major development that is vital to his survival once he is born.

Air sacs called alveoli are forming in his lungs. These sacs are where the oxygen that your baby breaths will transfer to his blood that is pumping through his lungs. The alveoli are lined with capillaries where the oxygen exchange will take place.

Capillaries in the rest of your baby's body are also forming and filling with blood. These capillaries will insure that all of your baby's organs will receive oxygenated blood once he is born.

Pregnancy Week 25: Mom's Belly Button and Feet

Because your uterus now extends over your belly button by about two centimeters, your belly button will start to pop out. You now have a mommy outie. Your belly button will go back in once you give birth, but it may look a little stretched out.

Do you remember that hormone called relaxin? This pregnancy hormone relaxes your connective tissue so that giving birth is easier. Relaxin is now affecting your feet. It is relaxing all the connective tissue between the bones in your feet and toes. This is causing your feet to become wider and longer. You may be buying new shoes very soon.

Pregnancy Week 25: Anemia and Dizziness

You will be scheduled for another blood test around the twenty-fifth week of pregnancy. Your healthcare provider will want to check for anemia. Anemia can happen in pregnancy because your body is trying to keep up with the additional need for blood. If your body is not keeping up then you may need an iron supplement to help with your red blood cell production.

One symptom of anemia is dizziness, but dizziness can also be caused by getting up too fast from a sitting position or from low blood sugar. Make sure you stand up slowly and eat several small meals throughout the day to prevent the room from spinning.

Eating a well-balanced diet will help with your red blood cell production and also help to prevent anemia. A great source of iron is dark green, leafy vegetables such as spinach. Foods that are rich in iron include red meats, eggs, artichokes, and iron-enriched cereals.

For more pregnancy weeks and fetal development you can read:
Pregnancy Week 21

Pregnancy Week 22

Pregnancy Week 23

Pregnancy Week 24

Click here to find more information on your pregnancy and baby's development.

Sources:

Personal Experience

Fit Pregnancy (2009). Pregnancy Calendar. Retrieved: April 8, 9, 2009. Web Site: fitpregnancy.com/calendar/40251887.html

Myers-Gorrie, Trula, Slone-McKinney, Emily, & Smith-Murray, Sharon (1998). Foundations of Maternal-Newborn Nursing (2^nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: W. B. Saunders Company.

What to Expect (2009). Weekly Pregnancy Calendar. Retrieved:April 8, 9, 2009. Web Site: whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/week-by-week/landing.aspx