5 Answers to Questions in Your Last Trimester of Pregnancy

Pregnancy is such a special and miraculous time in a woman’s life. As exciting as it can be when you are pregnant, especially for the first time, due to the rapid changes in your growing body, you probably have dozens of questions weighing on your mind.

In my recent episode, Five Important Questions Related to Early Pregnancy, we discussed five questions pertaining to the early part of pregnancy—questions that might’ve been a little uncomfortable to dive in and ask your practitioner.

Although I’m a seven-time veteran to the delivery room, my oldest daughter is expecting her first baby shortly, and has been overwhelmed with questions about all the changes taking place in her body, including her emotional state. With her delivery just weeks away, today we tackle five pressing questions related to the last trimester of pregnancy.

In Episode #507, the following questions were addressed:

1. What Early Pregnancy Symptoms Are a Concern?
2. Prenatal Vitamins—What if I Forget to Take Them?
3. Pregnancy Emotions—Pre-Post-Partum Blues—Are They for Real?
4. Pregnancy and Digestion—and Gas—What the Heck?
5. What’s Up with These Constant Leg Cramps at Night?

We’ll now delve into the last trimester and discuss five more common pregnancy questions.

1. Why am I Swelling, and Not Just in My Belly?
2. I’m Embarrassed to Have Sex While Pregnant—Why?
3. Am I a Failure if I Contemplate an Epidural?
4. How Do I Know When It’s Showtime?
5. What If I Don’t Bond With My Baby Right Away?

Let’s explore these questions more closely.

1. Why am I Swelling, and Not Just in My Belly?

For many pregnant women, including myself, once I discovered I was pregnant I became enamored with my belly. Although I found out when I was just weeks along, I was certain my stomach had already started to expand!

Eventually, it certainly did enlarge to the size of a super-large basketball (which I absolutely loved!) but that didn’t happen right away. Other parts of my body, however, did grow and swell right along with my stomach, which is a part of pregnancy I hadn’t expected.

It's completely normal to have a moderate amount of swelling in your ankles and feet during pregnancy, as well as some mild swelling in your hands, legs, and face. This is known as...

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