8. Listen to the recording and fill in the blanks with one or more words and/or numbers while you read through the text below.
Pregnancy lasts about 1. ................................... weeks, counting from the 2. ................................... day of the last normal period. The weeks are grouped into three trimesters.
First trimester: 3. ...................................
During the first trimester, the body goes through many changes. Hormonal changes affect almost every organ system. Period stopping is a clear sign of pregnancy. Other changes may include:
- extreme tiredness
- tender, swollen breasts
- morning nausea
- 4. ................................... for certain foods
- mood swings
- constipation
- headache
- weight gain or loss
Women might need to make changes to their 5. ................................... such as going to bed earlier or eating frequent, small meals. Fortunately, most of these discomforts will go away as pregnancy advances.
Second trimester: 6. ................................... Most women find the second trimester of pregnancy easier than the first. Symptoms like nausea and fatigue are going away. But other new changes are now happening. The abdomen will expand and before this trimester is over, they will feel their baby 7. ................................... . Women may have:
- body aches (such as back and abdomen pain)
- stretch marks
- darkening of the skin around the nipples
- a line on the skin running from the belly button down
- patches of darker skin, usually over the face; this is sometimes called the 8. ...................................
- swelling of the ankles, fingers and face
Third trimester: 9. ................................... Some of the same discomforts of the second trimester will continue. Many women also find breathing difficult and notice they have to go to the bathroom more often. This is because the baby is getting bigger and putting more pressure on their organs. Some new body changes women might notice in the third trimester include:
- shortness of breath
- haemorrhoids
- watery pre-milk, called colostrum
- trouble sleeping
- 10. ................................... lower in the abdomen
- contractions, which can be a sign of real or false labour
WARM UP
• Do you know anyone who is pregnant?
• Do you thlnk pregnancy is a toplc whlch should interest only glris?
Why? I Why not?
• What age on average do you thlnk women In ltaly get pregnant?
MORE
1 Melasma appears when a steep rise in estrogen and progesterone levels stimulates excess melanin production, also known as hyperpigmentation.
DO
1 Colostrum contains antibodies to protect the newborn against disease. In generai, protein concentration in colostrum is substantially
a.higher
b. /owerthan in milk.