It's about time to give yourself a little treat for taking good care of yourself and baby all the way to pregnancy week 26.

For mom

Tips to relieve backaches during pregnancy

By now, you may have experienced backaches as you and baby get bigger.

1. Massage

If those backaches are getting you down, a massage is a wonderful way to unwind and rest those tired muscles.

However, do avoid the following during a prenatal massage or spa treatment:

  • No massaging of the tummy or breast area
  • No relaxation oils as they may precipitate womb contractions
  • No treatments that raise your body temperature  such  as sauna, steam room and hot tub

2. Warm bath

Warm baths are good to relieve muscle tension, as long as they are not too hot. If you have a tub, you may want to put your legs up and enjoy a nice soak in the bath. Otherwise, a warm shower will be just as good.

Managing stress: Your partner can help

a) Offload responsibilities

While we are on the topic of unwinding, you may want to pass some responsibilities to your husband or partner to lighten the load. Your body has been doing the heavy lifting after all!  For example, you can ask him to help clean hard to reach places in the house or the litter box if you have pets.

b) Do it together

Doing things together and feeling supported will help you feel ready to take on the coming weeks of pregnancy. Simply keeping up to date with your pregnancy journey through reading, seeing the obstetrician together, preparing the arrival of baby and discussing his role during the delivery may help take your mind off the stress of the impending delivery. A little preparation goes a long way.

For baby

About now, your baby's eyelids open and the eye lens can be seen. Its retina would have developed and technically speaking your baby can actually "see". The images it captures will be sent to the visual centre and be processed by the brain.

Your baby's brain waves are also being put in motion. It is able to process sensory stimuli and respond to them.

Ref: L20

Click the link for the complete listing of articles for Pregnancy Week 1 - Week 40.