A woman may worry her belly is too big or too small for the week of pregnancy, or if she is carrying high, low, or wide. After all, she can’t see inside her womb so the only clues she has on a day-to-day basis about her growing baby are what she can see and feel.
Everyone Grows Differently
If you’re expecting and find yourself fretting about the size or shape of your pregnant belly know you aren’t alone. All women carry differently and chances are everything is fine with the way your baby is growing. Like babies, pregnant bellies come in all shapes and sizes. Your doctor or midwife is monitoring your child’s size in relation to your due date and the size of your pregnant belly with regular screenings, including measuring your abdomen at every visit once you reach 15 weeks to 20 weeks. This measurement tells them how much your belly is growing. The normal rate of growth once a woman starts showing is about 1 centimeter per week. If your abdominal muscles are really strong and tight they can prevent your growing womb from sticking out as far as casual observers might expect. Tall women’s bumps also tend to look smaller than that of a shorter woman whose abdomen measures the exact same size. If this isn’t your first pregnancy, it’s possible you noticed you popped much earlier than you did during your first. That’s because after one pregnancy your muscles have stretched a bit and will give in to the pressure of your expanding uterus more easily. Your doctor or midwife is measuring and monitoring the size of your belly at every prenatal visit. It’s not at all uncommon for babies to settle themselves into the womb in this way, especially during the first two-thirds of pregnancy. Some women simply carry all of their pregnancies this way from start to finish—particularly those who have super strong abdominal muscles. And despite old wive’s tales, how you carry the baby isn’t a true indicator that you’re having a boy or girl. Toward the end of your pregnancy, you may notice that you’re carrying lower than before almost overnight. This is probably because your baby has dropped or lightened in preparation for being born. (Not all babies do this; some don’t drop until labor starts.) The biggest problem with carrying low is that it puts pressure on your lower back. Exercises like pelvic tilts can help ease discomfort or pain it causes on your lower back. It usually isn’t a problem unless the baby doesn’t flip into a head-down position in time to be born, in which case you may need a cesarean section. If you were overweight when you got pregnant, you may also feel like you are carrying more side-to-side than other pregnant women. Women with a lower weight at conception should gain between 15 and 25 pounds over the course of the pregnancy. Women with a higher weight at conception should only gain 11 to 20 pounds.
