What changes should a woman be prepared for in her third trimester?

Dr. John Schmitt: Hi, My name is Dr. John Schmitt from the University of Virginia Health System and today, I am going to talk to you about the third trimester of pregnancy.

Host: What changes should a woman be prepared for in her third trimester? Dr. John Schmitt: Well, obviously there are a lot of changes in the third trimester. They have especially if it's their first pregnancy, they have a body image, they never probably dream they whenever have and I think the obvious change is the increase in their abdominal growth and the feelings of a lot of pressure in their abdomen. Basically, all 30 feet or so of their intestines is pushed up into a small space. They typically get a lot of heartburn and discomfort because of just pressure, physical pressure from the baby. It's very easy to get out of breath in pregnancy because your lungs are somewhat restricted as to how much lung expansion you can get. Very common to have low back pain and discomfort because of postural changes when you are pregnant to stay balanced. Speaking of that, balance is sometimes difficult later in pregnancy. Achy feet, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, leg cramps there is a myriad of symptoms like that and we just go through with them. This is normal, this may not be normal, things you can do for comfort measures and things like that, but there are a lot of changes, breast size continues to increase somewhat throughout pregnancy so that's basically what to expect.