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First Trimester Worries

What Weighs on Many Expectant Moms' Minds During Trimester One

By Teri Brown

Most moms-to be find that pregnancy comes with a lot of worries, especially during that crucial first trimester. Weight gain, the health of the developing baby and, of course, miscarriage is always on the mind.

Sharon Wren, mother of two from East Moline, Ill., was particularly worried because of a previous miscarriage. "The doctors said there weren't any signs that I would have a problem carrying another baby, but I wasn't sure until he was born," Wren says. "So that was a good nine months of worrying right there. My second big worry in the first trimester was weight gain – I wasn't gaining weight because I had horrible morning sickness. I mean, I couldn't even see a TV commercial mentioning food without my stomach lurching. I knew I was supposed to be putting on weight, but I actually lost a little. That was three very, very long, miserable months."

Bethany Cagle, mother of three from Haleyville, Ala., also worried during those first three months. "My first trimester is always filled with worries," Cagle says. "Mostly weight weighs heavily, since I seem to put on the most weight at the beginning of my pregnancies than at the end. I also have a history of twins and I have been pregnant with twins twice. Both times, I have miscarried one of the fetuses within the first trimester and then carry on and deliver the other baby. Because of the miscarriages I try to stay away from any medicine at all and I try to stay as stress free and calm as I can."

If you have a tendency to worry during your first trimester, be assured that you're not alone. Dr. Karen Perkins, an OB/GYN for Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, Md., says worry is common. "The most common worries in the first trimester for moms include both the mental and the physical," Dr. Perkins says. "Not only do they worry about how the pregnancy will change the status quo but also they worry about whether or not they will be a good parent. Moms also worry about whether the baby will be normal, if they're eating enough, if the baby will be affected by any medicine that they may have taken or if the drink of wine before discovering that they were pregnant will affect the pregnancy. I usually try to reassure moms who come in with various worries and also give them plenty of information focused on their concerns."

Want to see more?

• First Trimester: Too Much Information? Getting Back to Basics in the First Trimester
• Mom's Biggest Baby Worries: The Top 5 Things New Moms Worry About
• Spotting During Pregnancy: Should Moms-to-be Worry if They're Spotting?
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