Find out about keeping healthy and well during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy.
Title: Your Pregnancy: 14 to 30 weeks. Episode 03 of 15.
Title: Rachael & John’s Whānau
[Shots of Rachael and John setting up a baby bed.]
Rachael (voice-over): We're just really excited to have her with us. Just to have her around. It seems like a long, long time.
[Interview with Rachael and John.]
Rachael: Kia ora, my name's Rachael. I've lived in Wainuiomata since I was two years old. My whānau's from Taranaki.
John: My name's John. I've grown up in Wainui since I was two, and my family is from Bay of Plenty.
Rachael: I'm twenty-six weeks pregnant and we're having a girl.
[Rachael and John sort through baby clothes.]
Rachael (voice-over): Definitely excited about it. It was a long wait. It's exciting for me.
[Rachael and John read a picture book aloud.]
Rachael (voice-over): Around week sixteen, the baby starts to hear you and voices around you. It's really good for the baby if you read to them. Every night we read her a bedtime story.
[Rachael and John use a laptop computer.]
John (voice-over): Rachael keeps me updated with the online videos.
Rachael (voice-over): It tells you what's happening with you and your baby that week. The baby might be developing ears and eyes, and opening their eyelids and things like that. It's a good way to keep track of the progress of your baby.
[Ngaire knocks on the front door. Rachael and John let her in.]
[Interview with Ngaire.]
Title: Ngaire Va’a, Midwife
Ngaire: Kia ora. I'm Ngaire Va'a. I'm a midwife out in the community, and I'm here to see Rachael and John today. My role as a midwife is to help support mum, baby and the whanau throughout her pregnancy and to get the best possible outcome for them.
[Ngaire sits with Rachael and John and shows them a report.]
Ngaire: So I'm just gonna go over your scan report with you. This is when you were twenty weeks and four days.
Ngaire (voice-over): I encourage mums to contact me if they have any concerns.
[Interview with Rachael and John.]
Rachael: I understand that people go through some real difficult changes with their body. I'm very fortunate to have had a great pregnancy.
[Interview with Ngaire.]
Ngaire: In the second trimester, we offer a twenty week scan to check on baby's wellbeing. We offer mum a blood test at twenty-eight weeks to check on her wellbeing and whether she's developing pregnancy-related diabetes. With regard to supplements, mums will have stopped taking folic acid at the end of the first trimester but they can continue to take the iodine because baby's brain is still developing.
[Interview with Rachael and John.]
Rachael: It's a lot more fun in the second trimester because you're not sick or tired.
[Rachael and John pet a rabbit in an enclosure on their lawn.]
Rachael (voice-over): I've felt a lot more energetic, been able to get up.
[Interview with Rachael and John.]
John: When we found out we were having a girl, I was quite nervous but really excited. Being a father will probably really soften me up.
[Shot of Rachael lying on a bed. John puts his ear to her stomach.]
Rachael (voice-over): John got to feel the baby kick for the first time.
[Interview with Rachael and John.]
John: To feel the baby kick, things got really real. I can't wait to meet her.
Rachael: If I was to give any advice, it would be, go through, watch the videos, read the books, see what's best for your baby, and definitely enjoy every part of it. It's such a beautiful thing. It's like a superpower. You just grow humans!
Title: Our thanks to the families and health workers who appeared in this video for the Ministry of Health. Find out more about pregnancy and child health on www.health.govt.nz/yourhealth.
Rachael and John are 26 weeks pregnant. See how they learn about their baby's development. Their midwife, Ngaire, explains her role and what screening tests and scans are offered at this stage. Find out about your pregnancy superpower!
Stay healthy for you and your baby by eating safely and well, taking supplements and being active. Avoid alcohol, smoking and drugs.
Many women feel sick or throw up (vomit) during pregnancy. Although it’s called ‘morning sickness’, it can happen at any time of the day. It’s usually worse during the first 3 months of pregnancy.
Most women feel some aches and pains during their pregnancy but sometimes there are problems during pregnancy that need urgent medical attention.
Remember to get immunised for flu and whooping cough. Flu vaccine is available from March to December and you can get it free any time during pregnancy. Whooping cough vaccine is free from 16 weeks.
If you are having twins, triplets or more, find out about the types of twins, the maternity care you’ll receive, what you need to think about before the birth, and where you can get help and support.
Research shows that sleeping on your side from 28 weeks of pregnancy halves your risk of stillbirth compared with sleeping on your back. Cure Kids, in conjunction with the University of Auckland, have developed safe sleeping resources for women from 28 weeks of pregnancy. See the Sleep On Side website for more information and resources.
