Third Trimester Symptoms
1. Heartburn
The hormonal changes in pregnancy lead to relaxation of the stomach valves and the growing uterus in the third trimester exerts pressure on the stomach. This together leads to reverse flow of food to the oesophagus, causing your throat to itch and chest to burn. Hence heartburn, becomes and inevitable problem especially in the third trimester.
2. Clumsiness
Due to the increased belly size, increasing body weight and other hormonal and body changes, you tend to feel heavy and find it difficult to get up and move the way you were able to do in the second trimester. Sometimes after a nap I take a lot of time to just get up from the bed because jerking movements due to getting up quickly caused back ache.
3. Backpain
I did experience some back pain in the first trimester, but after that only felt aches if I worked to much. During the third trimester I felt it when I lay on my back even for 5 minutes. That happens because the uterus and baby exert pressure on the back and artery which exists in the back. Laying on the back isn't recommended especially in the third trimester because it reduces the blood flow to the placenta. Lying on the left side is most recommended. You can use a pillow below your right leg to increase space for your belly while lying down on your left.
4.Breathlessness
Due to an increase in size of uterus, some pressure is also exerted on the lungs making you feel short on breath. You should practice good posture if you experience this and lie down for a while if you feel uncomfortable.
5. Spider veins, varicose veins and hemorrhoids.
Increased blood circulation might cause tiny red veins, known as spider veins, to appear on your face, neck and arms. So far I have experienced spider veins.
You might also notice gnarled, enlarged veins (varicose veins) on your legs. Some women also experience painful, itchy varicose veins in the rectal area (hemorrhoids).
In case of varicose veins, you should exercise and elevate your legs frequently. Take a doctor's advise on this part. To prevent hemorrhoids, include plenty of fiber in your diet and drink lots of fluids. In case of hemorrhoids also, you should take doctor's advice.
I didn't have any of complications mentioned above during both my pregnancies. But I did have mild hemorrhoids post my second c-section. Maybe that was due to the increased weight gain in my second pregnancy.
6. Frequent Urination
As the baby moves deeper into your pelvis more pressure is exerted on the bladder, causing you to urinate more frequently than ever. However this symptom has been my best friend through out my whole pregnancy, I have heard it's more common in first and third trimester for most women.
7. Stomach Pains
The round ligaments surrounding and supporting your lower abdomen start stretching due to hormonal changes. This helps your body to prepare for labour as well. But the process is generally uncomfortable as the stretching causes shooting pains in the stomach. But you should be cautious if any other symptom is also accompanying it such as bleeding or heavy discharge or extreme back ache. Always keep in touch with your health provider for any kind of pain in the third trimester.
8. Colostrum
Your breasts might start leaking a yellowish fluid which is a precursor to breast milk. If you don't experience this symptom you don't need to worry. Generally it's not a predictor of your production of milk after delivery.
For this, you might want to use breast pads.
9. Oral health issues
Hormonal Changes in pregnancy make you more suspectible to tooth and gum problems. I faced this in the third trimester and the first. Make sure you go for your dental checkup and mention about your pregnancy to your dentist.
I would like to share that these are some problems or symptoms which you might or might not experience in the third trimester. However, I have not shared about the complications that could occur in the third trimester like pre-term labour, gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, nuchal cord etc. These are some issues for which you should always rely on your health care provider.