Pregnancy companion
Forty weeks, one gentle week at a time.
Stage-specific guidance on how your baby is growing and what your body is doing, what to eat and avoid, which scans and tests are coming, and how to walk into every doctor’s visit prepared.
Week by week
Meet your baby, every week.
Slide through the weeks. Sizes are compared to Indian fruits and vegetables you already know, so ‘30 cm’ becomes a kharbooja you can picture.
Your baby at
Week 24
About the size of a kharbooja (cantaloupe)
Hearing is sharpening. Your baby can hear your voice.
Hearing your voice
Hearing is sharpening. Your baby can hear your voice and your heartbeat.
Getting ready to breathe
The lungs are developing branches and air sacs, preparing for life outside.
Stronger kicks
Kicks are stronger and settling into a pattern you may start to recognise.
Nani’s noteYour little one is becoming more responsive to the sounds around you. Your voice is their favourite.
Around now · weeks 24–28
Glucose test (OGTT)
Screens for gestational diabetes. Ask whether you need to fast beforehand.
Sizes are averages: crown to rump before week 20, head to heel after. Every baby grows at their own pace.
Your trimesters
What you may feel, what to do, and what’s next.
Weeks 1–13
First trimester
What you may feel
- Nausea, often worst in the morning but any time
- Tiredness that feels bone-deep
- Sore breasts, and needing to pee more
Take care
- Folic acid every day, as your doctor advises
- No alcohol, smoking, paan or raw papaya
- No medicine, even a home one, without asking your doctor
Visits & tests
- Dating scan · weeks 6–10
- First blood tests: blood group, Hb, sugar, thyroid
- NT scan and double marker · weeks 11–13
Weeks 14–27
Second trimester
What you may feel
- More energy, and a bump that shows
- First flutters, often around 18–22 weeks
- Back ache, heartburn, leg cramps at night
Take care
- Iron and calcium, taken at different times
- Gentle walking and prenatal yoga, if your doctor agrees
- Sleep on your side, with a pillow between your knees
Visits & tests
- Anomaly scan (Level 2) · weeks 18–20
- Glucose test (OGTT) · weeks 24–28
- BP and urine at every visit
Weeks 28–40
Third trimester
What you may feel
- Your baby’s movements every day: learn their pattern
- Practice tightenings that come and go
- Breathlessness and broken sleep
Take care
- Count kicks daily, and call the same day if they slow
- Know the 5-1-1 pattern for labour
- Pack the hospital bag by week 36
Visits & tests
- Tdap vaccine and Rh check · week 28
- Growth scan · weeks 28–32
- Weekly visits from week 36
The usual schedule in India. Your doctor may plan your visits differently, and Nani follows your own calendar.
Quick checks
“Can I eat that?” Answered in a second.
Food, everyday symptoms and common medicines, each with a clear verdict and the reason behind it. Anything not on the list goes to Nani, who answers for your week.
Safe, or usually normal
Take care, or check with your doctor
Best avoided, or get help
- Ripe papaya Safe in moderation
Nutritious, with vitamin C and folate. Enjoy it in moderate amounts.
- Raw papaya Best avoided
Contains latex that can trigger contractions. Avoid it in every trimester.
- Pineapple Eat with care
Fine in normal amounts. The worry about contractions only applies to very large quantities.
- Paneer Safe to eat
Safe when made from pasteurised milk. A great source of calcium and protein.
- Chai Safe in moderation
One or two cups a day is fine. Keep total caffeine under 200 mg a day, and keep it away from your iron tablet.
- Coffee Keep it small
About one cup of filter coffee a day keeps you under the 200 mg caffeine limit, counting your chai too.
- Paan Best avoided
Avoid it, especially with tobacco or areca nut (supari).
- Eggs Safe when cooked
Fully cooked eggs are safe and full of protein. Avoid runny or raw eggs.
- Raw eggs Best avoided
Raw or runny eggs carry a salmonella risk. Cook them until firm.
- Fish Safe, well cooked
Low-mercury fish like rohu, katla or salmon are good for your baby’s brain. Avoid shark, swordfish and king mackerel.
- Raw fish or sushi Best avoided
Raw fish can carry listeria. Cooked fish and vegetarian rolls are fine.
- Unboiled milk Best avoided
Raw milk can carry harmful bacteria. Drink boiled or pasteurised milk.
- Curd Safe to eat
Great every day. It helps digestion and gives you calcium.
- Ghee Safe in moderation
Fine in normal home-cooking amounts. Extra ghee to ‘ease labour’ isn’t needed.
- Street food Choose carefully
Pick freshly cooked, piping hot food. Skip raw chutneys, cut fruit and pani puri water.
- Alcohol Avoid completely
No amount of alcohol is known to be safe in pregnancy.
Portions and preparation matter. Ask Nani about anything not listed.
Doctor’s visits
Walk into every visit prepared.
Nani puts your visits, scans and tests on one calendar, reminds you the day before, and suggests the questions worth asking for your week.
Every visit on one calendar
Add your own, or use the usual Indian schedule as a guide.
A reminder the day before
With what to take along and whether to fast.
A summary for your doctor
Your check-ins, symptoms, timed contractions and questions, on one page.
Summary for your doctor
Priya S. · Week 26
For Dr Meera Sharma · visit on Wed 14 Oct
- Check-in summary
- Mostly good. Low or anxious on 2 days this week.
- Symptoms this week
- Back ache at night, heartburn.
- From my reports
- Hb 10.9 g/dL at week 24.
- Contractions timed
- None this week.
- Questions I’d like to ask
- · Do I need to fast before the OGTT?
- · Should my iron dose change?
Getting ready
A packed bag, a clear plan, a calmer heart.
From week 32, Nani helps you prepare: a hospital bag checklist you can tick off, and a birth plan in your own words to share with your doctor.
Hospital bag
Packed by week 36 · 4 of 6 ready
- Your reports file and ID
- 2–3 loose, front-opening kurtas
- Maternity pads and old soft cloths
- Baby’s first clothes, cap and socks
- A soft swaddle and a few nappies
- Phone charger and snacks for the family
My birth plan
Your wishes, to talk through with your doctor
A birth plan is your wish list, not a contract, beta. Things can change on the day, and your doctor will always explain why.
Tradition & evidence
Respect for elders. Honesty about evidence.
Family advice comes from love. Nani keeps what helps, gently lets go of what doesn’t, and always explains why, so you can talk about it at home.
You may hear
“Now you must eat for two.”
You need only about 350 extra calories a day from the second trimester: an extra small meal, like a bowl of dal with a roti. Quality matters more than quantity.
You may hear
“No papaya at all.”
Ripe papaya is safe in moderation. It’s raw or semi-ripe papaya, with its latex, that’s best avoided all through pregnancy.
You may hear
“Extra ghee will ease your labour.”
Ghee in normal home-cooking amounts is fine. Extra ghee doesn’t make labour easier, and adds weight you don’t need.
You may hear
“Saffron milk makes the baby fair.”
A baby’s skin colour comes from the family’s genes. A little kesar in milk is fine if you enjoy it; it won’t change your baby.
Warning signs
Don’t wait for Nani. Get help straight away.
If you notice any of these, call your doctor or hospital now, or call 112. When you mention them to Nani, she puts a help card with one-tap calls first, above her reply.
- Any bleeding from the vagina
- Severe pain in your tummy
- A bad headache, blurred vision, or sudden swelling of face or hands
- Your baby moving less than usual
- A gush or steady trickle of fluid
- Regular tightenings before 37 weeks
General, evidence-informed guidance, always alongside your doctor, never instead of them. In an emergency, call 112.
Start your pregnancy journey with Nani.
Tell Nani your due date and she’ll take it from there: this week’s baby, your next test, and a kind word whenever you need one.
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