The browser you are using is too old for our website. Please visit www.aptaclub.ie from Chrome and you will be able to browse normally.

Pregnancy

      13 weeks pregnant

      Cereal With Milk

      13 weeks pregnant

      The fibre of being

      By the time you're 13 weeks pregnant, your baby is growing rapidly and is quite active, although their movement is still undetectable to you. Their reproductive organs are developed now and their liver and pancreas are beginning to function. Maintaining your healthy, balanced diet is essential, and this includes fibre to support healthy bowel function.

      Pregnancy Week 13

      Your baby's development at 13 weeks

      Alive and kicking in week 13

      Your 13th week of pregnancy marks the start of your second trimester. By now, your baby weighs roughly 25g (almost an ounce). They are already very active and will be stretching, kicking and turning – however, you won’t feel any of this movement just yet.

      Inside your baby’s body, their ovaries or testes have fully formed, and outside genitals will also be growing, although it’s still a little early to determine their sex. Also at this stage, your baby’s liver will begin to produce bile and their pancreas will produce insulin. Other developments include your baby’s vocal cords, as well as their eyes and ears, which will be moving to the normal place on their head.

      Another important change is that your baby’s head will start to grow at a slower rate than the rest of their body. By week 21 it will be around 1/3 the size of their body, but at birth it will be 1/4 of the size.

      Focus on fibre

      balanced, nutrient-rich diet is important for you and your baby throughout pregnancy. Fibre is an essential element of this that will help support your digestion. However, most people in Ireland don’t get enough (the average amount is 19g per day but the optimum is 25g).

      When you’re pregnant, getting adequate fibre is more important than ever, as hormonal changes in your body may cause you to become constipated. Fibre can help maintain healthy bowel function.

      There are two types of fibre. Insoluble fibre passes though the gut without being broken down and helps to move other food along with it. The other type of fibre is soluble fibre. Some soluble fibres can be fermented in the gut and provide a source of food for healthy gut bacteria.

      Increasing your fibre intake

      Fibre is only found in foods derived from plants. Soluble and insoluble fibres are often found together in foods so eating a variety of good fibre sources should provide a beneficial mix of both types of fibre.

      Good food sources of soluble fibre include:

      • Wholegrains such as barley, oats and rye
      • Beans and pulses
      • Fruit
      • Vegetables
      • Seeds

      Some of the foods that provide insoluble fibre are:

      • Wheat bran
      • Wholegrain cereals and breads
      • Brown rice
      • Fruit and vegetables
      • Seeds and nuts

      NEXT STEPS

      Try the following food swaps to increase your intake of fibre:

      • Swap mashed potato for fibre-rich jacket potato
      • Instead of orange juice, have a whole orange
      • Swap vegetable soup for vegetable and bean soup
      • Instead of chicken curry and rice, have chicken and lentil curry with brown rice
      personal-pregnancy-journey-icon-circle.png

      Your baby, this week

      Discover the science behind your baby's developments, week-by-week

      Join now for free

      Related articles

      Questions about feeding and nutrition?

      Our nutritionists and feeding advisors are always on hand to talk about feeding your baby. So if you have a question, just get in touch.

      Your baby, this week

      Discover the science behind your baby's developments, week-by-week

      Join now for free

      Your privacy is important to us and therefore we would like to explain how we use cookies on this website. With your consent, we will use cookies to measure and analyse how our website is used (analytical cookies), to tailor it to your interests (personalisation cookies), and to show you relevant advertising and information (targeting cookies) we think you will like. For more information please read the cookie statement.

      Privacy Settings

      You can choose your preferences anytime for cookies and tracking. For more information please read our cookie policy.

      • Strictly necessary

        They are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services (setting your privacy preferences, logging in, filling in forms, etc.). You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.

      • Analytical cookies

        They allow us to count visits and traffic sources, to measure and improve the performance of our site. They show us which pages are the most and least popular and how visitors move around the site. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.

      • Personalisation cookies

        They enable website’s enhanced functionality and personalization. They may be set by us or by third parties whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies, some or all of these services may not function properly.

      • Targeting cookies

        They may be set through our site by our advertising partners, to build a profile of your interests and to show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.