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Day 74 of 280 · 10 weeks + 4 days

Standing up slowly

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 7 sources · Plain-text version

Ten weeks and four days. Dizziness is on this week's list, and standing up too fast is the usual trigger. One habit, every morning this week: count to ten on the edge of the bed.

Size this week
about the size of a small apricot
Length this week
around 30 mm from head to bottom
A woman in pyjamas sitting on the edge of an unmade bed in early morning light, feet on the floor, one hand on the mattress, a glass of water on the bedside table.

Ten weeks and four days. If the room has swum once or twice when you stood up, this is the note for it. The fix is slow and a little boring, which is why it works.

Your baby

A single small apricot on a plain pale wooden table, soft window light.

Around 30mm from head to bottom, about the size of a small apricot, making small jerky movements that can be seen on a scan (NHS). You won't feel them: movements usually aren't felt for several weeks yet (NHS).

Your body

Dizziness and headaches are both on the NHS's list of common signs this week (NHS). The mechanism, from the NHS's week 18 page: your blood pressure is probably lower in pregnancy, so standing up quickly can make you dizzy (NHS). On top of that, higher blood volume can cause heat, sweating and dizziness, and the NHS says rest is important (NHS). Some women get dizziness and headaches along with the morning sickness itself (MedlinePlus).

None of this needs treating. It needs ten seconds.

Try today

  1. The slow stand

    Time: 10 seconds, every morning this week

    1. When you wake, sit up and put your feet on the floor. Stay on the edge of the bed and count to ten before you stand. Standing quickly is the trigger the NHS names (NHS).

    2. Do the same from a chair or the sofa after a long sit, and in the bath.

    3. If the room swims anyway, sit straight back down and wait for it to clear. Then stand again, slower.

    4. Put a tally on the bedside table: one mark per morning you remembered. Seven marks and it's a habit.

    Make it work:

    If you feel faint, get low before you fall: sit on the floor or lie down where you are. The floor is a better place to be dizzy than halfway to the bathroom.

Watch for

  • Normal

    a brief head-swim on standing, from lower blood pressure (NHS).

    Go to the ER

    if you can't reach your provider for dizziness with bleeding; MedlinePlus says to go to a provider right away (MedlinePlus).

  • Normal

    headaches (NHS); ask your provider whether a medicine is safe before taking one (MedlinePlus).

    Call your provider

    for a headache that won't go away or gets worse over time (CDC).

  • Normal

    feeling hot and sweaty on a warm day with the extra blood volume (NHS).

    Call your provider today

    if you actually faint; "dizziness or fainting" is on CDC's urgent list, which says to seek medical care immediately (CDC).

  • Normal

    a list of warning signs you've read a dozen times now.

    Call your provider

    if you feel like something just isn't right, even if it isn't on the list; CDC's advice is to contact them anyway (CDC).

For you

The heat, the sweating and the dizziness are the same thing: more blood in you than there was two months ago, and the NHS's response to all three is that rest is important (NHS). Rest is not what you do after everything else; this week it is one of the things.

If you're the partner: if she goes quiet and sits down mid-sentence, that's the slow stand working. Bring water, don't fuss, and give it a minute.

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

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