pregnancy fatigue: how does it feel and how to cope!
chapters:
what is pregnancy fatigue?
reasons for pregnancy fatigue in late pregnancy
my job
how it feels for me
how I am coping
I didn’t know there was a term for it, but ALL the sudden or very-increased level of exhaustion you are feeling during pregnancy, is most likely something called “pregnancy fatigue”.
I will be SPECIFICALLY talking about pregnancy fatigue during the third trimester, which is exactly when it is hitting me the hardest…
In fact, I have chosen a day where I am feeling particularly tired from pregnancy, to write this blog post ahaha, which also means I HAVE A LOT TO SAY on it!
I am currently 30 weeks pregnant, and have recently wrote about HOW entering the third trimester has had a weighted toll on me, mentally and emotionally:
what it feels like entering the third trimester of pregnancy: 🥺first-time at age 25!
Here we go into all of the PHYSICAL toll it’s having on me; how it feels, what to do and how to cope.
what is pregnancy fatigue?
Pretty simply-put, pregnancy fatigue is pregnancy exhaustion.
It goes beyond just being tired, and you don’t necessarily have to have done something physically demanding or something that would typically make you tired, to feel this level of exhaustion.
Many women report experiencing this level of exhaustion in pregnancy, during first trimester and third trimester.
The second trimester seems to be commonly seen as the beautiful phase, where you get your energy back and are not likely to go through as much of a drastic set of pregnancy symptoms.
I, personally, didn’t get fatigued in first trimester, but oh boy, is it hitting me hard in the third trimester…
reasons for pregnancy fatigue in late pregnancy
I have questioned whether this is AS A RESULT of my physical activity, or my daily habits, that have built-up to this level of exhaustion (which I will get into in the next chapter).
However, in my research online, I found that it is actually VERY NORMAL and very COMMON to experience pregnancy fatigue in third trimester, and might even serve a purpose in communicating certain things to us.
The one that most stood-out to me, was that:
it’s a sign for you to slow down due to carrying more weight from the baby getting bigger
Mostly, the part of “sign for you to slow down”.
Makes perfect sense, right? But, I wouldn’t think it would be something that would come out of nowhere!
OTHER REASONS I found for WHY we experience pregnancy fatigue in third trimester:
more bathroom trips disrupting our sleep OR harder to get comfortable, good-quality sleep (I can say I haven’t had this one! yet at-least): comes from baby placing more pressure on our bladder
LOW IRON. This one, is a very common one amongst pregnant women, and one that will show if you have in your routine blood test in your maternity appointment.
extra weight making it harder and more tiring to do basic simple tasks, like a picking something from the floor, or a slightly-more brisk walk
our body is working harder to prepare for labour, which requires more energy
shortness of breath due to your lungs not being able to expand totally, due to baby’s size and positioning, makes activities more tiring and therefore, you: more EXHAUSTED
As you can see, it is VERY TYPICAL and natural of this phase in your pregnancy, for you to feel completely wiped out!
Your body is doing everything possible to have you be prepared to deliver a whole baby, whilst growing a baby that is already quite big at this point, whilst also supplying you with ENERGY for your daily activities, no matter how basic or miniscule.
It takes a lot!
Take time to be self-compassionate with yourself, and know that this will not last forever, and take all the time you need (where possible) to get as much rest and look after your body.
I also found this article called: “Welcome to Pregnancy Fatigue: The Most Tired You Have Ever Felt” from Healthline, and honestly, I can say that my experience portrays EXACTLY what that title is saying. I have never felt this tired before in my ENTIRE LIFE.
I’m hoping postpartum will not be as unbearable-like, in terms of tiredness, but that’s something to manage once we get there. Am I right, ladies?
my job
Might sound random that I added in a chapter about my job, but I wanted to include this one in, since I SEE A LOT on social media about working out during pregnancy, staying active whilst pregnant, and moving your body in pregnancy.
I think we can all agree…
If you are still working a 9-to-5 like me, full-time (which is usually about 40 hours a week in the UK), and also working to grow your Blog to monetisation in 2025, whilst also managing home choirs, and trying to also have some time to yourself, loved ones, some girlhood fun, and general rest…then working out isn’t really on your mind; just like me!
It becomes more about prioritising our time with what we want to channel our (limited) energy into!
Now, I mention this, because if you already have a physically demanding job whilst pregnant, then to be honest, that is probably physically active enough and props to you girlie!!!
However, I would say most of us girlies probably have a very non-active job, which takes up most of our days and weeks.
Personally speaking, I have an admin, front-of-house job role, where I’m:
sat down most of the time
do not really move from my desk
sit in the same position most of the day
Leaving me feeling quite achy, and even more tired than (maybe) if I was to be more active in my day-job.
I’m mentioning this MOSTLY BECAUSE most tips to overcome pregnancy exhaustion will tell you to exercise, and with a job like mine, the typical advice would be that you most likely should prioritise some movement to get your body more agile for labour…
BUT
AND A VERY BIG BUT.
We are human.
We are just girls.
We are pregnant for the first time ever.
And we have to be self-compassionate where possible.
So, in ALL HONESTY, I am not prioritising physical movement that much, until I start my maternity leave where I can afford to go for a long walk (hopefully) and then follow-up with a nap.
But right now?!
…Working 9-to-5, getting home for 6pm or later, to then make dinner, have dinner, shower, prep for the next day, and STILL find some energy or willpower to move my body, even if just for 20-minutes?…
That just isn’t for me.
I acknowledge the healing and strengthening power of physical activity, specially during pregnancy, but I ALSO acknowledge AND PRIORITISE looking at my personal circumstances, daily needs and leaning into that to try protect my time dedicated to resting and sleeping as much as I can (with all the rest going on).
I hope me sharing my personal circumstances, and what my daily life looks like with job and all, helps you feel less “bad” (shouldn’t feel bad at all though) about potentially thinking or doing the same as me!
Instead, we can do some stretches if we prefer and have time. It’s:
a lot lower impact
actually calming
and can still help our body prepare for labour
whilst showing up with the capacity we have (very low)
I, currently, just do a 5-minute daily body stretch which helps me feel less achy, but would like to start doing some stretches targeting my lower body more; to help my pelvic floor stretch mostly.
how it feels for me
Okay so, we have a very well-rounded view of what pregnancy fatigue is, why we have it during third trimester in pregnancy, and how factors in our life may play a role in how we try to manage this fatigue (KEY BEING: to look after yourself in the way you feel you can vs what others tell you).
Now, I wanted to share what pregnancy fatigue personally feels like to me, which can hopefully help you see if this may be something you are experiencing too!
Of course, if ever in-doubt, check with your midwife or doctor, but to me the things that have made me VERY CLEAR that I have pregnancy fatigue is:
feeling like I could go back to bed on the weekend, and sleeping-in, even though I have always been a morning person, up-and-early, and never felt the urge to go back to bed (unless a rare exception).
feeling tired even after having a coffee
sudden tiredness when sat down, midway through my shift, and I have done absolutely nothing to cause this exhaustion except breathing
feeling like I could nap, after a very basic task, such as simply making a bigger breakfast
If you noticed, each thing I listed above was something that was outside of the norm to what I would usually do OR how I would usually be in those situations.
This helped me very obviously PINPOINT that my tiredness was definitely related to the phase of my pregnancy, outside of the standard ways we hear about of “what does pregnancy fatigue feel like?” which are usually quite generic, like:
constant, profound exhaustion
or, feeling tired after simple activities
Of course each person is different, and it helps to see what changes you notice in yourself, to see whether or not what you are feeling is pregnancy fatigue, but I would say, it becomes quite noticeable through daily experiences that how you are feeling is ALL down to pregnancy exhaustion, once you actually go through it.
how I am coping
Knowing how to cope can come from knowing why it is happening, and tuning into our own needs; by noticing patterns in our daily activities that can help us create solutions around these!
Thankfully, we have already covered WHY we get pregnancy fatigue, and HOW it feels based on noticing changes in the way we are in our daily lives, which can help us try to figure out, now, how to cope.
I DO HAVE TO SAY, my pregnancy fatigue is down to pregnancy BUT ALSO down to an iron deficiency, detected in my last blood test, and mentioned as a common cause of fatigue in pregnancy, in the earlier chapter here.
Most women do have iron deficiency in pregnancy due to our bodies needing more oxygen production, which requires even MORE IRON THAN WE USUALLY NEED to supply this creation in red blood cells. (Understanding why always helps me, so that’s why I inserted this mini-snippet).
Therefore, in trying to learn how to overcome pregnancy exhaustion, ONE OF THE THINGS I personally am doing, because of my iron deficiency, is:
taking an iron supplement everyday
focusing on increasing iron-high foods daily (red meats, oily fish, nuts, berries, leafy greens)
having a source of vitamin C with each meal; for me it’s a tangerine! (pairing vitamin C with a meal helps our bodies absorb iron better - something new I learnt because of this!)
I will say, in terms of increasing iron-high foods, I am still eating kind-of the same, since I do have red meats quite often, and vitamin C-rich fruits everyday, but I might start incorporating more leafy greens the further into third trimester I go!
A PRO TIP that I am also trying that comes down from my family is:
to have a bowl of cow’s milk, lukewarm, and mix-in about 5 rich-tea biscuits, and eat it as a meal, to increase your iron
I am currently doing this every other day, and hoping it will have a positive impact on my iron by my next blood test appointment (in a month)!
APART FROM THAT, now that the weather is getting slightly warmer and less grim, in the UK (I’m writing this post in March but you will see it in August - the art of batching content to keep my blog going during the newborn phase! :PRO TIP for pregnant blogger girlies) I am trying to:
go on slow and 30-40 minute walks on lunch breaks, not everyday but when I feel fit to
sleeping-in more on the weekends to get as much sleep as I can
reducing my caffeine intake on weekdays; replacing it with a matcha (a less aggressive-caffeine alternative), since coffees can actually reduce our energy levels and make us more fatigued
giving myself more time in the morning to leave for my day-job, to avoid rushing and stressing, which will make me even more tired
trying not to forget taking my vitamin supplements everyday
making sure I have 3-or-more different fruits daily, and 3-or-more different vegetables each day, everyday (better-done on weekdays, and I still have sweet treats and not-so-healthy meals for dinner sometimes, but at-least I am getting those nutrients in still, and diversity)
As you can see, how I am coping with pregnancy fatigue is nothing drastic but are simple, yet intentional ways that work for me.
Once I start my maternity leave, then I would lean-into resting more with daily daytime naps, taking more time to prepare more nutrient-dense meals, but for now, I am still working my day-job and this is the MOST I feel suits my current capacity.
♡
So, there we have it QUEENS, I hope this helps you feel more reassured with how tired you are feeling during late pregnancy, like me.
It is just pregnancy fatigue, and is very normal and common!
I hope me sharing my personal way to cope with pregnancy exhaustion has normalised the way most girlies cope, which is not the pregnancy fitness narrative that we usually see online. With a 9-to-5, blog business and all-else in life, there is only so much spare time left, so don’t feel bad for your choices.
Just make sure you are acting out of your best interest, and coping in the way that best works for you!
Show yourself compassion, because for most of us, this is the MOST TIRED we have every felt in our whole lives!
And always remember, as with each of our pieces of content, we want to help you always…
Own your Time. Own your Womanhood.
♡
I’ll be logging updates throughout this whole journey as a mother-to-be, working to be an entrepreneur, but to also still preserve the girlhood within, to try and be her best self, and live her happiest life, so keep-up with me through the blog!
I release a new blog post every Friday at 1pm! (UK-time)
Let me know if you’re in a similar headspace (pregnant or not), being in our 20s is confusing, and taking control of our story is the only way we can take ownership of our happiness and live out our dream life.
I document my unwanted pregnancy journey at 25, taking control of my narrative, figuring out being a girl in my 20s, chasing my dream life, and conquering my boss babe dream of becoming a self-employed, entrepreneur / Blogger!
