You're now hitting your stride as the wooziness and uncertainties of the first three months fade away, and the discomforts of late pregnancy still lie relatively far ahead.

Varicella infection (chickenpox) can cause serious complications in pregnancy. If you have never had chickenpox and are exposed to the virus, contact your health care provider immediately. If your blood tests negative for varicella antibodies, immediate treatment (that is, within seventy-two hours) with varicella-zoster immune globulin (VZIG) can prevent or lessen the severity of chickenpox.

Feeling better and having more energy, you might be ready to conquer the world (or at least the nursery). Yet coworkers, friends, and family now starting to recognize you as “a pregnant woman” may be handling you with kid gloves.

The pampering is nice, within limits. Accept the small favors that ease the discomforts of pregnancy — such as a closer parking space or the cushy chair in the conference room. But don't hesitate to be firm with those who pressure you to cut back on tasks you're perfectly capable of handling or who treat you like a porcelain doll.

Reality Strikes

For many women, the starter's pistol on motherhood goes off right when they feel baby's first pokes and prods. The palpable presence of your unborn child can trigger a series of mothering emotions — protectiveness, nurturing, nesting, and total impatience with anyone who poses a threat to the well-being of you and your child.

This maternal defense system might seem a bit extreme to the husband who is banished from the bedroom when he has a head cold, or the visiting friend who is asked to take his cigarette outside in subzero weather, but you aren't being paranoid or unreasonable. No one would think twice about keeping a newborn away from sneezing and smoking; a developing fetus is just as vulnerable, if not more so.