Your heart is working extra hard for you and for your little baby. During the third trimester, your heart now pumps 45% more blood than it did before pregnancy. With this big increase in blood volume, your heart has to work faster and harder to deliver nutrients to a growing baby.

Therefore, expect occasional palpitations and the sudden feeling that your “heart is racing”. Your heart rate may also increase by 10 beats per minutes, pumping about 30% more blood with each beat.

Feeling slightly worried? For as long you are not having chest pains or breathing difficulties, this is again a normal occurrence in pregnancy which subsides shortly after you give birth. This change will also prepare your body for labor as your heart will work extra hard with each contraction.

If the palpitations make you a bit uncomfortable, try to rest and lie down for a while, and don’t change positions quickly. Practice deep breathing exercises as you will need it during labor and delivery.