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Pregnancy itself is a powerful influence on the health of the mother, baby, and future family. For the child, the health of the child depends on the mother throughout the whole pregnancy. There isn't just a certain moment in the pregnancy when the mother should be concerned about her habits but the mother should be concerned about her babys health from the day of conception. Most mothers don't expect that they are pregnant until it's to late. Healthy nutrition is a key factor in pregnancy.
Pregnancy is one of the most nutritionally demanding periods of a woman’s life. Gestation involves rapid cell division and organ development. An adequate supply of nutrients is essential to support this tremendous fetal growth. The topic of this page is to introduce issues involving pregnancy such as: pregnancy symptoms, morning sickness/medications, stages of pregnancy, risk factors, and what to expect. These are important topics because many women are at risk of miscarriage or child defects if they do not know about pregnancy and what is right and wrong. |
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Think Your Pregnant? Signs and Symptoms Of Pregnancy: |
Here are some of the symptoms you may expereince during your pregnancy and how best to deal with them (Not everyone will have all of these symptoms, and you can have some of the symptoms if you're not pregnant).................
Firstly, No period or amenorrhea.
Nausea and vomiting.
Enlargement and soreness of the breasts.
Increased urination.
Fatigue.
Ptyalism (Excessive salivation).
Stretch marks.
Quickening (fetal movement).
Chadwick's Sign (bluish tinge to the vagina and cervix).
Colostrum from breasts.
Enlarged abdomen; this can also be a sign of uterine fibroids or a tumor.
Change in uterine shape.
Softening of the cervix (Goodell's Sign).
Enlarging uterus.
Braxton Hicks contractions.
Palpation of the baby.
Ballottement.
Palpation of the uterine artery.
Positive signs:
Postive pregnancy test.
Fetal heart tones (this doesn't occur until 10-20 weeks of pregnancy).
Sonography detection .
X-ray detection. |
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Morning sickness/Medications |
WHAT CAUSES MORNING SICKNESS? It is currently believed that morning sickness is related to a pregnancy hormone, human chronic gonadotropin. Your lifestyle may also have a direct effect on morning sickness. HOW TO EASE MORNING SICKNESS: Get out of bed slowly- Eat small meals as this will help keep your blood-sugar level steady and will keep your stomach filled. - Listening to specially formatted tapes can successfully ease the symptoms. - Preggie Pops are a delicious snack and alleviate both nausea and dry mouth. - Snack on easy-to-digest foods such as whole wheat toast, baked potatoes, pasta and fruit. - Try eating cold foods - Avoid greasy foods - Avoid spicy foods as much as possible - Keep the kitchen well ventilated to air out those lingering cooking odors. - Drink water to avoid dehydration. - Exercise to help you sleep at night and relieve stress. MEDICATIONS: The prenatal vitamin prescription is important for maintaining your health and the health of your child during pregnancy. It is important to take little as medicine as possible but there are some medicines you can take otherwise consult a doctor. MINOR ACHES/PAINS= Tylenol (2 tablets every 4 hours as needed). Do not take aspirin or Ibuprofen. MORNING SICKNESS: Vitamin B6 50 mg (2 tablets daily). Eat small meals and keep crackers by your bed.
INDIGESTION: Tums, Mylanta, Maalox, and Gaviscon. COUGH: Plain Robitusson, Cough drops of choice. CONSTIPATION: Metamucil or Fibercon. RUNNY NOSE&COLD: Saline nasal spray, Benadryl, Sudafed or Sinutab.
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Pregnancy is set-up into 3 Trimesters:
The first trimester (from 0-12 Weeks) will see your body undergoing many changes as it adjsuts to your growing baby.
Here are some of the symptoms you may expereince during your pregnancy and how best to deal with them:
BREAST CHANGES: The mammary glands cause the breasts to swell and become tender in preparation for breastfeeding.
TIREDNESS: A woman may experience fatigue due to the physical and emotional demands of pregnancy. MOOD CHANGES: Partly due to surges in hormones, a pregnant woman may experience mood swings similar to premenstrual syndrome. NAUSEA: Increased levels of hormones to sustain the pregnancy may cause "morning sickness," which is feelings of nausea and sometimes vomiting. In addition to the increased levels of HCG and estrogen. FREQUENT URINATION: The uterus is growing and begins to press on the woman's bladder, causing the need for her to urinate more frequently. DIZZINESS: Feeling lightheaded, and even fainting can occur at any stage of pregnancy, since there now is extra blood going down towards your uterus and legs. INCREASED CRAVINGS: Due to your body’s increase need for more nutrients and energy to sustain your growing baby, you may find that your appetite may be increased during this trimester.
The second trimester (13-28 Weeks) is the most physically enjoyable for most women. While some symptoms such as a morning sickness and nausea can abate, new ones can begin. What follows is a list of changes that you may see in your body during this trimester. FETAL MOVEMENT: The mother may be able to feel the movement of the fetus for the first time. INCREASED BELLY SIZE (STRECH MARKS): The uterus has grown to the height of the belly button, making the pregnancy visible. BACK PAIN: As your uterus and abdomen expands, you might feel pains in your abdomen, groin area, or thighs.
The Third Trimester (29-Birth) As your fetus continues to grow, you should prepare for the delivery of the baby. You may feel a little uncomfortable as you continue to gain weight and your false labor contractions continue. INCREASED TEMPERATURE: As your fetus continues to grow, he/she will radiate heat, causing you to feel hotter. URINATING: As your fetus grows, there is increased pressure being placed on the bladder, causing an increase in urinary frequency. SWELLING:
As you near the end of your pregnancy, you might notice more swelling than you had before, especially in your ankles, fingers and face. HAIR: Increased circulation and metabolism caused by pregnancy hormones nourish your skin very well. You may notice that hair is beginning to grow at a faster rate and on your arms, legs, and face due to increase hormone stimulation of hair follicles. BRAXTON HICKS CONTRACTIONS (False Labor) These may begin to occur at irregular intervals in preparation for childbirth. These uterine contractions at begin sometime after the 20th week of pregnancy and usually feel as painless tightening of your uterus that last about fifteen or thirty seconds. |
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CAFFEINE is perhaps one of the hardest things to give up, but it is important to the health of your baby to cut back on your daily intake when you’re pregnant. Pregnancy and ALCOHOL will help you understand better why you need to cut out that glass of wine with your meal. Whatever you eat or drink while pregnant goes directly through your bloodstream into the placenta. If you're having a drink, your baby is too. Heavy drinking throughout pregnancy can result in what is known as fetal alcohol syndrome. A baby born with FAS can have serious handicaps and therefore could require a lifetime of special care. Infants are born undersized, usually mentally deficient, with multiple deformities of the head, face, limbs, heart and nervous system.
SMOKING During Pregnancy and MARIJUANA and Pregnancy will provide you with invaluable information about why these two common activities can seriously harm your baby. Woman who smoke during their pregnancy have babies who gets less food and oxygen than her non-smoking pregnant counterparts. This can also lead to preterm labor or premature rupture of the membranes, because the body feels that the baby can no longer be fed properly. They are more likely to have a miscarriage. Smoking has been linked to 115,000 miscarriages a year. MARIJUANA: Marijuana use can reduce fertility in both men and women, making it difficult to conceive. Marijuana has also been shown to adversely affect placental function and the fetal endocrine system, potentially interfering with the successful completion of pregnancy. ARE YOU PREGNANT AND OVER 35?
Although the pregnancy rate among women over thirty-five has nearly doubled, the risks associated with pregnancy increase gradually as age advances. Women over 35 have a slightly increased risk of complications such as: miscarriage, down syndrom, cesarean birth, high blood pressure, and a low birthweight baby.
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You can expect the first prenatal visit to be the most comprehensive of all the prenatal visits. Medical history will be taken, and certain tests an procedures will be performed only at this exam. Your doctor will ask the date of your last menstrual period to calrify your baby's due date. There will be a complete physical examination along with a few tests. Blood tests will be given to clarify anemia. Urinine sample to screen for sugar, protein, white blood cells, blood, and bacteria. There are other tests to check for chlamydia, syphilis, gonorrhea, hepatis, and even AIDS. A Pap smear for the detection of cervical cancer. You can expect your baby to be tiny like a tad-pole by the end of the first month, and the following few weeks after that the neural tube (which becomes the brain and spinal cord), heart, digestive tract, sensory organs, an arm and leg buds will begin to form. You may experience physial and emotional symptoms. Expect that you will need to baby yourself too and especially expect to have a larger responsibilty during pregnancy and after. |
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" A person's a person, no matter how small!" -From "Horton Hears a Who," by Dr. Seauss, late famous children's author |
Children are our most valuable natural resource. -H. Hoover |
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