Life during Pregnancy

We are entered into the new stage of our life. We should go through the many changes which is different from our normal routine. We have to adjust our life style to give safety to our growing baby. Though your body goes through many changes during pregnancy, in most cases it is safe and even healthy for you to continue with many of your normal activities throughout most of the process. A few of these normal activities are discussed below:

[hana-code-insert name=’rectangle’ /]Many people are concerned about the changing role sex may play in their relationship throughout pregnancy. Rest assured that if you are experiencing a normal pregnancy it is perfectly safe to have sex up to the ninth month. Because of the many changes that are taking place in your body and in your life, it is normal to experience changes in your sexuality during pregnancy.

Sexual desire may increase or decrease for both the pregnant woman and her sexual partner during the different stages of the pregnancy. During the first trimester, feelings of nausea or fatigue may decrease a woman’s sexual desires. Conversely, knowing that you are pregnant can increase the intimacy between you and your partner. Many women experience an increase in sexual interest during the second trimester, when symptoms of pregnancy have lessened. Additionally, many women find sex to be difficult or uncomfortable during the third trimester when the size of the pregnancy can pose a challenge. Trying out different positions or engaging in other forms of intimacy besides sexual intercourse may help you and your partner to remain intimate during this special time.

There are a few circumstances where it is best to limit or avoid sexual intercourse during pregnancy. Women with a history of miscarriage should limit their sexual contact, as should women experiencing infection, abnormal cramps or bleeding, pain upon intercourse, or abnormal vaginal discharge. The women which had the miscarriage or some other problem during their first pregnancy need to talk with their doctor and then decide about the sex relationship.

Exercise and Maintain Energy During Pregnancy

It is healthy and a good idea to maintain an exercise program during your pregnancy, although you may need to alter your normal exercise routine to make this happen. To avoid cesarean, exercise is the good option. Exercise promotes strength which is important for helping your body manage the increased weight and physical stress of pregnancy, and for preparing your body for the physical challenge of labor. Keeping fit during pregnancy can also help minimize the muscle, bone and joint aches caused by weight gain and other body changes. Exercise also helps to reduce the stretch marks which are occurring after the pregnancy period.

Many fitness centers offer classes for pregnant women to reduce impact and to accommodate the later stages of pregnancy. Because each woman’s needs will be different, it is a good idea to discuss your exercise plans with your doctor prior to implementing them.

Weight Gain During Pregnancy

Women often wonder how much weight they should gain during pregnancy. If your are underweight before pregnancy you should gain 28 to 40 lbs during pregnancy. If you are of average weight prior to pregnancy, you should gain 25 to 35 lbs. during pregnancy. If you are overweight prior to pregnancy, you should gain 15 to 25 lbs. during your pregnancy. For an average weight woman, this amount of weight gain can be achieved by adding an additional 300 kilocalories per day. More food that this will cause you to gain more weight than necessary.

Eating a well balanced diet, including sources of vitamins, minerals, and folic acid, is essential during pregnancy. It is important for women to have adequate carbohydrate intake, especially complex carbohydrates (wheat bread, potatoes, and whole fruits).

It is not considered safe to lose weight while pregnant. Efforts to diet may result in the fetus not getting enough of the balanced nutrients it needs to grow properly. Also, weight loss attempts during pregnancy can elevate levels of a chemical called ketone, which is known to be toxic to developing fetuses.

Medical care during pregnancy

Medical care is important for the health of both mother and baby. This medical care can begin before you are actually pregnant. However, it really must begin as soon as you know you are pregnant in order to help insure that you have a healthy pregnancy.

During your first visit, your doctor will gather information about:

• Your disease history
• Personal habits (smoking habit, alcohol consumption and drug use)
• Exercise habits
• The type of work that you do
• Family history (diseases like diabetes, blood pressure, heart diseases), complicated pregnancy in close relatives
• Any previous pregnancies, miscarriages, and abortions you may have had.
• Complications that you may have experienced during previous pregnancies.
• Your doctor may perform an ultrasound test, and or blood tests. A pelvic exam is also sometimes performed.

 Pregnancy Symptoms

Pregnancy symptoms vary from woman to woman and from pregnancy to pregnancy. Most women have at least some symptoms during their pregnancy. Some women feel only one or two, and some are experience every one of the unpleasant pregnancy symptoms.[hana-code-insert name=’rectangle’ /]

Pregnancy symptoms can start as early as the first week after conception.  Some common symptoms are mentioned below :

Missed Period

A common first symptom of pregnancy is a missed period.

Breast Sensitivity

The next pregnancy symptom you may experience is tender, swollen or painful breasts. This is cause by the rising levels in hormones which are necessary for a pregnancy process. A very common early pregnancy symptom is increased nipple and breast sensitivity. Once you become pregnant, your body will begin preparing the breasts and breast glands for pregnancy.

Little Bleeding

Some women may experience a little bleeding during first week to 12 days after conception. This may be caused by implantation of the egg into the lining of the uterus. The bleeding is usually very slight, pinkish in color. Some women have described it as being similar to a light period.

Morning sickness

Morning sickness is probably the most unpleasant symptom of pregnancy. This is caused due to hormonal changes in the body. We can reduce these symptoms by eating the morning healthy breakfast. You should not keep your stomach empty at any time during pregnancy. Because whatever you eat is not only for your body, your baby consumes the required proteins, vitamins, mineral, iron from this food. Hence your food is also healthy which will provide the required nutrition to your baby’s growing body.

Nausea and vomiting

Nausea and vomiting can also feel during pregnancy. This symptom usually shows up between the 6th and 8th week of pregnancy. It is caused by a surge in hormones in the first trimester. If we feel nausea or vomiting try to eat something, which will decrease the sensation of vomiting. Some women do not experience this nausea associated with pregnancy

Frequent urination

It is a common pregnancy symptom. This symptom occurs especially in the late third trimester, you may feel this effect throughout the day and night. Frequent urination is simply caused by the expansion of the uterus during pregnancy. You should drink the maximum amount of water during the pregnancy.

Constipation and heartburn

These are also unfortunate symptoms of pregnancy. This can occur at any time from the beginning of pregnancy, to the end. It is also caused by the increase in hormones. The best way to avoid constipation is to drink plenty of water and eat plenty of fiber. Always talk to your doctor before starting any type of fiber supplement.

Weight gain

Weight gain is a necessity while you are pregnant. Weight gain will begin the late first trimester with only a few pounds. The majority of your weight gain will occur in the second and third trimesters. You should increase 10-15 kg during your whole pregnancy period. It occurs because increasing size of baby.

Backaches

Backaches are common for some women. As the pelvic area begins to stretch, probably in the second trimester, your back may begin to ache or feel unadjusted. Some doctors recommend massage, but always talk to your doctor before starting any of this type of alternative care. Do not take any pain relief tablet; it will harm your baby. Take advice from your doctor about the pain relief and then take the medicine according to the doctor’s suggestion.

Pregnancy Due Date

(when are you expected to give birth?):

[hana-code-insert name=’rectangle’ /]Doctors have several methods for calculating your due date. Many web sites will give your due date, based on the date of your last menstrual period. They used the due date calculator to calculate the date.

 The Due date is calculated by counting back three months from the first day of your last period, and then adding seven days.

It is not necessary that, you will give birth to child only on the date provided by your doctor.

The date will change according to your fetal growth and also on the other internal condition. It may happen in any month, but you have to take more precaution to avoid premature pregnancy. Because in this case baby cannot have the normal weight, it is always less than the 9 month pregnancy weight. It will harm the baby’s health.

To avoid this problem we have to take proper diet and precautions.

Identifying Pregnancy

[hana-code-insert name=’rectangle’ /]If we miss our regular menstrual cycle, then we consider that we are pregnant. You can also buy a home pregnancy test kit which is provided by all medical stores. This test is normally the test of our urine. You have to put two-three drops of your morning first urine and you will see the result. Instructions are also written on the cover page. Anyone can do the test by following the steps which is written on the cover page.

Home pregnancy tests measure the amount of a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) in the urine. HCG levels are low in women who are not pregnant, and begin to increase within the first few weeks of conception.

Physical symptoms of pregnancy

We can see the other symptoms like breast fullness, breast tenderness, nausea, frequent headaches, and fatigue. After the test you should go to the doctor and ask about further test, medicines and precautions.

Preparing your Body for Pregnancy

Your lifestyle can affect the health of your growing baby. Everything you eat, smoke, drink or otherwise ingest while pregnant affects not only your body but also the developing body of your baby. [hana-code-insert name=’rectangle’ /]Because your developing baby will entirely depend on your body for nourishment and protection, it is necessary to alter your lifestyle prior to conception so that you eliminate any bad habits or risk factors that might compromise your health.

Change your lifestyle to suite the comming baby

Do not assume that because you feel fine eating, drinking or smoking something that this is also healthy for your baby. Your baby’s developing body is far more fragile than yours. Your baby’s dividing and growing cells contain fragile genetic material that can be poisoned by various substances. Should such poisoning occur, your baby may develop abnormally and be born with birth defects, mental retardation, poor growth or other substantial undesirable complications.

Pregnant women should avoid certain foods and substances because of the way those foods and substances can negatively affect developing babies.

Avoid Smoke, alcohol or harmful drugs

Many parts of your daily routine (E.g. Smoke, alcohol, or certain drugs) can be quite harmful to your developing baby. They have a much more powerful and negative effect on a developing fetus. You should also meet with your doctor to review all the prescription medications you are currently taking to determine whether they are safe for you to continue to use during pregnancy.

Take Vitamins , Minerals and iron

Your baby requires vitamins and minerals in order to develop properly. You may want to consider taking prenatal vitamins even before you become pregnant so as to prepare your body for the demands of pregnancy and inclusion of folic acid in these supplements. Folic acid prevents a very serious developmental complication called a neural tube defect from occurring. Pregnant women and those women hoping to become pregnant soon should take between 800 and 1,000 micrograms of folic acid each day.

Keep in mind that prenatal vitamins are intended to supplement a healthy diet, it will not provide all of the vitamins and minerals you need to ensure a healthy pregnancy. You will still need to eat a healthy and nutritious diet to support your health and your baby’s health.

Be aware of the fact that some women experience nausea while using prenatal vitamins. This nausea can contribute to the symptoms of morning sickness and make you feel very uncomfortable. You may need to eat food before taking your vitamins to avoid the nausea.

Pregnancy how all starts

The birth of a child is one of the most rewarding and memorable experiences a woman can have. It is a great feeling to have a life growing inside your body.

This section is to provide depth information about the pregnancy period from first to ninth month. We should know all the symptoms and the precautions, so that we can start preparing ourselves for safety pregnancy.[hana-code-insert name=’rectangle’ /]

Learning about fertility and conception is the first step in increasing your knowledge of getting safety and healthy pregnancy. From the first sign of pregnancy to the last contraction, your pregnant body is changing and growing a baby. As your body grows month by month in your pregnancy you will experience physical changes. 

Start of pregnancy

A pregnancy occurs when reproductive cells from a man and a woman’s body become combined inside a woman’s uterus. The sperm are able to move around within the vagina, and make their way through the cervix and into the uterus. The sperm compete to penetrate the outer membrane or covering of the egg which seals off permanently once a single sperm makes its way inside.

 The new sperm and egg combination next exchange genetic material to form a new human being, producing a fertilized egg that will later attach itself to the wall of the uterus and start growing into a new human being if all goes well. The combination of sperm and egg occurs only during the fertility period.

 The fertile days are those when there is a possibility of conceiving a baby. Identifying this fertility period according to the date of your menstrual cycle, and planning accordingly, can help maximize your chances of becoming pregnant.

Ovulation Period

Ovulation is the process of an ovary releasing an egg. A woman is most likely to become pregnant during ovulation period, which is the time when her egg is released from one of her two ovaries. Normally women have 28 or 30 days menstrual cycle. The women having 28 days menstrual cycle will be most fertile between 13 and 15 days after the start of their last period. The women having a 30 day menstrual cycle would subtract 14 days from 30 days to arrive at 16^th  day, meaning that they are most fertile about 16 days after the start of their last period. Not all the women have 28 or 30 days menstrual cycle, these women can calculate their ovulation period by subtracting 14 days from the length of their menstrual cycle.

Effect of Birth Control Pills

Birth control pills effect on the women body, health and on the menstrual cycle also. It is effecting on the hormones level which is created in the women body and essential for the pregnancy process. Birth control pills decrease your fertility levels. Hence if you were using birth control pills prior to trying to become pregnant, it may take you several months before your fertility levels return to normal. Because of this fact doctors typically recommend that women stop using birth control pills two to three months prior to when they hope to become pregnant. So that your fertility level become normal and you will enjoy your pregnancy during your expected time.