Is My Pregnancy Going Well?

Is The Baby Developing Normally?
The entire process of pregnancy-from conception to birth-takes about nine months, or 40 weeks. The pregnancy is divided into three-month periods known as trimesters.

The First Trimester (Weeks 1 to 13)
The first three months of fetal development are, perhaps, the most important. During the first 60 days, most of the baby's organs form. It is at this stage that the unborn child is most sensitive to environmental chemicals, drugs and viruses that can cause birth defects.
The average fetus is about 3 inches long and weighs about 1 ounce by the end of the first trimester. It is normal for the fetus' head to be disproportionately larger than the rest of its body. Some other important developments during the first trimester include:
--By week 7, it is usually possible to see the developing baby within the womb and detect its heartbeat by ultrasound examinations.
--By week 8, the baby's face and features begin forming.
--The first bone cells form.
--Fingers and toes are growing, along with the beginnings of nails.
--The liver begins making bile (a liquid that helps break down fats in food so they can be absorbed), and the kidneys begin secreting urine into the bladder.
--The circulatory and respiratory systems begin functioning.
--The fetus also begins to move during the first trimester, although the mother won't feel movement until around the fourth month.

The Second Trimester (Weeks 14 to 26)
During this time, the fetus begins to grow and its organs mature. The increasing size of the uterus becomes obvious in the second trimester of pregnancy, as the woman's belly begins to swell. Many women need to start wearing looser or maternity clothes at this time.
In the womb, a protective layer of amniotic fluid begins to surround the growing baby. Other developments in the second trimester include:
--By the end of the second trimester, the baby is about 1 foot long and weighs about 1 pound. If birth occurs at this time, the fetus will attempt to breathe, but survival is unlikely before week 24.
--The baby's genitals are fully formed by week 14. The sex of the child can be determined using ultrasound.
--By weeks 12 to 14, the fetal heartbeat can be heard with a stethoscope.
--Hearing is well established by 24 weeks, when the baby begins to respond to outside sounds. The baby can now hear the mother's voice and is likely to recognize it after birth.
--Beginning at 16 weeks, the baby is sensitive to light, and by 28 weeks a baby can open his or her eyes and turn the head.

Need To Know:
By the fourth month, many women feel the first signs of life in their abdomen. The baby starts to kick and move. The amount of movement varies as the pregnancy continues. Babies move more at night and after the mother eats. As long as the mother feels the baby moving vigorously, it is likely in good health. If the movements decrease day by day, the mother should tell her physician.

The Third Trimester (Weeks 27 to 40)
The third trimester begins at the 27th week of pregnancy and lasts until birth. The baby continues to grow and put on weight throughout the last trimester of pregnancy. During the last month, the fetus grows about one-half pound per week.
By the ninth month, the baby usually settles into a position delivery, with the head down and arms and legs pulled up tightly against the chest.
Other developments during the third trimester include:
--By week 28, the baby's eyes are open and a child born at this time can move its limbs and cry weakly. However, the infant will weigh only about two pounds. But because of recent advances in caring for premature babies, 90 percent of babies born at this stage will survive.
--The baby's movements become more frequent and vigorous.
--The baby is considered full-term after 37 weeks from the beginning of the mother's last period.

[Source: The ehealthMD]

Safe Conception For Happy Home

Am I Pregnant?
While a missed period is one of the biggest clues that a woman is pregnant, it's usually not the first sign. Some women suspect they are pregnant before their menstrual cycle is late.
Symptoms that might indicate you are pregnant include:
• Tenderness of the breasts and nipples
• Fatigue (1-6 weeks after conception)
• Frequent urination (6-8 weeks after conception)
• Nausea, queasiness, vomiting (first half of pregnancy)
• Food cravings (entire pregnancy)

When a woman suspects that she is pregnant, she should visit a doctor to confirm her condition as soon as possible.
• Laboratory blood tests can verify pregnancy as soon as 6 or 7 days after conception.
• A urine test may detect pregnancy as early as 10 days after conception.
The blood and urine test both measure the level human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), a hormone that is only produced in a woman's body when she has placental tissue growing there. The placenta is the tissue within the uterus (womb) through which the mother provides nourishment to the fetus.

The Importance Of Prenatal Care
One of the most important things you can do for yourself and your baby is to seek proper prenatal care. Prenatal care consists of:
• Regular appointments starting early and continuing throughout the pregnancy
• Laboratory testing for potential problems with the developing baby or yourself
• Monitoring for problems such as abnormal changes in blood pressure, blood chemistry, urine chemistry, and weight
• Getting plenty of exercise and eating properly
• Giving up bad habits such as smoking, drinking alcohol, or using street drugs.

It is also important for a woman to alert her doctor immediately if anything unusual occurs during pregnancy, such as:
• The baby's movement is greatly reduced or stops.
• She experiences vaginal bleeding or cramping.
• She develops swelling of her hands and face, or persistent headaches.
• She leaks amniotic fluid from her vagina.
• She develops pain in her abdomen.
Improved technologies and more accurate prenatal tests now make it possible to spot complications earlier and take appropriate action in time to save the fetus and/or the mother.

Things To Avoid During Pregnancy
A woman's habits greatly influence the health of her unborn child. When pregnant, a woman should avoid the following:
•Alcohol. Consuming alcohol while pregnant can cause birth defects and other problems. Consistent alcohol use during pregnancy can cause fetal alcohol syndrome, a permanent and lifelong condition.
•Cigarettes. Smoking is linked to low birth weight, premature birth, miscarriage and other complications. Nicotine causes blood vessels to constrict. That means the baby won't get the proper oxygen and nourishment it needs to grow.
•Medications. Many over-the-counter (OTC) and prescribed medications can harm an unborn child. Your physician can give you a list of which medications you can take safely during pregnancy.
•Narcotics. Illegal drugs, such as cocaine, can deprive developing babies of vital oxygen and nourishment. This can lead to birth defects, or cause addictions in newborns.
•Caffeine. Discuss with your doctor how much caffeine, if any, you can have during your pregnancy. Caffeine is found in coffee, tea, colas, and other products
•Contact with cat feces. A serious disease that can be contracted from cleaning cat litter boxes is toxoplasmosis), which is spread by a microbe that causes lymph-node and nervous-system problems. In pregnant women, this parasite can cause birth defects, stillbirths and miscarriages.

Facts About Pregnancy
•Four in 10 young women become pregnant at least once before they reach the age of 20 -- nearly 1 million a year.
•Improved technology has made home pregnancy tests about as accurate as blood tests-nearly 99 percent under perfect conditions.
•Recent research shows that some exercise is healthy during pregnancy.
•To calculate the due date, one can follow a guide called Nägele's rule. This calculates the estimated date by subtracting 3 months from the first day of the last menstrual period and adding 7 days. increased
•Older women have an increased chance of bearing twins.
•10 to 20 percent of pregnant women do not have morning sickness.
•The risk of miscarriage in all pregnancies is around 15 to 30 percent. If the baby is developing normally the risk of miscarriage falls to less than 3 percent.
•The overall risk of delivering a baby with a birth defect is approximately 3 percent.
•The chances of a child dying in the later stages of pregnancy or soon after delivery are less than 1 percent.

[Source: The ehealthMD]