Pregnancy

Symptoms of Pregnancy
For a woman having a regular monthly cycle, the earliest and most reliable sign of pregnancy is a missed period, or sometimes women who are pregnant have a very light period, losing only a little blood. However, symptoms of pregnancy are very obvious, and keep changing with the pregnancy calendar. Some of the most important pregnancy symptoms are:

• Feeling sick, not necessarily in the morning, but at any time.
• The breasts may become larger and tender. Veins may become prominent and nipples may darken and stand out.
• Increased frequency in passing urine.
• Tendency for constipation.
• Tiredness.
• An increased vaginal discharge without any associated complaint.
• A metallic taste in the mouth.
• Dislike for certain things like tea or coffee or fatty foods.
• Increased liking for certain things like spicy foods.

Pregnancy test can be carried out on urine samples, as early as from the first day of a missed period-that is, about fourteen days after the conception.

A positive pregnancy test result is almost definitive of pregnancy. If the test is negative, it is less reliable. It can be repeated after a week, or a doctor can be consulted.

What you should eat?
Pregnancy puts additional nutritional demands on your body. You require to eat judiciously to meet the demands of the body. Make sure that you eat a mixture of different foods each day in order to get all the various nutrients that you and your baby need during pregnancy.

Your diet should have plenty of fruit and vegetables which provide vitamins, minerals and fibre. Eat them lightly cooked or raw. Let starchy foods like bread, potatoes, rice and breakfast cereals with vegetables form the main part of any meal.

Eat some good sources of nutrients like fish, eggs, cheese, beans, and lentils every day during pregnancy. Dairy products like milk, cheese and yogurt are important for women health as they contain calcium and other nutrients needed for your baby's development.

Unusual appetite or excessive food cravings is considered an early sign of pregnancy. But try to avoid sugar and sugary foods like sweets, biscuits and cakes and sugary drinks like cola during the time of pregnancy. Cut down on fat and fatty foods as well.

Mineral and vitamin supplements
A large number of pregnant women suffer from varying degrees of anemia so additional iron supplementation is provided by pills. Also tablets of Folic acid (a vitamin necessary to prevent certain spinal disorders in the growing baby) along with Calcium are generally prescribed by the women's health care providers.

Pregnancy and weight
Weight gain is another one of the most common pregnancy symptoms. Most women gain between 10 -12.5kgs (22 - 28lbs). Weight gain varies a great deal and depends on your weight before pregnancy. Unnatural weight gain, more or less than the average, could be an indicator of a problem and not necessarily one of those obvious signs of pregnancy. So, you must walk up to the nearest women's health clinic and get your weight gain monitored on a regular basis. Also if you weigh more than 100kg or below 50kg, your health care provider may have special advise for you.

Smoking during pregnancy
Try to stop smoking the moment you notice in you the early signs of pregnancy. When you smoke, carbon monoxide and nicotine passes into your lungs and blood stream. This means that: a) your baby gets less oxygen and cannot grow as well as it should, and b) the nicotine makes your baby's heart beat faster. Constantly breathing in other people's smoke may also have a harmful effect during your pregnancy.

Babies of mothers who smoke are, on an average, 200g (about 8 oz) lighter than other babies. These babies may have problems during and after labour and are more prone to infection; it will be better for your baby later too if you stop smoking. Babies born of smoking pregnant women are more likely to suffer from illnesses such as asthma; and there is an increased risk of cot death.

Alcohol
It has now been shown that even small amounts of alcohol can be harmful to your baby. Alcohol has adverse effects on women health as well as on the baby's development, and can produce a lot of anomalies generally termed as 'Fetal Alcohol Syndrome'. So, to be safe, avoid alcohol totally during your pregnancy.

Pills medicines and other drugs
You should be very careful while taking any kind of medication as soon as the signs of pregnancy start showing up. Majority of drugs have adverse effects on the growing fetus, especially in the earlier part of the pregnancy, and the first three months are crucial. You should better go to the nearest women's health center and ask the doctor about any medications you want to take. Make sure your doctor or dentist knows you're pregnant before prescribing anything or giving you any treatment.

At the same time it is important to remember that if you are on treatment for some chronic conditions like epilepsy or diabetes you should consult your doctor and continue your medications because control of such conditions is vitally important for you as well as the pregnancy. This should be done as soon as the pregnancy signs are detected.

Suggested Reading -
Pregnancy and your Feet - "Oh, my aching, swollen feet!" Most pregnant women, already handling so many changes in their bodies, find themselves echoing this complaint amongst other pregnancy symptoms.

Ultrasound Images of Pregnancy - Every would be parent is curious to see how the baby is growing inside the mother. Here are some very good Ultrasound images of a growing fetus.