Pregnancy symptoms, care and precautions
Pregnancy symptoms, care and precautions
- Abdominal cramps
- Fatigue (Tiredness)
- Nausea and vomiting
- Frequent urination
- Sore breast
- Shortness of breath
- Dizziness or Fainting
- Food cravings
- Missing periods
- Spotting
- Body smells
- Constipation and blotting
- Mood swings
- Lower back pain in pregnancy
- Headache in pregnancy
- Abdominal cramps or pains: Abdominal cramps or pains is one of the early pregnancy symptoms. When baby is growing in the belly, your uterus is bigger every day, muscles and ligaments of you uterus will stretch. No need to worry for these cramps if pain is severe and bleeding or unusual sign occurs then consult your doctor.
- Fatigue (Tiredness) : After doing any work, pregnant women becomes tired. Mostly this symptom is seen in first trimester or third trimester of the pregnancy. This is one of the most occurring symptom when the women conceive.
- Nausea and vomiting: Vomiting is very common early pregnancy symptom which occurs to most of the women because of the hormonal changes in the body. Seldom people won't have this symptom but doesn't need to worry as I am one of them. You may just have nausea, sometimes no vomiting and this will not affect your womb or baby.
- Frequent urination : In early pregnancy HCG(Human chorionic gonadotropin) will increase in urine which can trigger and increase in urination. As baby grows in uterus and then the uterus expand by pushing down on your urinary bladder and this pressure on bladder increase frequent urination. In some women, urinary incontinence(leakage of urine) will occur.
- Sore breast : During pregnancy breast become bigger, tender due to hormonal changes and Areola (The dark around nipple) will become darker. This sore breast seen in first trimester and the breast will become sensitive, tingling sense and sore. A supportive bra can ease the breast soreness.
- Shortness of breath: After doing any work, pregnant women feels short breath and this will happen by natural change that occurs in pregnancy. The pregnancy hormone progestrone makes your body to absorb in your blood stream via your lungs then carbon-dioxide levels will increase then causes breath out. In third trimester the size of the baby increases and uterus expands up then pushes your ribcage(Diaphram) that presses the lungs which causes shortness of the breath.
- Dizziness or Fainting: During pregnancy heart beat increases and heart pumps more blood per minute. Lying on your side will increase the blood flow to your brain then keeps you out from dizziness.
- Food cravings: Food cravings have seen in the pregnant women due to lack of nutrients required for baby development so mother feels more apatite and craving for the food during the pregnancy. If you don't eat food or became late to have food then immediately pregnant women feel nausea and vomiting.
- Missing periods : This is first symptom to confirm pregnancy by doing the pregnancy test. For some women this test will not show positive immediately after missing periods and it will take 40 days to mix pregnancy hormone HCG in urine. Some times, pregnancy may not be positive in the urine test but this can be confirmed by doing the blood test. HCG pregnancy hormone will mix quickly in blood than urine.
- Pregnancy test:
- There are so many pregnancy test kits available in market. Purchase one pregnancy test strip.
- Calculate the date that your test is done, immediately after your missing period, wait at least one day after your missed period before taking pregnancy test.
- Read instructions carefully on pregnancy strip and prepare yourself by washing hands and take clean sample bottle to collect urine.
- Early morning urine that to midstream sample is used to get accurate result. Midstream sample means that you should pee a little first before you collect urine in bottle.
- Take dropper and collect urine from bottle and drop few drops of urine in a hole name "S" in the strip and wait for 1-5 mins.
- If one line is appeared then result is negative else if two lines are appeared then it means pregnancy is positive.
- Immediately consult your doctor and show your pregnancy strip for more detailed information.
- Spotting: Spotting is a light bleeding in vagina and this is like a period but much lighter. The color of blood can be red or brown, in early pregnancy little bleeding is common but we have to consult doctor immediately. The fertilized egg attached to the uterine wall and in some it will causes a little blood shed.
- Body smells: When pregnancy started then smells of our body changes due to increased sensitivity to odours.
- Constipation and bloating: Constipation means difficultly in passing stools or pooing. This is due to hormone progestrone slows the movement of the gut. If pooing is not excreted for long period the food in intestine will absorb water from the food. This makes stools harder to pass out. If we make easily digestible foods then blotting will not occur in pregnancy.
- Mood Swings: In pregnancy mood swings are quite common in pregnant ladies and they will be very happy for some time and suddenly mood changes with in few minutes and becomes anger and depressed, especially this mood swings appear in the first trimester(1-12 weeks/3 months). Having children is life changing process and will start many responsibilities and also worries about the unborn child, like financial problems..etc leads to mood swings. Family members friends should keep peaceful environment to pregnant ladies. By practising prenatal yoga, meditation and excercise will relive stress and mood swings.
- Lower back pain during pregnancy: Increased weight of baby in uterus put pressure on blood vessels and nerves in the pelvis and back. Hormonal changes and posture changes causes backache in the pregnant women.
- Headache in pregnancy: Headaches caused by hormonal changes so try to take rest and doing meditation relieves the pain.
