Archive for November, 2007

When you are 17 week pregnant, a lot of changes will take place in your baby. This is a rapid growth period.

During your 17 week pregnant, the baby weighs approximately four ounces and around five inches long from crown to rump.

It means the baby and placenta are almost equal in size or the baby weighs more than the placenta.

The fat deposits will start to form underneath your baby’s skin and by the time of delivery, the fat accounts for two to six percent of total body weight.

This fat will help the baby to maintain body temperature and metabolism when born.

In this week, hair starts to grow on head, eyebrows, and eyelashes. The lungs start to exhale the amniotic fluid. The heart of your baby starts to pump about 25 quarts a day. The circulatory system and urinary system are beginning to work.

The reflexes of the baby in your 17 week pregnant are entirely functional as the baby starts to suck, swallow, and blinks. The movements of your baby become stronger and more frequent.

If you get abdominal x-ray, you can able to see your baby’s skeleton. The loud noises outside the uterus disturb your baby.

Pregnancy miscarriage refers to unintentional loss of pregnancy. It is also known as spontaneous abortion.

Every year in the United States, there are approximately 600,000 women who experience pregnancy miscarriages.

Most of the pregnancy miscarriages happen before the end of first trimester of pregnancy.

The loss of pregnancy in the first trimester is known as early miscarriage.

However, pregnancy miscarriages can also occur in the second trimester. The miscarriages at this stage refer to late miscarriages.

The causes of pregnancy miscarriage are several, but most often it cannot be recognized. The most common cause of miscarriage is chromosomal abnormality. Chromosomes are special strands that hold the DNA of the baby.

There are 23 pairs of chromosomes in a human body to determine the physical characteristics and to carry out functions of the body.

After fertilization, the egg may begin to separate improperly with unusual number of chromosomes. Molar pregnancy is the most common type of chromosomal abnormality.

It is found that up to 75% of first trimester pregnancy miscarriages occur due to chromosomal defects. Most chromosomal abnormalities occur due to a defective egg or sperm, or due to the problem in the cell division process of the zygote.

It is true that the signs of pregnancy may not be clear in early stages and you may be unaware that you are a month pregnant.

However, if you observe your body carefully, you can determine the signs of pregnancy in the very first month because your body informs you the significant changes that occur, when you are one-month pregnant.

The first sign to be observed if you are a month pregnant is missed menstrual period.

However, absence of menstrual periods on time doesn’t always signify pregnancy rather it can occur due to stress or rapid weight gain or ill health. This is a sign of pregnancy only for those who have regular periods.

On the other hand, others should look for some more signs to be sure of their pregnancy. Pregnancy spotting caused by embryo implantation is another indication to observe, as it sometimes misleads you as menstrual period although you are month-pregnant.

Remember that spotting (bleeding) during pregnancy will be very light than normal bleeding.

As said earlier, confirming pregnancy through missed periods is not always the best method. However, there are several other signs to observe in your body in the very first month. It is essential to know that some signs are much more clear than others.

Eclampsia is a serious, life-threatening medical condition that occurs in late pregnancy where high blood pressure can lead to seizures.

It is also known as toxemia with seizures. It can also lead to coma and even death of the baby as well as the mother during or after pregnancy.

It is found that eclampsia occurs in approximately one out of every sixteen hundred pregnancies and mostly occurs in the third trimester of pregnancy.

It is the final and severe stage of pre-eclampsia.

Pre-eclampsia is a condition that occurs during pregnancy where hypertension with high levels of protein in the urine causes swelling in the feet, hands and legs. When pre-eclampsia is left untreated, it leads to eclampsia.

The exact cause of eclampsia is unknown. However, recent researches believe genes, poor nutrition, body fat, and lack of sufficient blood supply to the uterus as the causes for this condition.

Eclampsia can occur at any stage during the second trimester of pregnancy. In some cases, it can take place before twenty weeks of your pregnancy.

The hypertension that occurs before twenty weeks conception is known as chronic hypertension whereas the hypertension that occurs after twenty weeks of pregnancy is known as pregnancy-induced hypertension. Five to eight percent of all pregnancies develop this condition.