Archive for December, 2007

Childbirth includes both labor (the process of birth) and delivery (the birth itself); it refers to the complete process where an infant makes its way from the womb down the birth canal to the outside world.

Childbirth is a wonderful experience for a woman, but for those who are experiencing it for the first time, there may be a little bit of uncertainty.

For others, the pain of labor and delivery is one of the major things of childbirth that worry about having a baby.

Although it is expected to have labor with relatively little pain, the best thing that you can do is to prepare yourself for the pain during labor and delivery and also prepare some easy approaches for managing it.

One of the best ways to overcome the pain of labor is to lessen your anxiety regarding the pain because it guarantees you that coping with the pain is achievable when the time comes.

Mostly, the pain during labor (childbirth) occurs due to uterine muscle contractions and through pressure on the cervix. This pain exhibits itself as cramping in the abdomen, groin, and back, tiredness, achy feeling all over. You may also experience pain in your sides or thighs as well.

Are you a 40 week pregnant? This might be last week of your pregnancy.

Your baby is almost getting ready to born and is full term now.

When you are 40 week pregnant, keep in mind that you can have labor pains at anytime.

Your baby may or may not be engaged into the pelvis.

It will depend on whether you are pregnant for the first time or this is your repeated pregnancy.

If you are pregnant for the first time, it may take one more week for you to give birth to your child. You are not considered to be “post-due” until you pass forty-two weeks of pregnancy.

On an average 96% of the women will give birth to a child two weeks before or two weeks after the due date. Only some women will have delivery on their due date. Do not worry if your baby does not come out this week, as “due date” is just an estimated date.

At your 40 week pregnant, your baby will be around 20 inches long and weighs up to 7.5 pounds. Most of the babies will be in the ideal position with the head lying down and back against your abdomen.

Fertility is the ability or best time to conceive. The conception occurs through sexual intercourse or through techniques such as assisted reproductive technology (ART).

When you, as a woman, try to become pregnant, may be surprised at fertility, particularly when you don’t get pregnancy within the first few months of trials.

You as a part of a normal couple with no fertility problems have approximately twenty-five percent chances of becoming pregnant each month when no contraceptive measures are used.

Therefore, fertility issue will not come into consideration when your trials to get pregnant do not succeed right away. However, several different biological factors must coordinate in a proper way to conceive a baby and timing is a very essential factor.

Remember the key to success when trying to conceive a baby is, knowing when you are most fertile during your monthly menstrual cycle.

Although the fertility differs from person to person and conception can happen at any period of time, the fertility cycle typically follows a predictable pattern.

You can make use of a fertility calendar to chart this cycle. Every month, there are four days where you are most likely to become pregnant. The four days are those that immediately preceed and follow ovulation. Actually, these days occur in the mid of your menstrual cycle.

Morning sickness is also known as nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) or simply pregnancy sickness.

It refers to a condition where nausea or vomiting takes place during early months of pregnancy.

It is a common condition that affects fifty percent of all pregnant ladies.

It is also common in women who receive hormone replacement therapy or birth control pills.

Morning sickness generally begins in the first month of pregnancy and may end around the third month of your pregnancy. It can happen at any time but mostly occurs upon waking, as the blood sugar levels will become low after a night (without food).

Morning sickness is an indication of healthy pregnancy showing that the fetus is in good condition and developing well.

Morning sickness is generally harmless. However, it can harm your baby if you have excess vomiting and unable to keep foods down and starts losing much of your weight.

This condition is known as hyperemesis gravidarum and it occurs in one out of every two hundred and fifty pregnancies.

You can experience morning sickness due to chemical as well as hormonal changes in the body, sensitive gastrointestinal tract, deficiency of vitamin B and strong odors.

Are you 32 week pregnant? Only eight weeks to go for your pregnancy to end.

Your uterus will be approximately five inches above the navel.

The movements of your baby will peak this week and they change in quality and quantity.

Your baby is almost eighteen inches long from head to toe and weighs approximately four pounds at your 32 week pregnant.

The baby sleeps almost all the time (approximately 90-95% of the day). The five senses of your baby are functional now. Your baby is fully formed with fully developed brain and nervous system.

During this week, the baby’s skin will become thicker and it changes from red to more of a pinkish color. A layer of fat is forming underneath the wrinkly skin.

Most of the wrinkles have gone from your baby’s face and the hair on the head continues to grow. The toenails are fully formed by the end of this week.

At your 32 week pregnant, your baby can move the head to the side. The baby is practicing to open the eyes and also practicing breathing. As your baby is occupying most of the available space in the uterus, the movements will slowly start to decrease.

Suspecting that you might be a pregnant? Look for the most common early pregnant signs to confirm your pregnancy.

The first and foremost pregnant sign is missed menstrual period.

It is a sign of pregnancy only when your menstrual periods are regular and the period doesn’t occur on time.

However, in some case, missed menstrual periods may occur due to several other factors such as stress, illness, weight fluctuations or hormonal imbalance.

So, confirm your pregnancy with several other pregnant signs, home pregnancy test or by consulting your doctor.

Pregnancy spotting is another pregnant sign to confirm your pregnancy. Generally, the bleeding will be very light or short and lasts for one or two days.

This sign usually develops two weeks after conception. This bleeding is known as implantation bleeding, as it occurs at the time of implantation where the fertilized egg is embedded into the uterus lining for further development.

Morning sickness is a pregnant sign that usually develops in the early stages of pregnancy, mostly two weeks after conception due to the increased production of hCG hormone by the body.

Changes in the breasts are very common during pregnancy. It indicates that the breasts are becoming ready to feed the baby.

The pregnant breast change is an early sign of pregnancy that generally develops due to hormonal fluctuations in the body.

When you become pregnant, your body produces a pregnancy hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG).

The HCG hormone levels in the body raises as your pregnancy progresses. Thus, your body undergoes several remarkable changes, which results in various pregnancy symptoms.

The fluctuation in the hormone levels during pregnancy leads to an increased supply of blood and change in the tissues of breast.

This, in turn, causes the breasts to feel very sensitive touch, tenderness, swelling, and tingling. The increased flow of blood to the breasts may also lead to the appearance of bluish veins beneath the skin.

Remember that the changes in pregnant breast usually develop approximately 4-6 weeks of pregnancy and continue to grow throughout your pregnancy. The pregnant breast attains its natural form once the body regulates to the hormonal fluctuations.

It is important for every pregnant woman to know that there are chances of pre-term pregnancy during 28 week pregnant.

Your baby measures about 16 inches from head to toe when you are 28 week pregnant and weighs around 2.5 pounds.

The skin is still wrinkled, but to a less extent. The lanugo hair starts disappearing, but some will present even after birth.

The baby’s skin becomes plumper with two to three percent body fat. The hair on the head continues to grow.

Eyebrows and eyelashes also continue to grow. The eyelids that remained shut till now will be opened during this week and the eyes will be completely formed.

The eyes can perceive light. The baby’s nostrils will also open during this week. Your baby is now able to recognize your voice, so talk to your baby as much as possible.

The baby’s lungs develop air sacs and it will take several more weeks for the air‑exchange sacs to form completely. The lungs will be able to breathe air. Apart from the lungs, all other major organs will start to function.

Right from your first prenatal visit to the doctor, you will be recommended to go through several prenatal tests to check the well being of your pregnant baby.

The tests also detect the birth defects, genetic disorders, and other problems with the pregnant baby.

During pregnancy, the tests are generally performed to assess the condition of the health as well as growth of your pregnant baby.

Most of these tests help assure a healthy pregnancy with safe delivery.

If any problems arise during pregnancy, the prenatal tests can help notice your doctor about the problem in advance to treat the condition with special care.

Your doctor generally recommends the tests depending on your stage of pregnancy, associated risk factors as well as the results of regular tests.

On the other hand, the tests to evaluate the health condition of your pregnant baby are of several types. The common tests of these are fetal movement counts, non stress test, ultrasound, contraction stress test and biophysical profile.

Fetal movement count is a home pregnancy test that is performed by the mother. The fetal movement counting is also known as kick counting.

According to the Danish study, babies born by caesarean section are more likely to develop breathing problems and are at four times higher risk of developing respiratory problems to those who are born naturally or through emergency caesarean.

During the labor, there is a chance to miss out on hormonal and physiological changes which helps for lung growth.

Most of the women are totally unaware of the truth that a planned caesarean section can impact negatively on their baby.

According to the recent study conducted at Oxford University, women who opted for caesarean section are four times more likely to die when compared to the natural birth.

The study said that when you opt for a caesarean section, don’t take it lightly. It should be based on good medical grounds.

To know more on how the caesarean section affects your baby, visit:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/