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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. Other signs are:
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Feeling sick, not necessarily in
the morning, but at any time.
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The breasts may become larger and
tender. Veins may become prominent and nipples may darken and
stand out.
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Increased frequency in passing
urine.
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Tendency for constipation.
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Tiredness.
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An increased vaginal discharge
without any associated complaint.
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A metallic taste in the mouth.
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Dislike for certain things like tea
or coffee or fatty foods.
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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 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 should you eat?
Pregnancy puts additional nutritional demands on your body.
You require eating 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.
Your diet should have plenty of fruit and vegetables, which
provide vitamins, minerals and fiber. Eat them lightly cooked or
raw. Let starchy foods like bread, potatoes, rice and breakfast
cereals with vegetable form the main part of any meal.
Eat some good sources of nutrients like fish, eggs, cheese, beans,
and lentils every day. Dairy products like milk, cheese and yogurt
are important as they contain calcium and other nutrients needed
for your baby's development.
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 to you by your doctor.
Pregnancy and
weight
Most women
gain between 10 –12.5 kgs (22 - 28lbs). Weight gain varies a great
deal and depends on your weight before pregnancy. Weight gains
significantly more or less than the average could be an indicator
of a problem, so you must monitor your weight gain carefully. Also
if you weigh more than 100kg or under 50kg your doctor may have
special advice for you.
Smoking during 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.
Alcohol
It has now been shown that even small amounts of alcohol
can be harmful to your baby. Alcohol has adverse effects 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, specially in the earlier part of the pregnancy.
Majority of drugs has some effects on the growing fetus and the
first three months are crucial. You would be better off asking
your doctor about any medications you want to take. Make sure your
doctor or dentist knows you're pregnant before prescribing
anything or giving you treatment.
At the same time it is important to remember that if you on
treatment for some chronic conditions like epilepsy or diabetes
you consult your doctor and continue your medications because
control of such conditions is vitally important for you as well as
the pregnancy. |