Pregnancy assignment

36 weeks

The pressure of the head on you bladder may make you want to urinate frequently including at night so that getting a good nights sleep may be difficult. Try to catch up during the day. From now on your antenatal appointments will be every week. Pack your bag for hospital and keep important phone numbers handy. Make sure you can always contact your partner if you need him. You may feel quite strong contractions of you abdomen know as braxton hicks’ contractions, they occur through pregnancy.

40 Weeks

Get plenty of rest catnaps during the day to make up for the lost sleep at night. If you feel up for it go for a walk or swim. If not trying to relax in a bath. Many women get an urge to spring clean, tidying.

Out pops a newborn baby!!!!

Pregnancy Symptoms

In addition to the change in monthly cycle here are a few of the other early pregnancy symptoms that you can expect to notice.

Nausea

Nausea coupled with vomiting are often early signs of pregnancy and can start within a few weeks of contraception although referred to as “morning sickness”, it can actually be at anytime during the day. It will affect you at the same time everyday for a few weeks. You need to be drinking plenty of fluids to avoid becoming dehydrated.

Spotting

Sometimes a slight spotting will occur approx 8-10 days after ovulation. Its light amount of bleeding not painful or harming you. This spotting is caused by fertilized egg as it attaches itself to the endometria’s lining of the uterus.

Fatigue

A feeling of over whelming fatigue, around 3rd to 4th week until the second trimester at which time you will experience a sudden burst of energy, caused by changes in your body.

Breast tenderness

Generally during the first month of conception, you will start o experience tenderness in one or both breasts. You will find even a slight touch will cause discomfort and they may swell. The veins in the breast become more visible and the nipples darken in color and become more erect.

Wear a good support bra.

Frequent urination

More trips to the bathroom. The uterus growing and swelling as it makes room for the growing fetus. Growth puts pressure on the uterus, adds pressure to bladder. As the fetus grows you will be making more trips.

Lightheadedness or fainting

This occurs during the first few months as your body changes because your now nourishing another life and you will need an increased supply if you don’t eat frequent, small amounts, your blood sugar levels may drop, making you dizzy or light headed.

Confirmation

Pregnancy test

HCG- (human chlorionic gonadotrophin) in present in the urine of pregnant women and reach the highest level at 8th week can be detected 10 days to 16 weeks after contraception. Enlargement of uterus.

Diet During Pregnancy

Pregnant women need to eat a healthy balanced diet.

A healthy diet during pregnancy:

1. Fruit and vegetables- at least 5 portions a day
2. Sugar and fat- only a very small amount
3. Dairy- low fat is best
4. Meat, fish and eggs- more protein foods should be eaten in pregnancy.
5. Carbohydrates- needed for energy

Vegetarian mums

Vegetarian mums need to make sure they get enough protein by having extra eggs and milk.

Vegetarian mums need to take vitamin B12 supplements- this is found only in animal protein and is needed for fetal development and breast feeding.

Some foods should be avoided:

Unpateurised milk e.g. Pate, uncooked meat can contain bacteria. Listeria infections cause miscarriage, stillbirth and other damages to the baby.

Raw eggs- food made with raw eggs e.g. mayonnaise can cause salmonella.

Reheated ready meals- cause risk of food poisoning and tux plasmodia, which can cause brain damages in the body, miscarriage and stillbirth.

Peanuts- can give baby a nut allergy, which is very dangerous and can kill.

Tuna- Tuna causes enough mercury to damage fetus.

Exercise, Posture and Rest

There’s no reason for a women to stop exercising because she’s pregnant.

• Exercise keeps muscles toned
• Exercise stops women from putting o too much weight during pregnancy.
• Regular exercise helps sleep, after exercise it’s easier to relax.
• Labor and birth are hard work. Like all hard work it’s much easier to do if you’re fit.

Exercise such as horse riding, skiing, snowboarding is not suitable for pregnant women.

Exercise also helps:

• Constipation
• Backache
• Fatigue
• Varicose veins
• Circulation problems
• Meeting other mums to be

Exercise boosts your immune system and provides the circulation and energy levels needed to help you conceive enjoy your pregnancy and prepare you body fro labor.

Posture Tips

• Kneel or squat to pick things up don’t bend over
• When getting up from lying down, roll on to your side and get up.
• Sit up straight in a chair and use a cushion fro support

Good posture

Standing tall, spine is straight and the weight is nicely balanced.

Bad posture

The spine is arched and the bum is sticking out too much.

Rest

Pregnant women need some rest every day. Just an hour or so with feet up takes pressure off legs and back and prevents varicose veins and backache.

        

Effects of Smoking, Drugs, Alcohol and Rubella on Fetus

Smoking

The thousands of chemicals in cigarette smoke (including second hand smoke) such as carbon monoxide and nicotine are toxins that move through your bloodstream and harm your developing baby. When you smoke your baby is confined in a smoke filled womb and this is reducing the flow of oxygen to your baby.

The nicotine can cause your baby’s heart rate to increase (as well as yours) and can damage and decrease your baby’s supply of nutrients because of your increased blood pressure and blood vessel constriction. The baby will be born smaller than others. There’s a chance of miscarriage and stillbirth.

                         

Drugs

• Drugs can also cross the placenta and get into the baby’s blood
• Illegal drugs like ecstasy; cocaine, heroin, LSD, amphetamines, cannabis and solvents can damage the developing fetus.
• Babies become addicted to illegal drugs if the mother takes them during pregnancy they are born addicted, and suffer withdrawal symptoms when they’re born. Addicted babies are smaller than usual with a high pitched, wailing cry. And it’s difficult to get them to sleep.
• Prescription drugs can also harm the developing fetus.

Alcohol

• Alcohol can pass across the placenta to the fetus’s blood.
• It can interfere with growth of the fetus
• Even worse it can severely affect development of the brain.
• Damage to brain and nervous system caused by alcohol is called fetal alcohol syndrome

 

Rubella

German measles this disease is very dangerous in the first four months. If it survives the 9 months and is born it may be born deaf, blind, have a heart disease or a learning difficulty.

Antenatal Care

Antenatal Care appointments are your opportunity to find out all you need to know about your pregnancy, as well as a chance to monitor you and your developing baby’s health.

Where do you have it?

Hospitals where babies are born have antenatal clinics other places are:

1. With your family doctor
2. With community midwifes
3. In your own home, midwife or doctor visits you

What happens?

Your first antenatal appointment will probably be your booking in appointment usually about 8-12 weeks.

You’ll be asked a number of questions about your health your family history and any previous pregnancies. The aim is to get a good basic idea of your pregnancy so far.

Routine Checks at the other appointments are:

• Blood pressure
• Weight
• Palpation- feeling your tummy
• Listening to your baby’s heart
• Questions about your baby’s movements
• Urine tests
• Checking any swelling in your legs arms or face
• Questions about how you feel

How often?

Not counting appointments for scans or other hospital based tests, you can expect to have appointments every four weeks after week 12 every 2 weeks from week 32 every week during the last three or four weeks.

Antenatal care – clinical guideline covers:

• The care women can expect to receive from their midwife and doctors during their pregnancy, whether they plan to give birth at home or in hospital
• The information given is expected
• What they can afford from antenatal appointments
• Aspects of their lifestyle that they may want to consider (such as diet exercise, alcohol, drugs intake sexual activity and smoking)
• Routine screening tests fro specific conditions
• Occupational risk factors in pregnancy
• What will happen if pregnancy goes beyond 41 weeks
• What will happen if the baby is bottom first (known as breech position) for the birth

Antenatal Care

The uterus is checked

1. The midwife/doctor feels the uterus to check how big the fetus is, where it is in the uterus and if it’s moving.
2. The uterus is measured. The distance from the pubic bone to the top of the uterus, gives a good idea of fetal far along the pregnancy is.
3. From 16 weeks onwards, the midwife/doctor listens to the fetal heartbeat with a stethoscope.

Urine samples are tested

1. Keystones are compound from in the urine when the body’s dehydrated. She may need extra fluids via a drip.
2. Glucose in the urine is a sign of gestational diabetes, which usually goes away after birth.
3. Protein in the urine is a sign of bladder and kidney infections and pre-edampsia causes high blood pressure, headaches, swelling, abdominal pains and weight gain. Women with sever pre- eclipse need to be in hospital and maybe have the birth induced before it’s due. Untreated pre eclipse leads to eclipse fits, organ failure and death of mother and baby.

Height, Weight and Blood pressure are checked

1. Measuring height and weight gives a good idea of size of the pregnant women’s pelvis.
2. Most pregnant women put on about 10-12kg during the pregnancy none of that’s down to the baby there’s amniotic fluid, placenta umbilical cord and fat stored ready for milk production
3. Not gaining weight can mean the fetus has stopped growing or died
4. Blood pressure is checked a big increase in blood pressure is a sign of pre- eclipse.

Screening and diagnostic tests check for problems

Ultra sound

1. Uses high frequency sound to get a picture of the fetus.

2. The woman’s belly is coated with gel and a hand held scanner is moved back and forth over it
3. A grainy black and white picture of the baby appears on the monitor
4. It’s easy to see if the woman is having twins, and doctors can tell sex of the baby. The size of the baby’s head gives a good idea of long the pregnancy is, which means you can work out the due date.

Blood tests are taken

1. Anemia is a lack of iron in the blood it makes the woman feel tiered and worn out.
2. Immunity from rubella is tested sexually transmitted diseases are checked for too.
3. Blood group and Rhesus factor are checked complications can arise of the mother has rhesus negative blood, but the baby has rhesus positive.
4. Hepatitis B and care viruses that cause liver disease mother and baby can both be treated
5. Blood sugar levels are checked to see if the woman has gestational diabetes.

Serum Screening (Triple Tests)

1. Measure the levels of two hormones and a protein called alpha-fetoprotein in the mother’s blood between 15+18 weeks pregnant.
2. Very high levels of AFP many mean its twins, or very rarely that the baby might have spina bifida or even the woman is more than 18 weeks pregnant.
3. Low levels of AFP can mean the baby has downs syndrome or that the woman is less than 15 weeks pregnant. If there is a risk of downs syndrome mother is offered amniocentesis.

Amniocentesis

1. A needle is inserted through the mothers skin, into the uterus and into the amniotic sac. Same amniotic fluid is taken and the fetal cells it contains are tested.
2. The test shows up abnormalities like downs syndrome and spina bifida it’s only done if the blood test shows there a risk or if the mothers older than average.

Chronic Villous Sampling

1. A needle is inserted through the mothers skin and through the wall of the uterus; a sample of the placenta is removed and tested.
2. The test detects downs syndrome its done if there’s a family history or inherited problems or if the mother is older than average.