What is pregnancy.

Pregnancy is the term used to describe when a woman is carrying one or more offspring, known as a fetus, inside of her. In most cases, the fetus grows in the uterus. In a pregnancy there can be more than one gestations like in twins or triplets.

One of the most exciting times in a women life is becoming a mother.  Whether you’re considering motherhood, trying to conceive or already pregnant, expectant mothers must be concerned not only with their developing babies health, but also they have to be concerned about their own health.

Even though pregnancy can be a fun and joyous time it can also be a time of uncertainty and in some cases worry in the up coming weeks.

You should prepare yourself for your pregnancy with some good preconception planning.  Finding the latest information on child health care is important.

The first step is to get the knowledge you need to keep yourself and your baby healthy from the beginning.  There’s a lot to learn especially if it’s your first pregnancy.

There are also a number of areas of interest to describe the things you need to learn about from fertilization to the day your baby is born.

Things such as:

• Getting Pregnant
• Pregnancy Test
• Labor and Delivery
• Pregnancy Signs and Symptoms
• Pregnancy Stages
• Pregnancy Types
• Preconception
• Breastfeeding
• Pregnancy Tools
• After Pregnancy
• Cord Blood Banking
• and mush, mush more…

The next thing we recommend is to find a health care professional that you are comfortable with to care for you and your child throughout your pregnancy.  There are many changes your body will go through, like hormonal changes, emotional changes, physical changes and many more.  Your body must change its physiological and homeostatic mechanisms in pregnancy to ensure the fetus is provided for.

The most important two things is to plan from the beginning (even before you get pregnant if you are planning to conceive)  and find your health care professional.  Your health care professional will help to determine your due date and what month or months you are in if you are pregnant.

This website is to help you explore the research in this field and to help answer the questions you have about your pregnancy.  I am not a medical doctor and this information is solely for informational purposes. It is not intended to provide medical advice.

There are some preconception planning  you want to do prior to getting pregnant.  You want to give your baby the best start in life by getting yourself healthy before you get pregnant.

Before pregnancy and having a baby you want to consider some preconception planning, the things you need to do to prepare for all the pregnancy stages.

Some things like chart your menstrual cycle, reading your cervical mucus and pinpointing ovulation. Other things like learning about pregnancy test, how to use it, how accurate the tests are and when to test and even dealing with fertility problems if any.

Here are a few preconception tips for a healthy conception:

• Preconception care visit with your doctor.. you can’t have a healthy pregnancy if you are not healthy yourself.
• Start taking a prenatal vitamin with folic acid… think about what medications you should stop taking in the preconception stage.
• Get to your ideal body weight and keep it with a healthy diet… Eating healthy before you get pregnant will make a big difference in the health of your baby.
• Quite Smoking, quite alcohol and drugs…. do I need to even go here.  Do you know what these bad habits will do to your baby?
• Genetic History… getting a genetic screening may determine any genetic diseases.
• Minimize or eliminate exposure to toxins and infection… some toxins and infections may take awhile to get out of your system.
• Check your Immunizations… are you up to date on your shots.  You don’t want to get them while you are pregnancy because they could cause birth defects.
• Chart Your Cycles… it helps to keep up with what you need to do.
• Talk with your husband and get financially prepared.

As you can see preconception planning can go a long way.  You do not want to have to worry about these things after you are pregnant.

There are a lot of pregnancy signs and symptoms you want to know about as well. Pregnancy symptoms are different from woman to woman but understanding the signs and symptoms is important because the symptom you having could be related to something that is not pregnancy related.

Some of the symptoms to look far:

• Missed menstrual period.
• Morning sickness
• Fatigue
• Tender breasts
• Constipation
• Fainting
• Dizziness
• Weight Gain
• Swollen Feet/Ankles
• Frequent Urination
• Nausea
• Tired
• Vomiting
• Weakness
• Lightheadedness

Other things you will want to know about are the pregnancy types because there are many types of pregnancies and not all of them are normal and could cause some serious pregnancy complications.

You may want to consider cord blood banking .  The blood in your babies umbilical cord  is rich in stem cells which are used in the treatment of several life threatening diseases. Your baby may need them later.

Now that your head is spinning, you need to think about what you want to do after pregnancy ,like are you considering breastfeeding?

While nothing can guarantee a perfectly healthy pregnancy, following some simple advice can give both you and your baby the best chance possible just by some preconception planning.

If you think you are pregnant, you want to get the correct answer quickly

What is a pregnancy test?

To determine if a women is pregnant she can use a home pregnancy test.  After purchasing  a pregnancy test all you have to do is follow the directions that’s on the box and it will explain how to take the test.  The test will look for chemical markers that’s associated with pregnancy.

The pregnancy test which can give the quickest result after fertilization is a rosette inhibition assay for early pregnancy factor (EPF). EPF can be detected in blood within 48 hours of fertilization.

When is the right time to take a pregnancy test?

If you find that your period is late this is the best time to take a pregnancy test.  Always read the directions on the pregnancy test box to see when the test may become effective.  The test are more accurate when you get close to your period and better yet once you have already missed your period.

How Accurate Are Pregnancy Tests?

Home pregnancy test are about 99% percent accurate.  The other 1% is often traced or errors in application or failure to follow instructions with care.  Another part of the 1% is testing to early like a few days after conception.  The best time is after you have missed your period.

When is the best time to take a pregnancy test?

The best time to take a pregnancy test to get the best sample is the first morning urine.  Drinking a lot of water and having frequent urination can dilute your sample and is not recommended.

Can anything interfere with home pregnancy test results, like fertility drugs or medication?

Most over-the-counter medicines and prescription, including birth control pills and antibiotics, should not affect the results of a home pregnancy test. The only medications that can cause a false positive are those that have the pregnancy hormone. A false positive is when a test says you are pregnant when you’re not.

Are there any risks in taking a pregnancy test?

No, there are no risks in taking a pregnancy test.  The only risk you have is if you had an error or not doing the test correctly.

Can I get a negative test and still be pregnant?

The answer is yes.  It is not uncommon to get a positive test after women menstrual period.  But, on the other hand you can get a negative test in the early stages of pregnancy.

Can alcohol or drugs change the pregnancy test?

In most test results, alcohol and drugs do not affect the pregnancy test.

Getting the right information in your preconception planning about a reliable pregnancy test and how and when to use them is essential.