Everything you want to
know about pregnancy … Symptoms, problems, and what’s beneficial or harmful for
the pregnant
In the
journey of pregnancy and the preparations that come before it, when the couple
is planning to have a baby, there are many important information and details to
be known, and during pregnancy, the pregnant must be fully aware of everything
related to it, from nutrition, movement and sport systems, and even symptoms
and risk factors, which means almost everything related to this very important
stage of every woman’s life.
pregnancy test
We begin
the journey of pregnancy from its beginning, with Dr. Yusriya Muhammad, a
consultant obstetrician, and gynecologist, where she explained that there are
many types of pregnancy tests. Including the home pregnancy test in the urine
(hCG test), which has many types and brands, it is available in pharmacies, and
it is done with drops of urine to test if the pregnancy hormone is in it, the
methods of analysis are always different from one to another, so you must
follow the medication package insert.
This test
is less accurate and should be done after the end of the period with more than
two days.
Pregnancy symptoms
Initially
to those who are not sure of their pregnancy yet, some symptoms can help them,
and Yusriya explained that some women do not experience any symptoms before the
advanced weeks of pregnancy, but the two most important symptoms are dizziness,
andsudden severe fatigue, other women may feel early nausea or anorexia also,
prefer one type of food over another and eat it voraciously, their nipples get
darker in color and in some cases they grow larger, women may have mood swings,
nervousness, sentimentality, excessive sensitivity, and crave for strange types
of food heavily.
After
fertilization and before the menstrual period there will maybe some pink blood
drops, the pregnant may feel lazy and desire to sleep, she may also have high
or low pressure, breast pain, stomach pain, and frequent urination.
Pregnant foods
Yusriya
also advises pregnant women to eat fresh foods, dark leafy vegetables such as
spinach, watercress, lentils, and legumes, to cook meat well.
To eat less
seafood and to cook it well if eaten, to eat fruits of all kinds, especially
apples, oranges, dried apricots, and pears.
To avoid
fats, roasted and heavily foundry meats, as well as avoiding raw food, and all
types of processed meat, smoked and salty meats such as herring, fish, and
luncheon, and to keep away from chocolate, spicy foods, and excess salt and
pickles.
Drinks during pregnancy
Healthy
drinks during pregnancy are extremely important. Such as drinking much water, and
drinking milk and fruit juices.
But it is
not advisable to drink any type of caffeine.
For tea,
coffee, Nescafe, Cappuccino, and latte the pregnant should not have more than
one cup per day from them, and of course, she should avoid cinnamon, ginger, previously
prepared, and canned drinks.
Movement during pregnancy
The pregnant needs to know
her movement limitations and precautions, for example, a sudden, rapid flash
movement is not something she should do, it is also necessary to reduce times
of bending, avoid sleeping on the abdomen continuously, and sitting in a
squatting position, as well as avoiding hard moves.
Effort in pregnancy
Yusrya explained
that in the first trimester of pregnancy (the first three months), the pregnant
must avoid violent and arduous movements and housework, never carry or push heavy
objects, and keep away from grief.
She must
also, pay attention to these precautions during the rest of the pregnancy.
What are some bad signs during pregnancy?
There are
signs of danger during pregnancy where the pregnant should consult her doctor
immediately when seeing them, such as bleeding or having dark and brown vaginal
secretions, high body temperature, and continuous tremors, when the pregnancy
symptoms suddenly disappear, and when the pregnant has a severe stomach pain,
severe headache, fetal water leakage, acute decrease in urination with severe
thirst, frequent fainting, allergic or severe scratching, persistent and
exaggerated vomiting, and severe swelling that affects all parts of the body
such as the hands, the eyes, and the face.
Pregnancy with twins
Pregnancy
with twins is surrounded by many myths, like if the abdomen is growing larger quickly
then it might be a sign of having a twin, which is a false information, there
is no relationship between the size of the abdomen at the first months and the
number of fetuses.
Dr. Yusrya
explained that it is easy to reveal pregnancy with twins through the sonar, or through
hearing the heartbeats of the Embryos, or seeing more than one pregnancy bag,
some pregnant women with twins can have severe symptoms of pregnancy, but some
have similar symptoms to those who are pregnant with only one child.
Exercising
The women consultant
continued and talked about the importance of exercising during pregnancy,
stressing that the pregnant woman can only practice by direct order from the
doctor who follows her condition, and it is preferable to avoid exercise completely
during the first trimester.
Sport
during pregnancy is beneficial to the body’s flexibility, and to facilitate
birth and labor, as well as controlling pregnant weight and protection from gestational
diabetes and preeclampsia, and one of the best sports for pregnant women is
yoga, walking, and relaxation exercises.
Violent
sports, carrying heavy loads, sports with unsafe movements or with the possibility
of falling to the ground or bumping into something or somebody, such as basketball,
horse riding, etc. are completely forbidden.
The pregnant
is only allowed to exercise at the specialized pregnant women section in sport and
physical centers.
Marital relationship
during pregnancy
Dr. Attia
Abu Al-Naja, a consultant of women, obstetrics, and infertility, advises to rationalize
the marital relationships between the spouses during pregnancy in order to
avoid some serious uterine contractions, especially in the first three months.
So, in the
first period of pregnancy, it is necessary to refrain from marital relationships
according to the doctor’s order, and each case has instructions that have to be
followed, some cases require to completely abstain from sexual intercourse,
such as bleeding and placenta accreta.
Back pain in pregnancy
Regarding back
pain during pregnancy, Dr. Amr Hassan, a consultant of obstetrics and gynecology,
tells us that these pains are normal during pregnancy, provided that they are
within the normal range determined by the follow-up doctor, and one of the most
important tips for the pregnant to get rid of back pain is to have an erection,
straighten her back and shoulders completely when sitting or working, and have
a walk each half an hour, and avoid bending a lot, or sleeping on the back ( during
the last trimesters because of the increased weight of the abdomen).
Traveling during pregnancy
During
pregnancy, many pregnant women are confused in front of the idea of traveling,
and Dr. Yusriya Muhammad advises that the pregnant woman should travel only by
the order of her treating physician and she must avoid traveling on rough
roads for long distances.
During all the
pregnancy period only the doctor can give permission for the pregnant to travel
(and of course, each case is different from another), the means and the
duration of the travel must be taken in consideration, and it is preferable for
those who have pressure problems or gestational diabetes to not travel during
pregnancy.
Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes, Dr. Yusriya talked about it, explaining that it is a case
of high blood sugar during pregnancy, which may be a risky thing on the baby in
some cases or it can cause him to grow larger or it can be a sign of premature
birth.
The pregnant should avoid excessive intake of unhelpful sugars (such as
oriental sweets, tortillas, chocolate, industrial sweets, and children's
sweets), and frequent addition of sugar to drinks, kunafa, and starches in
abundance.
It is preferable to eat fruits and natural juices made from them. gestational
diabetes can be controlled by organizing nutrition during pregnancy, or by
doses of specific diabetes treatments according to the situation and based on
the doctor's orders, this condition may disappear immediately after giving
birth to the baby.
Preeclampsia
Preeclampsia
affects some pregnant women as a result of very high blood pressure it causes
separate swells in the body, and it threatens the pregnancy safety, which may
require a premature birth, this condition may be treated by organizing nutrition
by instructions from the doctor, and the continuous follow-up of the pregnant
woman, sometimes preeclampsia may require some drugs.
And finally,
those who had high blood pressure before pregnancy should
inform their doctor with this information.
