Pregnancy

Millions of women every year are blessed with pregnancy. This part of the guide explores the pregnancy stage, focusing on a wide range of information, essential issues and advice to help you on the road to the successful delivery of a baby. You can find out what to expect at all stages of the pregnancy and find useful tips on many aspects of the process, as well as a comprehensive look at the development of a baby in the womb, including the following topics:

Signs of pregnancy

Before taking a pregnancy test or ultrasound, your own determining whether you are pregnant will not be an exact science. There are, however, a considerable number of signs and possible symptoms to consider, a combination of which could indicate pregnancy. Remember that some women experience very few of these signs initially, but our guide will assist you with identifying symptoms.

This section will also examine the changes pregnancy has on an expectant mother’s body. Knowing what natural bodily changes to expect during pregnancy can be an invaluable help to the mother- and father-to-be. Stress and anxiety are reduced, while maintaining the sense of shared experience between the couple and their child. It is a relief to innumerable women that nausea symptoms often minimise during the second trimester, replaced by balanced hormones and a feeling of wellbeing.

The baby’s development

It is both important and fascinating to understand the baby’s development during the nine months of pregnancy. The baby grows to approximately two and a half inches long by the end of the first trimester, with astonishing development continuing until around 35-40 weeks when the baby’s physical features have fully developed, with its organs mature and ready for the outside world. In addition, if major problems are identified through prenatal care, or an unfortunate turn of events results in miscarriage, this is devastating for the people involved. Our guide offers sympathetic recommendations and advice on how to proceed in the event of losing a baby.

The father’s role

Keeping up strength and togetherness during pregnancy is vital for couples, and the expectant father can find advice in our guide on how to provide the best assistance and care during this period. From feeling the baby’s first movements with the mother, to simply offering help wherever necessary, the expectant father’s role is important and should be as involved as possible. In many cases the father helps with the birth itself, joining with relaxation exercises and much more.

Prenatal care

Prenatal care is comprised of crucial medical and nursing care provided to help women with thorough advice on diet, nutrition, exercise and more, while also aiming to diagnose and deal with any complications or problems with the baby early in the process. Such care is thought to greatly reduce the incidence of preventable problems with infants.

Women over 35

Having a baby presents a number of different concerns for women aged over 35, which we discuss here. You can learn about the risks inherent in later pregnancies, in terms of both infertility and pregnancy complications, as well as physical issues the mother might face. The risks are greater, but going into a late pregnancy with the right information puts you in a more informed position.

This guide to the expecting stage of pregnancy is split into the following categories:

• Signs of pregnancy
• Symptoms you Shouldn’t Ignore
• A pregnant mother’s developing body
• Pregnancy calendar
• The role of the expectant father
• What you should & shouldn’t do during pregnancy
• Prenatal care
• Prenatal methods of testing
• Exercise during pregnancy
• Pregnancy – expecting twins or more
• Pregnancy predicaments
• Sleeping during pregnancy
• Having another baby
• Having a baby over 35
• Losing a baby
• Myths about pregnancy
• Plus size pregnancy
• Pregnancy FAQ