Pregnancy

Pregnancy is when an embryo starts to form in the uterus following conception. During the coming weeks, the pregnant woman's body will take on many changes. It is estimated that half of all pregnancies are unplanned.http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html

Birth usually occurs at about forty weeks (nine months) after the last missed period. Each of the nine months is divided into trimesters, of three months each. Many times, doctors try to put down a due date based on the estimated date of the woman's last missed period. Despite this, only 50% of births actually occur within a week of the due date.

Prenatal care is needed for both the health of the mother and baby. It is very important to see a health care provider as soon as pregnancy is suspected. Your first doctor visit will likely be when you are around six to eight weeks pregnant. During this visit you will be weighed and have your blood pressure taken. Also during you first visit you will have a pelvic examination and a pap smear. Other tests include urine tests and blood tests. The doctor will usually recommend that you not gain more than 25 to 30 pounds during your pregnancy.http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/pregnancy/prenatal-care-4255.htm

1. Blood or fluid leaking from your vagina
2. Extreme swelling in face or fingers
3. Nausea or vomiting that won't go away
4. Dizziness
5. Blurred vision
6. Pain in the lower abdomen
7. Fever or chills
8. A change in the baby's movement
9. A burning when you urinate or less urine
10. Anything that concerns youhttp://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec22/ch258/ch258c.html

A 33 year-old woman, Nadya Suleman, came under fire in 2009 after using implanted embryos and other drugs to help have octuplets. Such a case is not able to be done without extra embryos being implanted within a woman. Suleman, already had six children before conceiving octuplets. This was controversial among doctors and the public alike, who claimed that Suleman was putting the lives of eight children as well as herself in danger. Suleman believed that it was fien to have eight children at once as long as she could provide for them.http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/29038814

Like most women during their pregnancy, Julia Grovenburg went to her doctor's office for an ultrasound of her growing baby, Jillian. During her ultrasound on June 4, 2009, Julia, a resident of Fort Smith, Arkansas, received surprising information. She was pregnant with a second child. The doctors soon discovered that the second baby, Hudson, was smaller and younger developmentally. Even more shocking was the revelation that the two babies were not conceived at the same time like most twins. Ms. Grovenburg conceived a second child while she was already pregnant with the first.

Although the babies were expected to be delivered together in December, their official due dates were actually in two different years: Jillian in December 2009 and Hudson in January 2010.

Julia Grovenburg's obstetrician, Dr. Michael Muylaert, confirmed that the Grovenburgs may be dealing with a rare condition called superfetation. This suspicion can only be confirmed or refuted after the birth of the two babies by conducting metabolic and chromosomal studies on them.http://abcnews.go.com/Health/ReproductiveHealth/pregnant-woman-pregnant-julia-grovenburg-conceives-consecutively/story?id=8656369

The content in this page is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please contact a doctor before using the information presented here.