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Topic Overview
How can I prepare for a pregnancy?
If you are planning to become pregnant soon, there are steps you can take to make your pregnancy as healthy as possible.
See a doctor or certified nurse midwife (CNM) for a prepregnancy exam. Discuss the safety of any medications you're now taking, whether you've had all necessary immunizations, and any chronic health problems or other concerns you may have.
Start taking a daily prenatal vitamin with 0.4 mg(400 ug) of folic acid. This reduces the chance of having a baby with a birth defect.
See your dentist. Take care of any dental work you may need done.
Keep track of your menstrual cycle. This can not only help you know the best time to try to get pregnant but later gives your health professional a good idea of your fetus's developmental age.
Make healthy lifestyle choices. Eat a balanced diet. Cut down on caffeine. Avoid alcoholic beverages, medications that are unsafe during pregnancy, and street drugs.
Exercise regularly. A strong body helps you handle the demands of pregnancy, childbirth, and recovery. Exercise also helps keep your mood up.
What can I do to promote a healthy pregnancy?
Once you're pregnant, regular checkups are key. Your health professional will want to monitor your baby's growth and watch for problems that can only be detected by regularly checking your blood pressure, urine, and blood.
Anything you do that harms your body harms your fetus. Take special care to avoid tobacco smoke, alcohol and drugs, chemicals, radiation (as from X-rays), and sources of infection. Keep your body temperature from getting too high [over 100.4 °F(38 °C)] by treating any fevers with acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) and avoiding exercise or activity that overheats you. Also avoid high-temperature hot tub or sauna use.
Take extra-good care of yourself while you're pregnant. Everything healthy you do for your body benefits your growing fetus. Rest when you need it, eat well, and exercise regularly.
What kinds of exams and tests will I have?
Your first prenatal exam gives your doctor or certified nurse midwife important information for planning your prenatal care. You can expect to have a pelvic exam, your blood pressure and weight checked, and a urine and blood sampling during this first office visit. The laboratory tests of your urine and blood are used to confirm your pregnancy and to tell whether you're anemic or have signs of infection.
At each prenatal visit you'll be weighed, have your abdomen measured, and have your blood pressure and urine checked. While these quick office visits may seem simple and routine, your health professional is actually watching for a number of serious complications that can occur during pregnancy.
During your second trimester, you can have your blood tested for signs of birth defects (triple screen test). If you have risk factors for birth defects, you may want to use fetal ultrasound or amniocentesis, if you haven't opted for chorionic villus sampling late in the first trimester. Early in your third trimester, your blood sugar is checked (glucose tolerance test) for gestational diabetes. Near the end of your pregnancy, you will be screened for infections that could harm your newborn.
What warning signs should I look for during my pregnancy?
Call your doctor or certified nurse midwife immediately if you have cramping, blood or other fluid from the vagina; abdominal pain; persistent low backache; burning or pain while urinating; headache; blurred vision; fever; or sudden, severe foot, ankle, or hand swelling.
What can I expect during labor and delivery?
Like pregnancy, labor and delivery follow a typical sequence. However, your labor and delivery is likely to be different from any other woman's. Similarly, if you have given birth before, your next childbirth may be completely different.
Early labor starts with uncomfortable, unpredictable contractions that begin to open (dilate) the cervix. This phase can last 2 to 3 days, especially during first-time labor. Contractions then become stronger and more frequent, gradually dilating the cervix from 3 cm(1.2 in.) to 10 cm(3.9 in.). This phase, called active labor, is when you want to get to your hospital or birthing center. As active labor progresses, you may decide to use pain medication, especially if you have back labor.
As you near the time when you push the baby out (transition), you may become anxious, irritable, nauseated, or exhausted. "Pushing" to deliver your baby could take from a few minutes to 2 to 3 hours. While the average first-time mother takes 9 hours of total active labor to deliver a baby, some take much less time. After your baby is born, your contractions will continue until you deliver the placenta.
What can I expect after childbirth?
In the hours after delivery, your body will begin recovering, while gearing up to breast-feed your newborn. During the first postpartum weeks, your body will slowly heal and readjust to its nonpregnant state. It is normal to feel emotional during this time; hormonal changes can shift your mood without warning, for no apparent reason.
It's easy to get overtired and overwhelmed during the first weeks after childbirth. To best handle the physical demands of recovery and newborn care, make sure that you get as much rest and help as possible. If you have trouble with "baby blues" that last more than a few days or you have thoughts of hurting yourself or your baby, call your health professional right away. Postpartum depression requires immediate treatment.
