What Hair Changes Are Common During Pregnancy
Hair changes in pregnancy are very common, and body hair changes are common as well. Many women develop mild hirsutism that may be due to levels of male hormone production by the ovary and adrenal gland.
In nonpregnant patients, hair grows in the anagen phase and rests in the telogen phase. About 10%-15% of all hairs are in the telogen phase at any given time. During pregnancy, however, more scalp hairs are in the anagen phase, therefore, more growth is documented. During the telogen resting phase, it is normal for hair to fall out so that new hair can regrow. During late pregnancy, fewer hairs are in the telogen phase immediately postpartum, more hairs are in the telogen phase. This often results in a dramatic loss of hair immediately postpartum, termed telogen effluvium. Although such an occurrence may be disturbing, it is a normal process.
Normal hair loss is probably in the range of 60-100 hairs a day and most patients do not notice a dramatic loss unless 40% of all hair is lost. This process spontaneously resolves in about 1-5 months, but has been reported to last more than a year. The frontal and parietal areas are usually most affected. No effective treatment is known.
About That Belly Bloat Or Baby
The pee stick on your pregnancy test is barely dry, but you swear theres already a baby bump bulging over the top of your skinny jeans. Is it for real?
Yes and no! Yes, you probably do have some abdominal swelling, but its most likely caused by first trimester bloating, not the size of your uterus.
Just like when you get all puffy right before your period, the increase in progesterone that happens with conception can cause bloating.
At this stage, your uterus is starting to expand but is still pretty small, so its not likely to be the reason for your tight-fitting pants.
That is, unless this isnt your first baby, in which case you could be seeing the makings of a baby bump this early: Because your abdominal muscles are weakened from your previous pregnancy, theyre ready to fall right back into saggy shape as soon as any kind of uterine growth happens.
Fertility Drug Side Effects
If you are working with a doctor to improve your chances of conceiving, it’s important to know that fertility drug side effects can sometimes be mistaken for early pregnancy symptoms. Progesterone supplements can cause nausea and a frequent urination. Controlled ovarian hyperstimulation treatments like oral clomiphine citrate drugs or injectable gonadotropin may lead to moodiness, sore breasts, and bloating.
Be sure to keep in close touch with your fertility specialist to understand all possible side effects of any medications you are taking. This is a good idea to not only ensure you are in good health throughout treatments, but to also help temper expectations month to month.
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Is It Normal To Secrete Milk From The Breast Prior To Delivery
Galactorrhea is the product of the combined effects of prolactin, glucocorticoids, progesterone, and human placental lactogen. Galactorrhea is not uncommon in the first trimester, although it usually does not occur until milk let-down soon after delivery. At that time, the high levels of progesterone, which block milk excretion, drop with the delivery of the placenta. In mid-pregnancy a woman reaches lactogenesis stage I and she is able to secrete colostrum.
Early galactorrhea does not mean that a woman will produce less milk after delivery. Some women notice secretions beginning before the fifth month of pregnancy. Many women find they spontaneously leak or express some fluid by the ninth month.
Early milk secretion, known as colostrum, is watery and pale. Colostrum has more protein and lower fat levels than mature milk.
Lactogenesis stages II and III occur postpartum and form more mature milk.
Loss Of Appetite For Favourite Foods
Pregnancy can really mess with your eating habits, thats for sure. As well as craving foods you may not have previously been interested in, you can actually lose a taste for some foods and drinks that are usually a big part of your normal diet. Women sometimes go off staples such as coffee, tea or fatty foods. Changes in tastes and a heightened sense of smell are very common and can persist throughout pregnancy but do tend to be strongest early on, Dr Knight explained.
What else could it be?People often experience a loss in appetite when theyre feeling anxious or stressed. This is because anxiety triggers emotional and psychological changes in your body to help you deal with the pressure, they often affect the stomach and digestive tract and can make you lose your appetite. When youre feeling more relaxed, your appetite should return back to normal.
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Fetal Development At 1 Month Pregnant
Baby is working hard on developing from a fertilized egg full of multiplying cells into what we call an embryo. Theyll stay an embryo until the end of month 2 when they officially become a fetus.
Right now, your baby is only about 6 or 7 millimeters in size, but growing quickly and already starting to build up their organ systems. The placenta and umbilical cord are forming, too, to nourish your baby through your pregnancy.
More About Morning Sickness
The first thing to know about morning sickness is that it can hit you at any time of day.Probably a result of your changing hormones, it usually starts about week six and settles by week 14. The good news is that you may feel better if you:
- drink small amounts of fluid, often. Try flat lemonade, sports drinks, diluted fruit juice, weak tea, clear soup or a hot drink make of stock
- suck on ice or ice-blocks
- try ginger tablets, dry ginger ale or ginger tea
- eat small amounts of food more often, so you dont have an empty stomach
- eat a dry biscuit when you wake up in the morning, to avoid feeling sick when you get out of bed
- try salty foods such as potato crisps or salty biscuits
- suck on barley sugar or boiled lollies
- avoid fatty, rich or spicy foods
- avoid the smell of hot food
- avoid cooking dishes with strong smells
- rest as much as you can.
A small percentage of women have prolonged and excessive vomiting , which can lead to dehydration if it is not treated. See your doctor if you have severe morning sickness.
In some extreme cases, women need to be rehydrated in hospital, using intravenous fluids.
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Will You Notice Early Signs And Symptoms When You’re 1 Week Pregnant Or 2 Weeks Pregnant
Your journey through pregnancy has officially begun, but as mentioned above, youâre not actually pregnant yet. Remember that healthcare providers calculate your pregnancy as 40 weeks, or 280 days, from the start of your last period. So, if you have a typical 28-day menstrual cycle, the first two weeks are mainly just Aunt Flo doing her thing.
But after two weeks, other things start to happen.
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One of your ovaries will release an egg around 14 days after the first day of your last period.
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The egg will travel down one of the fallopian tubes where it may unite with sperm.
Itâs worth noting that sperm can live inside your body for up to five days, and your egg has a lifespan of up to one day. This means your window of fertility is about five days before you ovulate to one day after.What this all means is that you wonât feel any of those very early signs of pregnancy in weeks 1, 2, or possibly even 3. If you have yet to conceive, then it makes sense that you wouldnât notice anything!
If I Am Taking Antidepressants Can I Breastfeed My Baby
Breastfeeding provides many health benefits for babies. It also helps mothers and babies bond. If you are taking antidepressants, small amounts will come out through your breast milk. But studies have shown that children exposed to these drugs through breast milk have not had problems.
Even if you are taking antidepressants, you can breastfeed your baby for as long as you wish. Stopping an antidepressant during breastfeeding may cause the depression to return.
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Do Older Fathers Have An Increased Risk Of Fathering Children With Birth Defects
No medical information exists to support the hypothesis that increased paternal age causes increased numerical chromosomal abnormalities in the manner that increased maternal age does. However, as males age, structural spermatozoa abnormalities increase, and affected sperm usually cannot fertilize eggs.
The literature suggests a 0.3%-0.5% risk of autosomal dominant disease in offspring of fathers aged 40 years or older. Autosomal dominant disorders include neurofibromatosis, , achondroplasia, and polycystic kidney disease.
Paternal age has been identified as a significant predictor of schizophrenia. Studies have also indicated a possible association between advanced paternal age and offspring with autism spectrum disorders. The American Society of Reproductive Medicine recommends an age limit of 50 years for semen donors.
Any family with a history of birth defects should seek individual genetic counseling. To determine whether an individual has a family history of risk, patients should inform their clinician or genetic counselor about any birth defects that have occurred in the past 3 generations.
Using A Heart Rate / Heart Beat App
Your OB or midwife is probably checking your babys heartbeat at every appointment using a doppler. This lets them know how many beats per minute your little ones heart is racing.
Also, remember that if you are just a few weeks into pregnancy not hearing a heartbeat can feel extremely scary but most Dopplers and ultrasounds will pick up a heartbeat by week 7 and beyond.
You can opt to buy a doppler for yourself to use and identify where the heartbeat is. But just remember these are medical devices and if you cant find the heartbeat yourself you may start to worry even more.
They are however expensive and if you want you can use something like a heartbeat app on your phone, however, most apps are assured to work starting after the first trimester to get accurate readings.
One app that I used with my second pregnancy was SHELL by Bellabeat. It allows you to listen to the heartbeat of the baby with the microphone on your cellphone. You do have to place it on airplane mode and make sure you are in a quiet room.
It gave me a lot of peace of mind and made me able to relax. I first used the app at 10 weeks and was able to find a small noticeable heartbeat. Then after that, I used it once a week until I reached 15 weeks.
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How Can I Know That Im Pregnant Before My Period
Theres no way to know for certain if youre pregnant before missing your period other than taking a home pregnancy test. Some women do experience symptoms such as fatigue and nausea. These could be PMS symptoms, however. If you still arent sure youre pregnant after taking a home test, see a doctor.
How Reliable Are Home Pregnancy Tests
According to the NHS, home pregnancy tests are reliable as long as you follow the instructions correctly. It may not be reliable if you didnt follow instructions or youve taken the test too early.
Most pregnancy tests can be taken after the first missed period, with any tests taken before this time running the risk of being inaccurate. Professionals also recommend avoiding drinking too much fluid ahead of doing a test, as it can dilute the level of HGC.
Negative tests may not be reliable if youve taken it too early, as the level of HGC might not be enough at the time of taking it. Tests can also vary in their sensitivity and so its recommended you read instructions thoroughly before using one, as theres no guarantee each one will be the same.
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Were There Any Problems With It
There are many things that can potentially interfere with birth control. For oral contraceptives or the pill, some medications, like antibiotics, can nullify the effects. If you have a condom slip or break, you have a greater likelihood of pregnancy. So did you have any issues like this during your cycle?
Where Does The Baby Go At 14 Weeks
The top of your uterus is a bit above your pubic bone, which may be enough to push your tummy out a tad. Starting to show can be quite a thrill, giving you and your partner visible evidence of the baby youve been waiting for. About half of pregnant women have swollen, red, tender gums that bleed when flossed or brushed.
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Can I Tell If I’m Pregnant By Feeling My Belly
First published on Tuesday 4 May 2021Last modified on Thursday 6 May 2021
Emily Gulla
Have you heard rumours that you can feel your stomach to see if you’re pregnant? Read on to find out the facts, including when you can feel your baby move from the outside, and how to tell you’re pregnant in the early stages.
This article contains affiliate links, which means we may earn a small amount of money if a reader clicks through and makes a purchase. All our articles and reviews are written independently by the Netmums editorial team.
If you think you could be in the early stages of pregnancy, you might be wondering how to feel your stomach to see if you are in fact pregnant. Here’s what you need to know…
Feeling your belly from the outside
There are a lot of myths out there but, unfortunately, it’s notpossible to tell if you’re pregnant by feeling your stomach or belly from the outside in the early stages of pregnancy.
FREE NEWBORN NAPPIES
Later on in pregnancy, it may be possible for you or others to feel your baby moving by touching your belly from the outside, and you will start to develop a feel-able baby bump but these things won’t happen until much later down the line, around the middle of your pregnancy.
How your belly might feel on the inside
These signs include: period-type pains , cramping or bloating in your belly, and feeling nauseous or sick.
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How To Deal With It:
Youll probably want to invest in some different kinds of bras, which could be larger, made out of cotton, and underwire-free. Wearing a bra to bed might help ease the pain as well. Though your larger twins might look enticing to your partner, make sure you let them know that they are welcome to look, but touching should be kept to a minimum.
If you’re pregnant, your body is working hard to make another human, so you’re feeling tired for many reasons!
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How Do Sleep Patterns Change In Pregnancy
Pregnant women have functional changes in their sleep pattern. Although pregnancy-associated sleep disorder is not a specific diagnosis, it has been proposed as a new categorization in the revised International Classification of Sleep Disorders by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
Total sleep time increases during the first trimester of pregnancy, normalizes in the second trimester, and decreases in the third trimester with frequent awakening. Changes related to smooth muscle relaxation as a result of circulating progesterone levels include frequent urination, gastric reflux, and nasal congestionall of which may disrupt sleep. Positional discomfort, leg cramps, breast tenderness, and anxiety can also contribute to poor sleep.
Pregnancy also impacts sleep architecture. In general, the amount of sleep in the rapid eye movement phase is decreased, and the body spends more time in slow-wave sleep.
When Will You Experience Pregnancy Symptoms
One factor to consider is the fact that many of the earliest signs of pregnancy are the same symptoms you might have right before your period.
With that in mind, you probably won’t experience significant symptoms before your missed period. Most classic pregnancy symptoms dont start until one or two weeks after conception at the very earliest. Many women dont notice anything until one or two weeks after their missed period .
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How Do You Tell If You Are Pregnant Or Just Fat
Is Cramping During Pregnancy Normal
Early in pregnancy, uterine cramping can indicate normal changes of pregnancy initiated by hormonal changes later in pregnancy, it can indicate a growing uterus. Cramping that is different from previous pregnancies, worsening cramping, or cramping associated with any vaginal bleeding may be a sign of ectopic pregnancy, threatened abortion, or missed abortion.
Other physical effects that are normal during pregnancy, and not necessarily signs of disease, include nausea, vomiting, increase in abdominal girth, changes in bowel habits, increased urinary frequency, palpitations or more rapid heartbeat, upheaving of the chest , heart murmurs, swelling of the ankles, and shortness of breath.
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How Can You Tell If You Are Pregnant After 2 Days
The only way to tell whether you are pregnant after two days from sex is by looking for pregnancy signs. After sex you feel bloated, because of hormones changing in your body. If you are pregnant you can have constipation. Nasal congestion is common early pregnancy sign.
One early bird SteadyHealth member reported nausea and an aversion to some foods two days after having unprotected sex. Wondering if this could be a sign of pregnancy, she turned to the community for answers.
Nausea immediately after sex is something that women question as a sign of pregnancy. However, your body doesnt have enough time to react to produce that symptom due to a pregnancy resulting from that sex act. Most women dont experience pregnancy-related nausea until weeks five or six of pregnancy.
