Dating Pregnancy Using Ultrasound
Ultrasound in the first trimester is the most accurate method of dating pregnancy. During the scan, baby is measured and the age of pregnancy is estimated by comparing baby’s size against recorded averages. If there is a significant difference between gestational age according to LMP and gestational age according to the ultrasound, you may be given a new gestational age and due date based on the ultrasound measurements.
Your pregnancy may also be dated by ultrasound measurement if an LMP formula was not appropriate for your pregnancy for any reason. LMP formulas are not suitable in several situations including the following: LMP is not known or is not certain, birth control pills were taken in the two months before LMP, the menstrual cycle is irregular, you are carrying multiples .
Although the age of pregnancy based on ultrasound measurements is more accurate than the age of pregnancy based on LMP, both are estimates and not definitive statements.
Other Causes Of Bleeding During Pregnancy
Many things can cause bleeding in pregnant women, some of them harmless and some serious. If youre bleeding a lot, with or without pain or cramping at any time, call your doctor.
Continued
If youre pregnant and see blood in your underwear, it may be caused by:
Sex. Hormonal and physical changes may be to blame for this. It should stop on its own.
Fibroids and polyps. Your doctor might do some tests to check for these growths on your uterus.
Cervical problems. Conditions like infection or growths on your cervix can also cause bleeding.
Infection. Sexually transmitted diseases like trichomoniasis can cause light bleeding as well as more serious problems. Starting treatment as soon as possible will keep your baby healthy.
Ectopic pregnancy. This is when an embryo implants outside your uterus. You may have bleeding with pain and cramps. Its dangerous and needs medical care right away.
Miscarriage. About 15% of known pregnancies end during the first few months. Most women bleed and cramp afterward. Call your doctor right away if you know that you’re pregnant and you have these symptoms.
Changes In Food Patterns
This can go both ways you might feel cravings towards a particular type of food and aversions towards others. This occurs due to rise in the levels of estrogen in the blood and can happen any time throughout the pregnancy. Food cravings can be satisfied, provided that the items are safe and that you do not overeat.
Read Also: Is It Okay To Use Vagisil While Pregnant
How Far Along Am I
Knowing how far along you are in pregnancy is helpful for both you and your healthcare provider. Your provider will use this information to check on your babyâs growth and development, keep an eye on your health, and schedule tests and exams.The weeks of pregnancy can be grouped into three trimesters:
-
First trimester: 1 to 13 weeks
-
Second trimester: 14 to 27 weeks
-
Third trimester: 28 to 40-42 weeks .
Check out the illustration below to see how far along you are in your pregnancy:
Why Is Pregnancy Calculated From Your Last Period
Why start the clock on pregnancy before sperm even meets egg ? The LMP is simply a more reliable day to date a pregnancy from. Even if youre a master of cervical mucus and are sure about the day you ovulated as well as the day you had sex, you probably cant pinpoint the exact moment of conception.
From the What to Expect editorial team and Heidi Murkoff, author of What to Expect When You’re Expecting. What to Expect follows strict reporting guidelines and uses only credible sources, such as peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions and highly respected health organizations. Learn how we keep our content accurate and up-to-date by reading our medical review and editorial policy.
- What to Expect When You’re Expecting, 5th edition, Heidi Murkoff.
- What to Expect Before You’re Expecting, 2nd edition, Heidi Murkoff.
Recommended Reading: How To Check Your Stomach For Pregnancy
How Quickly Can I Know If Im Pregnant
Pregnancy is a different experience for each woman. Some women may suspect theyre pregnant within the first few days of pregnancy, while others dont notice anything until they miss a period. There are also some women who dont know theyre pregnant until months after conception.
The most clear-cut way to know if youre pregnant is to take a pregnancy test. When you take a pregnancy test, its measuring a hormone called human chorionic gonadotrophin . This hormone starts building in your body from the moment of conception and will multiply rapidly in the beginning of your pregnancy. Despite its early appearance in the process, it takes some time for your body to build up enough hCG to register on a pregnancy test. Typically, it takes about three to four weeks from the first day of your last period before theres enough hCG in your body for a positive pregnancy test.
Things To Think About
In the early days and weeks of pregnancy, you may not know if you’re pregnant.
But you can do the following things:
- take a folic acid supplement of 400 micrograms a day while you’re trying to get pregnant and until the 12th week of pregnancy
- take a vitamin D supplement of 10 micrograms a day
- avoid some foods to protect against infections
- stopping smoking is one of the best things you can do for your baby’s health
You can get supplements from pharmacies and supermarkets, or your GP may be able to prescribe them for you.
If you want to get your vitamin D or folic acid from a multivitamin tablet, make sure the tablet does not contain vitamin A .
You can get vitamin supplements containing folic acid and vitamin D free of charge if you’re under 18, pregnant or breastfeeding and qualify for the Healthy Start scheme.
Don’t Miss: Nutraburst Side Effects
When Pregnancy Is Unintentional
If you had unprotected sex or a contraceptive failure and fear you could get pregnant, emergency contraception is an option. Commonly called the “morning-after pill,” medications are available over-the-counter that can prevent pregnancy if taken within five days of having unprotected sex.
The sooner you take these medications, the more effective they are in preventing an unintended pregnancy. These medications do not cause an abortion, but rather prevent a pregnancy from being established.
When Can I Take A Home Pregnancy Test
Although you may start to feel early pregnancy symptoms before your period, most women have to wait for an average of two weeks from the time they ovulate for a positive home pregnancy test result. Home pregnancy tests measure levels of human chorionic gonadotropin in your urine.
This placenta-produced hormone makes its way into your urine almost immediately after an embryo begins implanting in your uterus, between six to 12 days after fertilization. You can start using most home pregnancy tests as soon as hCG can be detected in your urine and hCG levels usually arent high enough to be picked up by a home pregnancy test until your periods expected.
Cant wait until then? Some HPTs promise 60 to 75 percent accuracy four to five days before you expect your period. Wait until your period and the rate jumps to 90 percent wait another week and the results are 99 percent accurate.
Know that false negatives are much more common than false positives, so if the time for your period comes and goes without your monthly flow, check in with your health care provider. Either way, youll want to get a blood test to confirm your pregnancy status.
No matter what symptoms you’re having, the only way to know for sure that you’re pregnant is to make an appointment with your OB/GYN.
Also Check: Mayo Clinic Pregnancy
Actual Length Of Pregnancy
The actual length of pregnancy varies significantly among women. Just 4% of babies are born on their estimated due date, while 70% are born within ten days. The remaining 30% are born more than ten days before the due date or more than ten days after.
The reference above provides a delivery birth range of 38 weeks and four days to 41 weeks and three days with a probability of 70%.
What Precautions Should You Take During Early Pregnancy
Even if you havenât spotted any signs of pregnancy very early on, youâll want to do everything you can to stay healthy and safe. In fact, itâs always wise to take some precautions as soon as you start trying to conceive or learn that youâre pregnant.Even simple adjustments can help support you as you start your pregnancy! Though youâll want to consult your healthcare provider to determine whatâs best for you, some worthwhile lifestyle changes and precautions include
-
taking folic acid.
When you start trying for a baby or learn that youâre pregnant, folic acid is essential, as itâs a B vitamin that helps reduce the risk of certain birth defects that affect the babyâs brain and spine. Your healthcare provider can recommend a prenatal vitamin that contains at least 400 micrograms of folic acid. Pre-pregnancy is also a great time to eliminate some less healthy habits, including
-
smoking
-
exposure to secondhand smoke
-
drinking alcohol.
In addition, your provider may recommend limiting your daily consumption of caffeine. Talk with your healthcare provider about the best ways to stay healthy and safe when youâre pregnant. For more general advice, download our pregnancy guide!
Read Also: Restylane While Pregnant
Other Skin Effects You Might Experience Instead
As already mentioned, pregnancy acne occurs when your oil glands produce more sebum than normal. Not only can it make your skin look shiny, but it can lead to blemishes, too.
You should continue washing your face twice a day per usual, but you may need to switch to oily skin products for the duration of your pregnancy. Talk with your doctor about safe products for use during pregnancy.
Pregnancy mask is another pregnancy-related skin condition that may affect some women and not others. This condition refers to brown spots on your skin caused by hyperpigmentation from increased melanin production in your skin. These blotches go away after pregnancy when your hormone levels drop, but sun exposure can make them worse. Wear a sunscreen every day to help prevent this.
Your Baby At Weeks 1 And 2
This week the groundwork is laid for the big O ovulation the all important first step toward the making of the baby of your dreams. And like those dreams, the baby action is all in your head right now where the hypothalamus, the control center in your brain, works with its partner in reproduction, the pituitary gland, to start releasing hormones.
These hormones called FSH and LH prompt the ovaries to get cracking on some eggs, ripening one to maturity within its follicle. All this egg action causes the ovaries to crank up production of two other powerful hormones, estrogen and progesterone. These hormones, the dynamic duo of the reproductive system, get the reproductive party in your uterus started, telling the uterus to thicken its lining, forming a blood-pumped cushion in anticipation of hosting a fertilized egg.
Midway through your menstrual cycle around day 14 if you have an average 28-day cycle the dominant follicle in the ovary swells and then ruptures, releasing the mature egg of the month. That egg, the one with your babys name on it, bursts through the walls of the ovary and is immediately swept up into the fringed opening of the fallopian tube, where it will take a six day odyssey down to the uterus. Ovulation has just occurred.
Don’t Miss: Can I Drink Breakfast Essentials While Pregnant
How Ultrasound Can Help Date A Pregnancy
What if you dont know the date of your last menstrual period? Or maybe your cycle is so irregular that you cant even begin to guess when you may have ovulated? Dont worry! A dating ultrasound can help in fact, doctors commonly use a dating ultrasound as a tool to verify the LMP method.
You might receive a dating ultrasound at your first prenatal appointment or slightly later into your pregnancy.
Your Common Symptoms This Week
You can’t attribute any symptoms you feel during week 1 to pregnancy just yet. This week’s discomforts are brought to you by menstruation.
As such, you might be feeling the way you usually do during your period. Some people don’t have many menstrual symptoms at all, but for others, fluctuating hormones can lead to typical issues such as:
- Bloating
- Moodiness
Don’t Miss: Kinesio Tape For Pregnancy Round Ligament Pain
Calculating Your Due Date
How can you call this your first week of pregnancy if you’re not even pregnant? Its extremely hard for your practitioner to pinpoint the precise moment pregnancy begins .
While theres no mistaking the start of your period, the exact day of ovulation can be hard to nail down. Whats more, sperm from your partner can hang out in your body for several days before your egg comes out to greet it. Likewise, your egg can be kept waiting for up to 24 hours for late sperm to make their appearance.
So in order to give all pregnancies some standard timing, most practitioners use the first day of your last menstrual period as the starting line of your 40-week pregnancy. Still confused? Think of it as a head start you’re clocking in roughly two weeks of pregnancy before you even conceive!
What Are The Signs Of Pregnancy
For a lot of people, the first sign of pregnancy is a missed period. Most pregnancy tests will be positive by the time youve missed your period. Other early pregnancy symptoms include feeling tired, feeling bloated, peeing more than usual, mood swings, nausea, and tender or swollen breasts. Not everyone has all of these symptoms, but its common to have at least 1 of them.
Read Also: Vagisil While Pregnant
Make Healthy Lifestyle Choices
Its not all about what you add to your routine its also about what you take away. When trying to conceive, its more important than ever to avoid alcohol, drugs, and tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.
These habits can affect a baby and lead to genetic disorders, respiratory problems, low birth weight, fetal alcohol syndrome, and other health issues.
What Is Implantation Bleeding
Implantation bleeding is light bleeding from the vagina that happens in some women 10 to 14 days after conceiving a baby.
You may think its just a light period, but its an early sign of pregnancy. Its not dangerous, and you dont need treatment.
But heavy bleeding can be a sign of a problem. Call your doctor if you bleed a lot, with or without fever, chills, or have cramps that get worse.
Read Also: Can I Get Lasik While Pregnant
Morning Sickness Or Nausea
That telltale, queasy feeling known as morning sickness can hit you at any time of day and it typically begins when you’re about 6 weeks pregnant, though it can vary and strike even earlier. For most women, nausea starts by week 9.
Hormones, mainly increased levels of progesterone , can cause the stomach to empty more slowly, resulting in this early pregnancy symptom resembling seasickness.
How To Tell If You’re Pregnant Right Away
The only way to tell if youre pregnant right away is by taking a home pregnancy test according to its instructions. Waiting can be difficult, but you can usually take a test three to four days before a missed period though youre more likely to get a false negative if you test too soon. If its negative, wait a couple more days and test again if Aunt Flo doesnt come to visit.
Be sure to test first thing in the morning, when your urine and the hormone that the test is measuring are most concentrated. If you see a line indicating a pregnancy, youre almost certainly pregnant . Pregnancy tests with false positives are rare.
Don’t Miss: Accidentally Donated Plasma While Pregnant
How Can You Tell If You’re Pregnant
Answering the burning question of whether you are pregnant or not can be easy or difficult depending on how far along you are and how well you know your own body.
Many women can tell if they are pregnant within two or three weeks of conceiving, and some women know a lot sooner, even within a few days. It really depends on your ability to pick up on the changes occurring within your body and how sensitive you are to them.
Of course, you’ll definitely be able to find out for sure once you have missed your first period by doing a pregnancy test . Don’t be tempted to take a pregnancy test too early, though. Doing so can increase your chances of getting an inaccurate result or maybe a faint pregnancy test line.
Your Baby’s Development At 1 Week
While there isn’t a baby growing yet, your body is getting ready for pregnancy. During your menstrual period, the uterine lining sheds along with the unfertilized egg from the last cycle.
After three to seven days of menstruation, your ovaries begin to prepare the egg that will be released at ovulation, and the lining of your uterus begins to thicken to accept that egg once it’s fertilized. If all goes well, you will conceive around week 3.
Also Check: Does Donating Plasma Affect Fertility
Your Pregnancy Symptoms Week By Week
Check out this week-by-week pregnancy symptom timeline so you know what to expect while carrying a baby.
Your body experiences a wide range of changes throughout pregnancy, ranging from breast tenderness in the first trimester to backaches in the third. Prepare for whats coming with our list of pregnancy symptoms by week.
