From Pregnancy To Child

Any woman who is sexually active and able to bear children will go through months where she wonders if she is pregnant. Sometimes women have false alarms and sometimes they are not false. How does a woman know she is pregnant and what are the signs of pregnancy? There are some very obvious signs and then some that aren't so obvious. There are possible signs and then there are definite signs of pregnancy. Women should become familiar with these signs so they can make good health decisions and know when to consult a doctor.

Possible Signs Of Pregnancy

Most false alarms are the results of possible signs of pregnancy. The most common possible sign is a missed or light period. A woman will miss her period or can have a light period at the beginning of a pregnancy but other things can cause either of these signs to occur. Other possible signs of pregnancy include sore or enlarged breasts, frequent urination, moodiness, nausea, vomiting, and sensing fetal movement. All these signs may very well mean a woman is pregnant but none of them is conclusive. A woman with these symptoms should hold off on buying baby clothes and furniture until the pregnancy is verified.

Verifying Possible Signs Of Pregnancy

When a woman suspects she is pregnant and has had some of the possible signs of pregnancy she will want to act quickly to verify if she is truly pregnant. The next thing for her to do is to take a pregnancy test. Over-the-counter tests can be purchased and are usually pretty reliable but the woman will want to consult a doctor for more conclusive testing. The doctor can do a urine pregnancy test, a blood pregnancy test and can check for signs in the uterus that will work to verify the signs of pregnancy. For absolute verification the baby can be seen on an ultrasound or the fetal heart can be heard. Of course, with the pregnancy tests that the physician does they will be pretty sure if a patient is pregnant before the baby is heard or seen.

For a woman who has signs of pregnancy and suspects she is pregnant there are several important things to do. The first few weeks of a baby's development are very important and the baby requires good nutrition during these times. Women who might be pregnant need to eat a well balanced diet and start taking prenatal vitamins as soon as possible. It is also important that these women avoid alcohol, tobacco and other drugs to prevent birth defects and addiction.