Pregnancy Care - Overview, Importance and Impact

A home pregnancy test can detect pregnancy as early as two weeks after conception. The pregnancy test checks for the presence of the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) in urine. The placenta produces HCG hormone after conception. If your result is positive, you can visit your doctor to confirm your pregnancy.

The nine months of pregnancy are segregated into three parts: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd trimester.

Some health problems might occur during pregnancy like:

1. Severe vomiting in pregnancy
2. Vomiting is common during the first trimester; however, some might experience severe vomiting that can last the entire pregnancy.
3. Severe vomiting during pregnancy is called hyperemesis gravidarum.
4. This condition can cause weight loss, dehydration, dizziness, or reduced appetite.
5. High blood pressure
6. Also called gestational hypertension. It goes away after childbirth.
7. This condition might occur during the second half of pregnancy.
8. Hypertension can make it difficult for blood to reach the placenta, thereby slowing the growth of the baby.
9. This condition can be managed by taking medications during pregnancy.
10. Gestational diabetes
11. Uncontrolled sugar can increase the risk of getting high blood pressure during pregnancy.
12. It can also increase the risk for c-section delivery and having a large infant.
13. High blood sugar during pregnancy can also be managed by taking medications prescribed by your doctor.
14. Itching and intrahepatic cholestasis 
15. Itching is common during pregnancy, which might occur due to raised hormone levels in your blood or due to stretching of your abdomen. 
16. Itching can also indicate intrahepatic cholestasis (also called ICP or obstetric cholestasis), which is a liver condition.
17. ICP can cause symptoms like:
18. Itching, particularly in your hands and feet, which is worse at night
19. Yellowing of the white portion of the eyes or the skin (less common symptom)
20. Darke urine
21. Pale stools
22. To manage this condition, your doctor may recommend creams and medications.
23. Deep vein thrombosis
24. It is a serious condition where a blood clot forms in any of the body’s deep veins, mainly in the leg.
25. Symptoms of deep vein thrombosis include:
26. Tenderness, pain, redness, or swelling in the calf
27. Heavy pain in your affected leg
28. If this clot breaks off and enters your bloodstream, it can block any blood vessel in the lungs, leading to pulmonary embolism.
29. Medications like heparin are usually administered for this condition to dissolve blood clots.

Labour is a process in which your body naturally delivers the baby. To know if your labour pains have begun, watch out for symptoms like:

1. Contractions 
2. It May feel like extreme period of pain
3. Will last for at least one minute
4. Come after every five minutes
5. Back pain
6. Water breaking, which feels like a sudden burst or a slow trickle of water coming out from your vagina
7. An urge to urinate
8. A jelly-like sticky substance comes out of the vagina.
9. Visit your doctor when you notice any signs of labour.