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Pregnancy Symptoms Advice: Infections

It is thought that the immune system is less effective in pregnancy, to prevent the mother rejecting her baby. This may make women more vulnerable to infection.

Urine infections are more common because tissue relaxation may prevent the bladder emptying completely, and the you’re left behind can become infected. You may be more susceptible to cystitis or sometimes infections can back-track to the kidneys, causing pain and nausea.

Gum infection is more likely, as the gums tend to swell during pregnancy so that tooth brushing causes bleeding more readily. Use a soft brush, and speak to your dentist if you are concerned.

It is well known that some infections can cause problems with the development of the baby, particularly in early pregnancy. If you are worried about exposure to German measles (rubella) or chickenpox, discuss your immunity with your midwife. If you have any symptoms of chickenpox, seek medical help immediately, as an antiviral drug can be given.

If you have a cold or flu, get plenty of rest and fluids. Lower your temperature with cold flannels and paracetamol, as long as you don’t exceed the stated dose over 24 hours. Some cold and flu preparations contain other drugs, so check with the pharmacist as to their suitability for use in pregnancy.

If in doubt about pregnancy symptoms or infections, always consult your midwife or doctor.

Pregnancy Symptoms Advice: Sensitive Skin

Stretching of the skin, particularly your breasts, belly and thighs can cause itching. Moisturising the skin can help. Some women find that exposure to the sun in pregnancy causes skin irritation and have to cover up and stay in the shade.

Pregnancy Symptoms Advice: Secretions and Leaks

Pregnancy hormones increase your normal, mucus secretions, but any odour or discolouration should be investigated for infection. Thrush is more common in pregnancy because of the changed acidity of the vagina. Even if you aren’t suffering any irritation, but think you have thrush, get it treated to avoid your baby being infected at birth.

Particularly towards the end of pregnancy, some women are unsure if they have wet themselves, or whether their waters have broken. This wetness could be urine, due to the weight of your baby and the relaxation of tissues, meaning that you leak when coughing or laughing.

Emptying the bladder can often help or you might want to wear a pad to avoid embarrassment. Starting your pelvic floor exercises as early as possible, and continuing them for life, will help to avoid long-term continence problems.

The leakage could be increased vaginal secretions or even a show in the run-up to labour. Or it could be amniotic fluid following rupture of the membranes surrounding the baby. If you are unsure what it might be then speak to your midwife.

Pregnancy Symptoms Advice: Nausea and Vomiting

The pregnancy hormone HCG (human chorionic gonadotrophin), and thyroid hormones are thought to cause the debilitating sickness of pregnancy. Avoiding triggers such as fried or rich foods and caffeine can help. Eating plain toast or biscuits helps some women. Keep sipping fluids. Even if you are sick, some fluid will be absorbed.

Niggles and Discomfort in Pregnancy

The birth of a baby is usually anticipated with excitement but the way your body is behaving may sometimes leave you feeling anything but celebratory.

You may have heartburn, nausea and vomiting, and muscular and ligament pain. You may experience dreamlessness, swelling, itching and forgetfulness. You may wonder who described these symptoms as ‘minor ailments’ when they mate you feel so uncomfortable and even miserable.

You won’t be surprised to hear that all these discomforts are down to your hormones. The delicate balance in your body before pregnancy is now reset to a different position in order to nurture your baby and prepare lor the birth.

Hormones

Oestrogen and progesterone help your breasts and uterus grow. This extra weight, together with that of your growing baby, can lead to an aching back and legs in later pregnancy the weight of your uterus can cause fluid to pool in your legs, leading to swelling. Maintaining a good posture, gentle exercise and resting with your feet up can help.

At around 12 to 16 weeks you may feel faint as your blood volume increases. This dilutes the constituents of your blood, including your iron levels. Anaemia (low iron) can make you feel tired and very low levels can affect your baby and your ability to clot your blood. Eating iron-rich foods like dark meat, green vegetables and pulses will help. Drinking orange juice also helps you absorb more iron from your diet.

Tissue relaxation

The hormones progesterone and relaxing make the tissues of the body softer and more relaxed. This can lead to ailments such as varicose veins, piles and headaches. You can buy special cold pads that can be applied locally, and creams or paracetamol may help, but always read the labels or consult your midwife or GP before taking medication.

Relaxation in the digestive system can cause heartburn and constipation. Acid from the stomach can track back up the food pipe (oesophagus). In the bowel the normal rhythmic movements that pass the contents along is less effective. Eating a diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables, little and often, may help, as well as being healthy for you and your baby. Some women find that nibbling plain biscuits or drinking milk helps to alleviate heartburn. Indigestion remedies can also help.

Taking iron supplements can cause constipation. If you are affected, ask your midwife about alternative preparations, for find out if you can reduce the dose. Using the correct position for opening your bowels can help, with your knees above the level of your hips, copying the natural squatting position. A step designed to enable small children to reach the sink will help you find this more natural position. These steps are also great for achieving a good breastfeeding position after your baby is born, if you don’t have a nursing chair.

Different Types of Antenatal Tests

Screening tests

A screening test shows if you are likely to have a baby with particular disabilities. It cannot tell for certain whether your baby has a condition. Screening tests are usually either scans or blood tests and won’t affect your baby or harm his or her development in any way. These tests are often called ‘non-invasive tests’.

In most areas of the UK, all pregnant women will be offered screening for Down’s syndrome. This will be either a blood test or a nuchal translucency scan. If you choose to have the screening test and the results show your chance of having a baby with Down’s syndrome is more than 1 in 250 then you will be told you are ’screen positive’ or ‘high risk’. However, within this category there is a wide range. A risk of 1 in 100 is very different from a risk of 1 in 4, although both are described as being high risk. A 1 in 100 result means you have a 1% risk of your baby having Down’s syndrome and a 99% chance that he or she will not. But a risk of 1 in 4 means that your baby has a 25% chance of having Down’s. If your results are screen positive, or higher than 1 in 250, you will be offered another type of test (a diagnostic test).

Diagnostic tests

Diagnostic tests are used to find out for certain whether your baby actually has a specific condition or disability. Apart from the anomaly scan, diagnostic tests can affect your baby and have a slight risk of miscarriage. They are tests done on samples of fluid or tissue near the baby. These tests are often called ‘invasive’ tests.

The most common diagnostic tests are:

• Amniocentesis
• chorionic villus sampling (CVS)
• fetal blood sampling
• a detailed anomaly ultrasound scan

Amniocentesis - this is usually performed between 15 and 18 weeks of pregnancy. A tiny sample of amniotic fluid (the water surrounding the baby) is collected through a needle guided by a scan. The results usually take between two and three weeks. The cells from the sample have to grow so that the baby’s chromosomes can be checked.

Some hospitals now offer a special antenatal test to check for some conditions, and this can give the result in three days. This is a ‘molecular’ test and the cells do not need to grow to be checked for certain conditions. You would probably have to pay to have these special tests. The risk of miscarriage from having an amniocentesis is about 1 in 100 (0.5%-1%). After this test you should go home and rest for 24 hours.

Chorionic villus sampling (CVS) - this is usually performed between 11 and 13 weeks of pregnancy. A tiny tissue sample is taken from the placenta with a needle guided by a scan. Initial results are available after a week with full results ready in about three weeks. The risk of miscarriage from having CVS is about 2 in 100 (1-2%). After this test you should go home and rest for about 24 hours.

Fetal blood sampling - this test isn’t as common as the other tests. It can be carried out later in pregnancy at specialist centres. A sample of blood is taken from the umbilical cord to diagnose infections and problems with the blood. Results take between three and four days. The risk of miscarriage from fetal blood sampling is about 2 in 100 (between 1-2%).

Anomaly scan (also known as the 18 to 22 week scan) - This detailed scan checks the structure and organs of your baby, including the brain, heart and lungs. Some hospitals have better scanning equipment than others and the anomaly scan does not always pick up a specific problem. You can ask at your hospital about how well they detect problems. Although you do not have to wait for results, sometimes you may need to have the scan repeated. This might be because the picture is not clear due to the way the baby is lying or because the sonograpner (the person doing the scan) would like to refer you to someone else. There is no known risk of miscarriage from the anomaly scan.

Which is right for me?

You may not feel sure about which antenatal tests to ask for or accept. You may need to ask for more information before you decide whether a particular test is right for you. You can refuse any test or procedure that you do not want, or ask for more time if you are not ready to decide which test to have, although some antenatal tests need to be carried out at certain stages of pregnancy.

You may find it helpful to talk about the antenatal tests with your partner or family, other parents, your midwife or a counselor. Think about the advantages and disadvantages of having an antenatal test, and how you would feel if your baby has a disability. You should be given time to think about your options. But remember that most women have healthy babies.

Antenatal Tests Available

For many women the initial joy of finding out that they are pregnant is quickly followed by a silent hope that everything will be fine with their baby. For others, the thought that something may be wrong might not cross their mind, until they are faced with having to make decisions about which antenatal tests to have. You will be offered many tests during your pregnancy. Some of these will help you to find out more about the health of your baby before he or she is born. But the decision about whether to have a certain test, and what to do if the result is not normal, may leave you feeling anxious and confused.

Your choice

You can accept or refuse any antenatal tests you are offered when you are pregnant. You could choose to have no tests at all or you could choose only those that you feel are right for you and your circumstances. Before you make any decision, you (and your partner) should think about what having the tests means. You may find yourselves worrying while you wait for the results, or you may find yourself having to decide whether or not to continue your pregnancy.

Antenatal tests available

There are two types of test to find out whether your baby has certain conditions that could cause disabilities. These are:

1. Screening tests; and
2. Diagnostic tests.

Talk to your midwife if you are worried about the antenatal tests. You may want to talk about what action you could take if the test showed your baby had a problem, or you may want more information about the support that you and your family could get whatever decision you make. Remember it is your decision whether to have the tests. Waiting a few days before you are certain of what you want will not make any difference to the result of the test.

Natural Health Products During Pregnancy

You are always worried about your own and your growing baby’s health when you’re pregnant. Natural health medicine can assist you achieve the best for yours and your child’s health.

Pregnant women are often advised by doctors to be extremely cautious about the type of medications that they take. For this reason many women choose natural health medicine when they suffer from any type of illness during pregnancy, and also why natural health medicine should be considered if you’re pregnant.

Natural health medicine don’t usually have adverse side effects that most medical medications can cause, and so will help you and your baby maintain good natural healt conditions.

You should bear in mind that if you have a health problem you should contact your doctor before taking any kind of medicine, including natural health medicine. You can tell your doctor that you are interested in using natural health medicine to help you bear the pain or discomfort caused by your pregnancy.

In this way you will not put your baby at risk ensuring that is safe to do so, because even though natural health products use natural ingredients it could have secondary effects.

Every pregnancy is unique as you are and therefore has unique needs, and it helps to be aware of.

Sex During Pregnancy

Late pregnancy, surveys show, is not a time when your sex drive is at its peak. Maybe it’s something to do with the fact that, by this stage, your boobs are covered in unsightly veins, your pubic hair has disappeared beneath the bulging bump, and the midwife keeps talking about your perineum as though it was a piece of public property.

From mid-term on, and perhaps earlier, you’ll probably be aware of your uterus hardening after orgasm. This is caused by contractions which your orgasm will have set off. Don’t worry, it’s no reason for alarm and it doesn’t mean you’re about to go into labour. These are simply Braxton Hicks contractions, which are common in late pregnancy, particularly in women who have had a baby before. They’re actually good for the womb as they allow it to ‘practice’ for the real labour. Simply lie down for a few minutes, and you’ll feel the contractions fade away and your belly will soften once more.

Read more

Planning the Birth of Your Child

Imagine you’re planning a big event –say your wedding. When you sort out the arrangements you try to think of everything - the invitations, your dress, the venue, it can be like that when you are planning what kind of birth you want.

You can still think through what you’d like to happen: where to give birth, ways of coping with the pain, and who you want to have with you. It may be, though, that you haven’t thought about how it would be if your baby was born by caesarean section.

Caesarean birth

It can be difficult to believe it might happen to you, yet more than 1 in 5 babies in the UK are born by caesarean. Sometimes women know in advance that their baby is going to be born this way, but often the decision isn’t made until late in pregnancy or during labour. Even though antenatal classes cover caesarean birth, a lot of the information available is about what will happen to the woman and her baby rather than what options may be available. As a result, women often feel very unprepared for a caesarean and may end up feeling they have lost control over their baby’s birth.

Most caesareans are not rushed emergencies, even if they occur while you’re in labour. Only 1 in 20 caesareans are urgent, where the operation needs to be done quickly to prevent damage to the mother or baby.

Read more

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