PREGNANCY BY: TIFFANY MILLER

BEFORE PREGNANCY  PLAN AHEAD!  Get to a healthy weight.  Start taking folic acid to help prevent birth defects.  Take care of health conditions that may affect the pregnancy  Visit your health care provider for a preconception checkup.

GETTING READY EMOTIONALLY Questions to ask yourself:  Why do you want to have a baby?  Are you and your partner ready for the changes a baby can have on your relationship?  If your not in a relationship, are you ready to raise a child on your own?  How will a baby affect your education and career plans?  Are you ready to have less free time for yourself?  Can you see yourself enjoying your time as a parent?

GETTING READY FINANCIALLY  Find out how much money you make each month.  Find out how much money is left over after bills and other things money is used for in your house hold. Is there any leftover?  Think about things the baby is going to need brand new, and things you can barrow from friends and family.  LOOK FOR SALES!  Know about your health insurance!

POSITIVE SIGNS THAT YOU ARE PREGNANT: 1)Food aversions 2)Mood swings 3)Abdominal bloating 4)Frequent urination 5)Fatigue 6)Tender, swollen breasts 7)Nausea 8)A missed period 9)Your basal body temperature stays high 10)The proof: The positive home pregnancy test!

GETTING PREGNANT fertilization_ bc Steps of getting pregnant:  Ovulation: an egg is expelled and starts to grow.  Hormones rise: causing a thicker lining around the uterus to help get ready for the egg.  Next the egg moves to the fallopian tube to wait for a sperm to fertilize it.  After a sperm fertilizes the egg the egg changes so no other sperm can get into it.  Next the egg moves to the uterus so that it can implant to the wall of the uterus. Within a few weeks cell begin to grow as clumps.  After that you are officially pregnant.

1-9 WEEKS 9_ bc Changes to expect for your self:  Breast changes  Fatigue  Bloating  Heartburn  Constipation Changes to expect for your baby:  Zygote>embryo  Peach size  Organs take shape  Baby starts to move  Hair follicles and nail beds form  Muscles form  Production of white blood cells to fight off germs  Development of vocal cords

10-14 WEEKS 14_ bc Changes to expect for yourself:  Constipation  Headaches  Visible veins  Vaginal discharge  Dizziness  Lower abdominal achiness Changes to expect for your baby:  Working arm joints  Cartilage and bones are forming  Vital organs are fully developed and starting to function  Fingernails and hair are starting to show  Your baby can now swallow and kick!

15-20 WEEKS 20_ bc Changes to expect for yourself:  Slightly breathless  You should get a flu shot to keep from getting sick  Nausea subsides  Emotions even out  Sex drive returns  Feeling the baby's first movements  Appetite is increasing Changes to expect for your baby:  Size of an orange  Ears have migrates to the side of the head  Eyes are moving to the front of the face  Has the ability to wiggle fingers and toes  Has the ability to make breathing movements for preparation outside of the womb

21-27 WEEKS 27_ bc Changes to expect for yourself:  Backaches  Bleeding gums  Breast enlargement  Congestion and nose bleeds  Discharge  Frequent urination  Hair growth  Headaches  Weight gain  Spider veins Changes to expect for your baby:  Size of a chicken breast  Can feel arms and leges  Doubled weight  Eyes are starting to open  Senses start to develop

28-37 WEEKS 37_ bc Changes to expect for yourself:  Belly will get bigger  Abdominal aches  Stretch marks  Crazy dreams  Contractions  Lack of bladder control  Leaking breasts  False labor symtoms Changes to expect for your baby:  Dreaming  Grow 6-9 pounds and about inches long  Practice blinking  Regulating body temperature  Signals from all 5 senses  Skin becomes opaque  Head turns southward  Sheds vernix  Drops lower in the pelvis

GIVING BIRTH birth_ bc Dilation of the cervix:  Contractions increase to about every 3-4 minutes  The cervix softens and thins out  The cervix will eventually open up until it all disappears then you are at 10 cm  The dilation process lasts about 8 hours on average  Then you can push, this may take only a few minutes or many hours.  Once the baby is out, you still need to deliver your placenta, this will happen a few minutes after giving birth to your baby, and only takes 5-10 minutes to deliver the placenta.  Now the process of birth is over. The nurses will get you and your baby cleaned up and you can start nursing if you and your baby are willing.