Some women feel that they are pregnant. All kinds of symptoms leave no doubt:

• you’re over time though you normally have a regular menstrual cycle
• your breasts may feel tense
• the colour of your nipples may darken
• with a light skin, a network of blood vessels in the breast occur
• nausea and / or vomiting, especially in the mornings, but also at other times of the day
• frequent urination
• a heavy feeling in the abdomen

The pregnancy test

A pregnancy test can tell whether these sensations are really due to a pregnancy. This is already 10 days after possible conception. The test reacts to the presence of the pregnancy hormone HCG in the urine. This hormone is produced by the fertilized egg in the womb and is present in urine and blood. The test is easy to perform by keeping a strip in the urine. This is done in the morning by catching urine in a jar and then keeping the strip a few seconds in the urine. Note: the first drops that were present at night in the bladder are not appropriate to carry out a test. After a few minutes the result can be read. To assess whether the test was properly conducted, there should always be a red line in the control zone. If not, the test must be performed again. It is obviously important to read the instructions carefully before you use the test! No control line means that there is not enough urine on the test because of an overflow so that the present anti-bodies which have to show the result were washed away by excessive urine. The tests are very sensitive and can give a positive result but after a few days, you have your menstrual. This occurs because the body sometimes repels the egg (this is called a spontaneous abortion). If in doubt you can always repeat the test, but we always recommend to also go to your doctor.

You’re pregnant!

2 lines appear on the test. You’re pregnant. To ensure that everything goes well, you regularly visit your doctor, midwife or obstetrician. It is good that you consult your gynaecologist at least three times during pregnancy. For other consultations you can also feel free to contact your midwife or doctor.

The first check

During the first check with the midwife or doctor your medical history is taken and it carries out investigations to see if there are certain conditions which may affect the normal course of your pregnancy. They control your blood pressure, height and weight and do urine and blood tests. With the blood test, they determine your blood type and rhesus-factor and they look if you do not have anaemia. An attempt to determine whether your immune graft for syphilis, rubella, toxoplasmosis and hepatitis B and they monitor your blood for HIV infection. In case of an infection, these diseases may affect the baby. Your midwife or doctor will also recommend vitamins and folic acid to take to reduce the chance of certain abnormalities.

Ultrasound

To follow the growth and development of your baby, your gynaecologist makes once a quarter an ultrasound. Ultrasound is a technique that makes organs in your body visible. The waves emitted by the ultrasound probe to be reflected and converted into images. To see if the baby is big enough, they move the probe over the abdomen. Sometimes it is necessary to use a vaginal probe. In the first trimester, the ultrasound is used to know the exact duration of the pregnancy and expected date to give birth. The number of foetuses is checked and sometimes even a Nuchal scan is performed, hereby the accumulation of fluid in the neck of the foetus is measured. In combination with a blood test, pregnancy duration and maternal age, the probability on a deviation can be calculated. This test is done around the 12th week of pregnancy.

Extra

Proceedings of a pregnancy

The emergence of an embryo

The first month

Pregnancy is counted from the first day of the last menstruation. In real life you’re still not pregnant, because fertilization is only halfway through the cycle, and so usually about fourteen days after the first day of menstruation. In fertilization a sperm and an egg fuse into the fallopian tube. From then the cell division finds place very rapidly. From 2 to 4, from 4 to 8 cells, etc. Six to seven days after fertilization the cluster cells nestle in the wall of the uterus. Part of the cells will form the baby and part of the placenta and membranes. By the end of the first month the embryo is about 1 mm.

Second month

Week 5-6: cells continue to multiply at a rapid pace. Small lumps are forming at the points where the arms and legs will come. The head, neck, back and chest are formed. In week 7 you can already clearly see arms and legs. The ears, eyes, the nose and mouth are formed. The brains, muscles and bones get their shape and organs such as liver, stomach and kidneys begin to work. The heart, which now only consists of 2 rooms, begins to beat and there is a primitive bloodstream. At week 8, the heart 4 bedrooms, all major organs are present, but not yet fully developed. The skeleton begins to form and there are studs on the arms and legs that will be hands and feet later. By the end of week 9 we can not talk about the embryo anymore, but we call it the foetus. The baby begins increasingly to resemble a real little person. The eyes are more forward and he moves with his tiny hands and feet, although you still can not feel it. The foetus is now about 3 cm wide and weighs 2 grams.

The third month

Fingers and toes are all clearly visible, the ankles and wrists are formed. It begins to grow a little hair on the head. The eyelids have formed and now cover the entire eye. The eyes close and will not be back open until the seventh month. The foetus moves a lot and pulls funny faces. From now on it is possible to use a doppler to hear the heart beat. The skin of the foetus is covered with downy hair and nails arise. He drinks even a small bit of amniotic fluid and urinates it out later. Sometimes it goes down the wrong way and then he gets the hiccups. The foetus is fully formed. After the third month he develops and grows increasingly. The foetus is now about 9 cm and weighs 60 grams.

You can find lots of information on the Internet about further course of pregnancy. Good information helps you to your body and any inconvenience to understand and accept. Keep in regular contact with your doctor or midwife.