Are you PREGNANT??

Hi guys – Lately I have noticed more and more questions popping up in Q&A on pregnancy and whether or not you may be pregnant. This is a dilemma that faces may women all over the world. It should be a simple question and answer but sometimes this is not the case.

Some women out there are really tuned into their bodies and will know without a doubt that they are pregnant or they will become extremely suspicious within the fist few days of being pregnant. BUT, for most women this is not the case. Many women (me included) do not even suspect that there are pregnant until they miss a period and then there are those that don’t worry until a few months have passed as they may suffer from irregular periods.

I have a close friend who has to rely on a pregnancy test, which is done EVERY month, as she is one of the rare women whom continue to get their periods even whilst pregnant. For my friend she relies on modern medicine to tell her when she is pregnant and due to other conditions her only form of birth control lies with her husband. So on the 1st of every month she heads to her local hospital for a blood test. Not only does she still get her period but she also never gets any symptoms and also never shows until the last month. Lucky girl stays in normal clothes until she hits 8months! What a pity we ALL can’t be like that . ..

For the rest of us we rely on intuition, late periods etc. . .  Here are 5 of the most common symptoms that many of us mums watch out for as we hear of these things often. I have put them here for the mums to be who don’t know:

• Missed Period – Often missing our period is the most common sign of being pregnant BUT this is not always the case as sometimes our periods may be missed due to stress, illness or other factors.
• Going to the toilet more often – Even before missing a period some women find themselves needing to go to the toilet more often, some even find themselves waking several times through the night.(one of my closest friends knows without a doubt that is pregnant if she wakes at night to pee as she NEVER wakes at night to pee. This only happens when she is pregnant – so far she has never been wrong and she has 6 kids) The reason you find yourself going to the toilet more often is because of a pregnancy hormone called hCG, this lovely hormone triggers our bodies to pee more often.
• Fatigue – Becoming tired and exhausted is a common side effect of pregnancy. (I know I sleep heaps when I am pregnant) Becoming fatigued is the result of another hormone, which is increased during pregnancy. This hormone is called ‘progesterone’.
• Morning, noon and night sickness – I am sorry but I refuse to call it just plain old ‘Morning sickness’ as the reality is that most women suffer for it ALL day. This for me is the worst symptom, I suffer from it 24/7 and it doesn’t let up until my bub’s are 4 weeks old. Only about halve of pregnant women actually vomit, most just feel really queasy. Some women end up in hospital as a result of vomiting due to dehydration and malnutrition. I always ended up with malnutrition no matter how hard I tried to avoid it.
• Sore Boobies – Lets face it when we are pregnant our boobies seem to take on a life of their own. They become swollen, sore and ever so sensitive. Some women will also find that their areole (nipple) will become darker in colour. The good news is that once our bodies adjust to pregnancy hormones most women find that this symptom tends to settle down.

Now although you wont find this mentioned in any textbook etc many women also find a huge increase in their sexual appetite. I did a quick phone around a few women friends (and some men, hehe) and of the women and men I talked to I found that 83% claimed that their husbands complain for the first time that enough was enough! Personally I found this very amusing, as usually it is the other way around.

Anyway I hope that this article helps some members out there and thanks so much for taking the time to read it . . . 

I have included a link to the Family Planning Australia website for those interested in having a look.

Also for those whom are experiencing an unwanted pregnancy or an unplanned pregnancy here is a link to a Women’s Clinic website that may be of some help.

Cheers Kellz

xoxoxoxoox