“Be good to your baby before

“Be good to your baby before it is born” • Women should start taking care of themselves before becoming pregnant • Good health habits during childhood and adolescence help prepare a woman for childbearing

• As soon as she believes she is pregnant seek prenatal care – Always need good medical care, whether it is her first, second, or a later pregnancy.

Signs of Pregnancy • Most of the time, a woman does not know she is pregnant until several weeks after conception. • Many signs can indicate pregnancy – No single sign is, by itself, a sure sign of pregnancy.

1. Missed menstrual period – Delay of 10 or more days – May stop for other reasons: • Emotional • Exercise stress • Rapid change in • Changes in body weigh climate • Chronic diseases • diet

2. Changes in breasts • Swelling and tenderness

3. Nausea - Morning Sickness • May occur at any time of the day • About 1/2 -1/3 experience • Occurring at the same time daily through 4 th month – 12 th week good sign. • Usually occurs in 1 st trimester as body adjusts.

• Fatigue May add to the problem • Poor diet • Empty • Get plenty of sleep stomach • Eat nutritious foods May help: • Eating several small meals rather than 2 - 3 large ones If severe enough to cause routine vomiting, consult doctor.

4. Frequent Urination • Growing uterus puts pressure on the bladder • Hormones may also cause more frequent urination

5. Fatigue • As body adjusts to pregnancy, may feel very tired • May sleep more than usual and need to take naps • For some – lasts throughout 1 st trimester

Factors That Affect The Baby’s Health • Mother’s Age – Ideal time to have a baby is between the ages of 21 to 28 – Teens and women over 3 are high-risk mothers-to-be – Teens tend to have premature babies, stillborn and malformed babies – Women over age 36 tend to have more babies with birth defects

• Mothers Weight – Non-pregnant weight is below 85% of her proper weight could endanger her and her child’s health • Mother’s body meets her dietary need before it meets the needs of her baby. • Underweight woman’s body will first use her food intake to correct her own vitamin deficiencies. Thus pass fewer nutrients to the baby • Underweight women often have low-birth weight infants ( under 5 ½ pounds) – Women whose nonpregnant weight is above 120% • Uses a greater proportion of her food intake for energy • High blood pressure, diabetes (body’s inability to utilize sugar) and delivery problems are more likely.

Physical Changes During Pregnancy • Body undergoes dramatic changes during pregnancy • Most obvious changes during pregnancy are the increased size of breasts and abdomen • As skin stretches, the tissues just below the skin surface may tear – Can cause pink or red marks called stretch marks – Usually fade into faint, silvery lines – Slow even weight gain within the doctor’s recommendations is the best way to prevent stretch marks.

• Internal pressure also affect the bladder. – Early in pregnancy, growing uterus pushes against the bladder and causes the woman to urinate more often. – In middle months, fetus moves out of the pelvic region and into the abdomen, which lessens pressure on the bladder. – Late in pregnancy, baby again puts pressure on the bladder, causing a need to urinate more frequently

Emotional Changes During Pregnancy • Not as obvious as physical ones- just as real. • Important influence on emotions is how she feels about being pregnant. • Hormones cause many of a woman’s emotional changes during pregnancy. • Positive thoughts and feelings are impossible for a woman to have a health baby.

• Feelings stimulate the nervous system and the flow of adrenaline (hormone that prepares the body to cope with stress; makes person feel more energetic. ) • When happy adrenaline level is low, heartbeat and breathing are slow, and muscles are relaxed. • When stressed, adrenaline crosses placenta to baby, carrying stress signals.

• Mother’s stress increases her heartbeat and muscle tension as well as the baby’s. • If stress is long lasting, severe, or frequent, the baby may be smaller, fussy, or quite active

• May also affect a woman’s digestive system – During 1 st trimester may experience nausea – Toward end of pregnancy, as growing fetus exerts more pressure on her stomach and intestines, may feel heartburn and indigestion. – Often changing what she eats can help

Complications during Pregnancy • May be caused by nature • By the lack of proper health care during pregnancy • Some can be prevented or treated • Others run their course.

Warning Signals • Bleeding from vagina • Sever or continuing nausea or vomiting. • Continuing or sever headache • Swelling or puffiness of the face or hands, or marked swelling of the feet and ankles.

• Blurring of vision of spots before the eyes. • A marked decrease in the amount of urine passed. • Pain or burning while passing urine. • Chills and fever. • Sharp or continuous abdominal pain • Sudden gush of liquid from the vagina before the baby is due.

Miscarriage and Stillbirth • Miscarriage refers to the natural ending of a pregnancy before the fifth month • May occur in as many a ¼ of pregnancies • Most occur during the first trimester, often before woman even suspects she is pregnant. • Other times , a woman my lose her pregnancy as late as the 8 th month.

• Stillbirth: natural ending of pregnancy after the fifth month. • No single factor explains all miscarriages and stillbirths • Causes vary • Over 60% of miscarriages are to chromosome problems in the embryo or fetus. • If baby is not developing normally, it may not survive

• Miscarriage can also be caused when the developing baby is exposed to harmful substances or illnesses. • Habits of the mother, such as smoking, drinking and drug use, can lead to miscarriage/stillbirth • Some sexually transmitted diseases or other infections can cause miscarriage/stillbirths.

• Will not prevent couple form having successful pregnancies in future. • Suggest couples wait 3 – 6 months after miscarriage or stillbirth before trying to conceive again • Will allow body time to recuperate and

Toxemia • A condition that affects a woman’s kidneys, hear, or blood circulation. • Usually develops gradually during the 2 nd half of pregnancy.

Symptoms of Toxemia • Abnormal rise in blood • Swollen face, pressure fingers • Rapid weight • Headaches gain • Blurred vision • Swollen face and fingers

• Can result from: • Lack of proper nutrition and health care during pregnancy • Most common in teen pregnancies • May occur in pregnancies of women who have abnormally low weight gains. • In mild cases, can be treated with carefully monitored nutritious diet and bed rest • Sever cases may require hospitalization

• Can cause convulsions and death.

Rubella • German measles- a virus • Can cause: – Miscarriage – Stillbirth – Serious congenital disorders • Greatest threat during 1 st trimester • Woman, symptoms are mild. • Low grade fever * rash • Swollen lymph glands in neck

• Effects on fetus: • Death • Vision • Hearing problems • Heart • Mental disability

• Blood tests can determine if mother is infected. • Can be prevented by a vaccine. --childhood

RH Factor Disorder • Early in pregnancy, woman’s blood is tested for a substance called Rh factor. • A protein substance found in the red blood cells of about 85% of the population. Rh+ • 15% Rh- • Presence or absence of these molecules is determined by heredity.

• Harmful only when : – mother is RH negative, – the father is RH positive, – and the baby is RH+ • This occurs in 12% of all marriages. • Blood cells from the fetus do not normally flow into the mother’s bloodstream during pregnancy, it is possible for small leaks to occur before birth

• It is more common for the blood cells to flow into the mother's bloodstream during birth. • When the blood cells of an Rh+ infant flow into the bloodstream of the Rh- mother, the mother’s body begins producing antibodies (substances produced by the body that attack matter that is foreign to the body) to fight the protein molecules that are on the infant’s red blood cells.

• Not usually a problem in first pregnancies. • In second or future pregnancies, more antibodies are present and the risk to the fetus is much greater. • Common practice for all RH- women to receive an injection during the 28 th week of pregnancy in case any fetal blood has entered the mother’s blood stream • Rh immune globulin -- Rho. GAM

• Receives another Rho. GAM within 72 hours after the birth of each RH+ baby – every pregnancy. • Vaccine blocks the growth of antibodies. • Must also be given after every miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion. • Effects: – early delivery may be necessary to preserve baby’s life

– Blood transfusion can be given to infant while still in the womb- gives fetus healthy blood supply to help survive in womb for a longer period of time. – antibodies destroy fetus’s red blood cells – can cause anemia, brain damage, death.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases • Gonorrhea: – Bacterial STD affects almost a million people each year. – Asymptomatic, especially in women. – Miscarriage and stillbirth are more common in pregnant women with gonorrhea. – Can pass to baby during delivery as baby passes through the birth canal.

– Newborns who contract gonorrhea during delivery develop an eye infection that leads to blindness – Since gonorrhea is so common, all newborns are treated with special eyedrops just after birth. – Can prevent gonorrheal eye infection.

• Syphilis: – Carried by a bacterium – Can cause serious damage to an unborn child – Usually tested for syphilis early in pregnancy. – Treatment during early pregnancy is possible, preventing the disease from affecting the baby. – If not treated early, will pass through the placenta to the fetus

• Miscarriage or stillbirth may occur • Babies who survive will develop congenital syphilis, which can cause various physical disabilities.

• Genital Herpes: – Has no cure – Pregnant women with genital herpes may experience miscarriage or stillbirth. – A woman with genital herpes may infect her baby during pregnancy. – Babies can also contact the disease by passing through the birth canal during vaginal delivery.

• Chlamydia – One of most widespread STD’s – Often Asymptomatic. – Can pass it to their babies during delivery. – Newborns with Chlamydia may develop serious eye, ear, and lung infections – In severe cases , these infections may lead to death of the newborn.

• HIV/AIDS – HIV virus can be passed from mother to child during pregnancy, delivery, or breast-feeding – About ¼ of babies born to HIV infected mothers contract the virus. – Most infected babies will eventually develop AIDS and die.