Essentials About Pregnancy Women Should Know

Defining Pregnancy

The term refers to the fertilization and consequent development of a fetus inside the uterus of a woman. In women who usually have a 28-day menstrual cycle, childbirth occurs about forty weeks from the onset of the last menstrual period.


Determining If a Woman Is Pregnant

The start of conception may be ascertained in several ways through a number of medical tests that can be performed by medical personnel or by the woman herself. But most of the time, a pregnant woman would know and feel that she is conceiving especially if she is well-tune to her body’s rhythm.

A lot of women experience several symptoms that can confirm that they are conceiving a child. Signs of pregnancy differ from one woman to another but the most noteworthy symptom is a missed or delayed period.


Common pregnancy signs include nausea and vomiting usually in the morning, breast tenderness, darkening of the skin surrounding the nipples (areolas), feeling excessively tired or low energy levels, frequent urination especially at night, changed sense of taste and cravings for particular foods not usually sought out.

A woman suspecting that she is pregnant may test her urine for the presence of hCG, a hormone normally secreted when one is pregnant. A home pregnancy test kit may be used for this. Just remember that the first urine in the morning contains the greatest concentration of the hCG hormone therefore a urine sample is best taken at this time.


Although most of the test kits these days do not entail the use of such a sample, it is still recommended that one wait 4 hours from the last urination to allow build-up of the hormone in the urine and ensure a more reliable result. Blood tests are more precise compared to the urine testing.

Medical symptoms of pregnancy include the following:

a.  Chadwick’s sign - darkening of the vulva, cervix and vagina.

b.  Goodel’s sign - the softening of the vaginal portion of the cervix

c.  Hegar’s sign - the softening of the isthmus of the uterus.

d.  Linea nigra - darkening of the skin at the abdominal area.

Ultrasonography can determine quite accurately the age of the fetus. A conventional educated estimate of the fetal age used by physicians is the Naegel’s rule (which is based on the woman’s last menstrual period).

Several online sites, such as love libra, offer online tools that can make it easier for women to monitor their periods and determine if they are pregnant. Libra’s about pregnancy section is particular detailed and primarily aimed at education younger women.