Care During Pregnancy

It is very normal to have lower back pain during early pregnancy. It is generally located at and above the waist in the center of the back. There is a study that shows that half of the pregnant women experience it. The way the hormone progesterone affects a woman’s body causes lower back pain during early pregnancy.

Around the 20th week of pregnancy, lower back pain during early pregnancy tends to disappear. You should see your obstetrician if you have chronic lower pack pain. She will surely know the best way to cure it and to determine what exactly is causing the pain.

Your back may feel worst at the end of the day because of the extra weight you’re carrying. If your growing uterus is pressing on the nerve, it may also cause back pain.

There are two kinds of lower back pain during early pregnancy. Lumbar pain occurs in the area of the lumbar vertebrae in your lower back and posterior pelvic pain is felt in the back of your pelvis. You may have experienced lumbar pain before you were pregnant.

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The body produces a hormone called Human Chorionic Gonadotropin when a woman becomes pregnant. Hence a pregnancy test is besides other criteria a detection of presence of normal HCG levels during early pregnancy. Soon after the zygote/embryo implants in the uterus this hormone which is produced by the placenta enters the stream of blood. Given below are the normal referrals for a pregnancy test.

1. HCG below 5mIU/ ml : Result : negative or not pregnant
2. HCG Between 5mIU and 25 mIU / ml:  Result Inconclusive: may or may not be pregnant. Test to be repeated after a gap of at least 2 days for confirmation.
3. HCG above 25 mIU / ml: Result: Positive. The woman is pregnant.

So what does the presence of HCG indicate other then being pregnant? Normal HCG levels during early pregnancy have to steadily increase during pregnancy and hence the repeat test for confirmation and viability of pregnancy. The steady increase in levels of HCG especially in the first three months is an indication of a healthy pregnancy and if the HCG levels are too low then it is an indication of impending miscarriage. Of course later in the first trimester after the seventh week a healthy heart beat of the fetus is indicative of a healthy pregnancy.

Normal HCG levels during early pregnancy- Some facts:

1.    In a normal and healthy pregnancy the HCG levels will become twice the amount in every two to three days. If you have 25mIU /ml on day one then you will have 50 mIU /ml on day three or day four.

2.    During the second and third trimester the time taken to double HCG levels may increase to four days.

3.    However it is very important to remember that in some cases normal HCG levels during early pregnancy is low and the woman can still have a healthy pregnancy and a good delivery. In such cases an ultra sound will give a clearer picture of the baby’s development and the progress of pregnancy.

4.    The unit of measurement for hormone HCG is milli-international units per milliliter.

5.    Normally an ultra sound is taken only during the end of second month. This is because the trans-vaginal ultrasound will then be able to detect the amniotic sac or the gestational sac because the normal HCG levels during early pregnancy would have gone above 1000 mIU/ml and be probably closer to 2000mIU/ml.

6.    It is advisable not to depend on a single test of HCG levels. A series of tests done with a gap of at least two to three days can give more accurate results and reading of the pregnancy situation.

7.    Since normal HCG levels during early pregnancy can differ from woman to woman, it is not proper to calculate the date of conception based on the HCG count.

8.    The HCG tests for pregnancy are of two types. The “Qualitative” test for HCG will indicate its presence in the blood confirming or denying a pregnancy. The “Quantitative” test for HCG known as beta HCG will give you the levels of HCG present in the blood stream. This will be useful for any corrective action if necessary.

Although all pregnancies are different, here are some first trimester pregnancy symptoms that many women will experience. Each symptom will have some measures you can use to ease discomfort. First trimester pregnancy is an amazing transformation.

First trimester pregnancy symptoms usually appear during 1-2 weeks after you missed your menstrual period. Even the fetal movement can’t be detected until the 16 weeks post-conception.

You discover that you are now a mother to be because you missed your menstrual period. The cessation of period is the most obvious first trimester pregnancy symptom. On the other hand, there are also a number of reasons why women missed their menstrual period. It could be stress, reproductive disorders or menopause. You can confirm if you are really pregnant with an over-the-counter urine test and a medical exam.

Another common first trimester pregnancy symptom is breast soreness. Your breast may usually sensitive because of increased hormone production. This is common but is very normal during first trimester pregnancy! To ease the ache, get a soft cotton “sleep” bra.

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Early pregnancy week by week is a wonderful and exciting experience. It is the time wherein you can really feel the essence of womanhood. It is a life-changing event for most women!

Week 1 and 2
You are really not sure yet if you are pregnant or not during week 1 and week 2. This is still the time for ovulation and fertilization. When the ovaries release an egg, this is the ovulation period. If the egg will be fertilized, it will travel to the uterus and resides there for the next 40 weeks.

Your body is experiencing a lot of changes during the first weeks of pregnancy. You can feel ovarian discomfort during ovulation. You are fertile if your discharge is clear and most abundant.

Monitoring your body’s temperature is one way to tell if you are fertile during the first two weeks after your menstrual period. During ovulation, an increase of about .4 to .6 is normal.

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Every woman experiences different early pregnancy symptoms. Some may never notice it at first; they may just think that their period is coming on again. But the truth is, they already experiencing early pregnancy symptoms. On the other hand, if you are really eager to get pregnant and you assumed that you are experiencing early pregnancy symptoms, you will be frustrated to realize that it is just only pre-menstrual symptoms.

If ever you are wondering if you are really pregnant or not, have a pregnancy test on your own. Here are some guidelines to help you become aware of the early pregnancy symptoms:

Missed Menstrual Period
Missed menstrual period is the most obvious early pregnancy symptom. This usually results to having doubts about your condition, if you are pregnant or not. If you experience this, you will have questions at the back of your mind as to what are the other early symptoms of pregnancy.

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