Pregnancy: Preparations You Should Do

oduction: Being pregnant and the ability to bear children is a biological process which is both time dependent and requires actions on your part.

There is no doubt that nature will and have indeed prepared you and got you ready half of the way but you have to complete the remaining half.

Are you concerned about pregnancy issues? Chat in confidence via Whatsapp on +2348128232307 or call +2347087733114 or go to Julianah Akande Fertility Centre

Learn about Relationships and What You Should Do: Get more in this book: 

Natural: Steps:

1. The woman needs a man for this step.  Look for a man. Depending on your preference, ideally any man that can perform intercourse should do.  What you see is what you get, in a lot of cases.  Your children will reflect you and the father.  The idea of this step, nevertheless, is to get the sperm of the man to meet the egg inside the woman through natural sexual exercise.

2. Determine the time for ovulation. This is the time that the woman’s eggs are released in readiness for fertilization and pregnancy.  The rule is that, ovulation occurs 14 days before the woman’s menstruation (monthly period). In a 28-day cycle, this is 14 days before the woman’s menstrual period. Ovulation may occur, though, between 13-17 days before the menstrual bleeding.

Learn about Low Sperm Count (Oligospermia). Click here

3. On the days specified above, have sexual intercourse.  Sex, means, inserting the man’s penis into the woman’s vagina and rubbing it against the inside the vagina until the sperms are released. The penis is inserted into nowhere else.
The released, sperms are still active 3 days or longer after the sperm is released into the woman though they may become weakened as time goes on. The more the number of quality sperms—in their millions—that are available, the better the chances of pregnancy occurring.

4. If pregnancy does not happen, on first attempt, try again every time on these occasions that I have advised above or you can try randomly if you have no time to monitor your ovulation. Most pregnancies occur on random basis anyway.

Are you concerned about pregnancy issues? Chat in confidence via Whatsapp on +2348128232307 or call +2347087733114 or go to Julianah Akande Fertility Centre

Artificial Methods

There are various methods that can be used to achieve pregnancy these days away from the natural methods. A man and woman will still be needed or their eggs/sperms will be required.  Most methods are called “test-tube” pregnancies.

Types:

    • Artificial Insemination

: Click here to learn more about IUI and IVF

    • IVF (In-vitro-fertilization) and its many variants are available options.

Learn more at Julianah Akande Fertility Centre

Steps:

1. Register with a gynaecologist knowledgeable in IVF or a Fertility Centre
2. Get an agreement/consent/permission of the man and woman, surrogate as the case may be.
3. Have the sperm or egg developed, over time, by medical team.
4. The gynaecologist, artificially, brings the egg (ovum) and the sperm together to create a developing baby or babies.
5. The gynaecologist inserts the resulting product into the woman and pregnancy results.

 

How to Prepare for Pregnancy and Have a Defect-Free Baby

Key questions to ask before pregnancy are: (for the man and woman)

a)      “Am I carrying a defective gene— that may cause disease in the baby though the defect is not causing any disease in me at the moment?” Examples are bleeding disorder called Factor VIII deficiency, sickle cell trait, sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis and many others.

b)      “Am I carrying any disease which has shown up in me but can also be passed onto my baby such as cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anaemia?”

c)      “Do I have mental health diseases (click to read more about mental health)?” Though not visible, they can sometimes be passed from one generation to the other. Health may suffer and lifestyle may be affected by mental health diseases such as mania, depression, schizophrenia, anorexia etc. Healthy living is not based on physical defects alone. The World Health Organization says so in the definition that I gave earlier.

d)     “Do I have the mind set to have a baby and the responsibilities that comes with it such as spending time together, training, financial and social implications?”

For the woman:  She needs to ask:

e)   “Do I have enough vitamins/minerals such as folic acid to support the pregnancy?” Start taking some now. Eat balanced diet too.

“Do I have diseases that may put my life and the life of the new born at risk during pregnancy and during birth?”  Check now with your doctor. Read about Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) here

f)       “Do I have the mind-set to become pregnant?” This is important as pregnancy is life and body-image-changing. A good mindset is good to enable you to tolerate the people and the baby around you and to help you with bonding of the baby when he or she is born.

Are you concerned about pregnancy issues? Chat in confidence via Whatsapp on +2348128232307 or call +2347087733114 or go to Julianah Akande Fertility Centre

Avoid harmful substances, undue exposure to radiation and powerful chemicals.  Avoid anxieties and do have good rest. Read more about Substance abuse here

With these initial self screening, many events that may shorten lives may be avoided. This is not just for  preventing illnesses in the new born, parents that will become tied up looking after unhealthy person may suffer socially, financially, mentally and physically too if problems occurred.  So, it is important to plan ahead. If in doubt, you should fully investigate and seek the help of professionals before it becomes too late. 

Learn about Causes of Infertility

 

How to Know You Are Pregnant

To some women, knowing that they are pregnant is a matter of experience. That is to say, they have been through it before and can tell by the slightest sign, that they are pregnant when it happens. Yet to the new-comers, the experience and knowledge of being pregnant can sometimes be shocking and often end up in joyful disbelief.  In spite of the said statement, to some experienced women, it may sometimes be difficult for them to know that they are pregnant especially if they are not expecting to be pregnant. In such occasion, the knowledge of pregnancy may at first be denied.

In the first 12 weeks:

In general:

  1. The first sign of pregnancy in almost all women is a missing menstrual period. In some women, the monthly bleeding may continue even in the presence of pregnancy. In women who are not having regular periods or in women who are on the pill or other medication, this sign/symptom of absence of period may not be reliable.
  1. Feeling different, being tired, feeling of nausea, vomiting are earliest signs and symptoms. Appetite may increase: You eat more than usual.

3.  The definitive confirmation of pregnancy is to:

a) Have a pregnancy test. Often, you can obtain a pregnancy test from your local pharmacy. There are many but different kits for this purpose. A positive test is a good indicator. Be mindful of false positive tests which may occur for many reasons. It takes a minute or two to carry out this test and most will pick up ongoing pregnancy of 2-4 weeks old.

b) Have an ultrasound scan as soon as possible via the General Practitioner or in Ante-natal Clinic. This is perhaps the ultimate evidence apart from the more complex investigations that could be carried out by doctors.

Are you concerned about pregnancy issues? Chat in confidence via Whatsapp on +2348128232307 or call +2347087733114 or go to Julianah Akande Fertility Centre

Beyond 12-weeks:

1. Woman’s weight increase as the baby gain weight and the woman eats more.

2. The tummy’s (abdomen) increasing size becomes more obvious. In some women, this may not be so obvious. I have seen women who were 6-months pregnant without being aware of it. They thought their personal weight had merely increased even though the baby was kicking! Yet, there are reports of women who were in full term labour before they realised that they were pregnant!

3. Swelling of legs and possibly hands and face.

4. At about 18-20 weeks and beyond, the woman can begin to feel the kicking of the baby inside her.

What is D & C? Learn more. Click here

At this stage, a pregnancy can be established, beyond any shadow of doubt.

 

How to Get a Healthy Child and a Healthy Mother 

 Steps to take should include:

A.

a)      Eat balanced diet (Read here, tips to improve your health)

b)      Avoid exposure to infections and treat or control all forms of infections (common cold, herpes, chest infections, stomach, food, urine, vagina, HIV infections)

c)      Avoid exposure to excessive radiations. Radiation may kill or deform the baby.

d)     Have adequate and appropriate vitamins and minerals (folic acid, vitamins and iron if not enough is taken in diet).

e)      Avoid exposure to illegal drugs such as cannabis, alcohol, chemicals and non-prescribed medications. They may damage the cells and your baby.

Note: Time is everything (Read here why age affects your pregnancy). Make use of your time. While individual situations differ, the ideal age bracket, for the woman, to have children is between 20-35 years. While, pregnancy is possible at the extremes and beyond the quoted age bracket, there are higher risks in having babies, with such pregnancies at extreme age brackets. Example: Chances of Down’s syndrome is much higher at age of 40 than at 30 years.

B.

Have all forms of infections and illnesses (read about PID), detected and treated or be put under proper medical control. HIV, High blood pressure, diabetics, and thyroid problems must be treated and or controlled.  Otherwise, they may cause you and the baby serious problems.

C.

You will need to get vaccinated against some infections (for example, tetanus depending on the country where you live) if you have not done so in pre-pregnancy (rubella, chicken-pox, tuberculosis etc). Preferably, all vaccinations should be done before pregnancy.

Get more health tips in this book:Get more information about the book here.

D.

During pregnancy, be vigilant to your baby movements from 16 weeks. Note any reduction in or excessive movements of the baby. It may be a sign of distress.  Also, are you feeling unwell? Report it now to your nurses/midwife or doctor.

Are you concerned about pregnancy issues? Chat in confidence via Whatsapp on +2348128232307 or call +2347087733114 or go to Julianah Akande Fertility Centre

The birth

The birth of a new baby brings joy to the family. However, we must remember that the process of birth is the most dangerous journey anyone coming through the birth canal can ever undertake. Apart from the pain of labour, that the woman experiences, the baby is hugely at risk too. The risks include physical injuries from pressure of labour through the narrow birth (vagina) canal. Others are chemical injuries to the brain from inadequate supply of oxygen to the brain, possible blockage of wind pipe from aspirations of the birth materials. Bleeding from possible injuries sustained by the baby during birth may lead to brain and organ impairment.  Excessive bleeding during birth, by the mother may affect the baby too as it may starve the baby of needed oxygen and food. Brain damage may therefore result from inadequate oxygen. All these may either cut short the life of the baby and the mother or reduce either person’s life span.

The good news, however, is that if promptly identified and treated, a lot of the injuries and damages may be prevented. But it requires planning and vigilance by both the doctors and the care receiver—you!

The importance of highlighting these issues is to draw your attention to the injuries and damages which may affect the future life style of the baby and the mother. For example, if oxygen had been inadequately supplied to the baby before or during birth or shortly after birth, there may be brain damage and this may lead to seizures later in life which in turn reduces the quality of life of the person. Seizure may also lead to early death, thus defeating the lofty objective of healthy living ideals.

If the baby has been exposed to dangerous substances (cocaine, cannabis, alcohol) while in the womb, and before birth, this may determine the quality of life that the baby may lead later on in life. The child may not grow properly, brain may be damaged and his personality may suffer. The life span may also be reduced as a result of poor delivery even if delivered by surgical intervention.

Learn about Abortion issues. Click here

The main things that parents can do are:

a)      Ensure preventive measure is in place even before pregnancy occurs (see in ab more in this book.)

b)      Get screened for any preventable illness (infections such as HIV, for example) before pregnancy: Any defects that may affect you or the baby.

c)      Get screened for genetic diseases (cystic fibrosis, sickle cell) before pregnancy. This will help the individual to determine if passing such diseases to others is worthwhile.

d)     Be alert to risks or dangers that may harm the baby during pregnancy such as maternal falls and physical trauma.

e)      Be alert to dangers of radiation (read here about effects of radiation in pregnancy), chemotherapy, strong magnetic fields, illegal substances, cigarette/nicotine, alcohol and so forth.

f)       Be alert to deficiencies of vitamins and minerals.

g)      Be alert to dangers at birth time (during labour) . The professionals will be very vigilant on this however. But be even more vigilant too. Professionals are humans. Error does occur.

Learn about Miscarriage

Learn about Stillbirth

Learn about Premature birth

Are you concerned about pregnancy issues? Chat in confidence via Whatsapp on +2348128232307 or call +2347087733114 or go to Julianah Akande Fertility Centre

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