Early signs of pregnancy

Alright, I need all of the mother's help. I'm trying not to jump to conclusions, but I feel like I set myself up for this. There is a chance I might be pregnant, but it is slim. I have been on birth control pills for 5 years, I have on been sexually active for 1.5 years. Last month my pack ran out and I ended up not being able to get a refill for a week after I was supposed to start the new pack. My boyfriend and I had un-protected sex (No lectures please, i'm aware of the consenquences). Beforehand, I had spoken to my mom, she is a medical assistant, about if I should be ok or not. She of course reccommended using condoms for a month just to be sure, but also told me the chances of getting pregnant only being a week behind were very slim. Which is why I decided to go Au Natural.

Now, my dilemma. I have been freaking out since we had sex worried that i could possibly get pregnant. The past couple days 1.5 weeks since our rendezvous, I've noticed that my breasts feel a lil heavier on my body then usual. I have felt a slight bit of fatigue and random moments of light cramping. I've read articles about all of the early signs of pregnancy, and now i think i'm being a hypochondriac about my symptoms and chalking it up to pregancy out of guilt and worry. I'm not due to start my period for another two sundays... so a pregnancy test is out of the question.

So, Mothers, tell me before your missed period... How did you know you were pregnant?

Again, please no lectures on un-protected sex, I'm an adult and am perfectly capable to handle a pregancy. 

 

 Source

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/parenting/early-signs-of-pregnancy-453138/

Very Early Pregnancy Symptoms That Could Help Confirm Your Suspicion of Early Pregnancy

There are many very early pregnancy symptoms and how can you tell if they are a sign of pregnancy? The more of these symptoms you have that are listed below then the higher probability there is that you are pregnant. Read through the list below and see how many of these very early pregnancy symptoms you have.

Very Early Pregnancy Symptoms:

Most pregnant women have some very early pregnancy symptoms. On the rare occasion some women have no symptoms of early pregnancy except that them miss their menstrual period. Some women are so busy in their lives that they are unaware that their menstrual period was due and forget they did not get their periods.

• You missed your menstrual period could indicate you are pregnant.
• You menstrual period was late and you only had some mild spotting instead of a proper menstrual flow.
• You are experiencing morning sickness and/or vomiting first thing in the morning could indicate pregnancy.
• Your food suddenly tastes differently and you now dislike certain foods.
• You are suddenly craving certain foods is a very early symptom of pregnancy, which indicates you are depleted in minerals.
• Your breasts are tender and seem to be enlarging.
• The brown part of your nipple (the areola) is becoming darker and bigger.
• You notice your energy level is lower and you are feeling tired all the time.
• You have more mood swings than normal, which can be a result of sudden hormone changes that occurs in pregnancy.
• You are making more trips to the bathroom to urinate and there is not pain associated with urination is a common very early symptom of pregnancy.
• You start to experience headaches that can be a direct effect of hormones as a symptom of early pregnancy.

Diagnosis of Pregnancy:

If you are sexually active and have one or more of the above early symptom of pregnancy then purchase a home pregnancy kit. Test your urine first thing in the morning when your urine is more concentrated to see if you are pregnant or not. These pregnancy tests are very sensitive and very accurate; a positive test means you are definitely pregnant. A negative pregnancy test may not conclusive especially if you performed it incorrectly or not testing an early morning urine sample.

Now what:

If you believe you are pregnant, seek medical or midwifery advice to confirm pregnancy and discuss your pregnancy plans.

If you are taking prescription medications, notify your health care provider immediately that you are pregnant to seek advice about your medication.

While you are waiting for your appointment, start taking a daily multivitamin which has at least 400 micrograms of folic acid in it to prevent congenital abnormalities.

Take adequate mineral supplements to prevent pregnancy complications.

Eat good nutritious food and make sure you increase your protein intake.

Stop all alcohol intake and stop smoking cigarettes or drastically reduce, your baby’s life depends on you.

Also see medical or midwifery advice if you are not pregnant and you menstrual period does not come within the next month as you may have an underlying medical condition.


Pregnancy Statistics:


65% of all pregnancies are unplanned.

25% of all pregnancies ends in a miscarriage.

25% of women choose to terminate their pregnancy.


Finding out you are pregnant can be a very welcoming experience in your life or it can also be a time of tremendous stress for you. My book "Birth, A Conscious Choice" offers amazing insights and comfort into pregnancy, miscarriage, adoption and termination of pregnancy. It is not just for pregnant women but for anyone who has had an issue with their mother or a pregnancy related trauma. For pregnancy products, pregnancy one on one coaching and pregnancy information view

http://www.PregnancySuccessCoach.com

You may also be very interested in an amazing message that was telepathically dictated to me for humanity from my son when he was seven-weeks old. Yes you read correctly! I have the ability to communicate with baby’s emotions from inside and outside the womb. Down load this AMAZING MESSAGE FREE at


http://www.PregnancySuccessCoach.com/Message_For_Humanity.html

If you wish to ask me a personal question about your pregnancy or an issue in your life then visit

http://www.PregnancySuccessCoach.com/Ask_Hannah_Section.html

Hannah Bajor. C.N.M.,M.S.N.

Certified Nurse Midwife

Pregnancy Success Coach

Teenage mothers more likely to give birth prematurely

London, July 10 (IANS) Teenage mothers are more likely to give birth prematurely and have underweight babies, study shows.

The study also indicated that one quarter of teenage mothers get pregnant again before they turn 20, and that they are at particular risk of a preterm birth the second time around, reports telegraph.co.uk.
These teenagers are 93 percent more likely than adult women to give birth early.
Researchers at the University College Cork in Ireland, who conducted the survey of more than 55,000 births, called for more health and sex education to prevent the 'biological immaturity' of young mothers from damaging their babies' prospects.

Premature babies generally defined as those born earlier that 37 weeks in pregnancy are more susceptible to a range of medical problems and are at greater risk of dying in the first year of life.
Ali Khashan, who carried out the research, said the results indicated that some teenage girls were failing to receive proper medical advice after becoming pregnant and that young mothers tended to slip through the net of the health services when they had a second child.

'It is possible that the increased risk of poor pregnancy outcome is related to biological immaturity,' said Khashan.

'It is also possible that the increased risk of poor pregnancy outcome in the second teenage pregnancy is related to numerous complicating factors such as greater social deprivation and less prenatal care,' he added.

Unplanned pregancy rate higher in obese

 Posted by Deborah Condon - www.irishhealth.com
The rate of unplanned pregnancies is four times higher among single obese women than women of a normal weight, while obese men are far more likely to develop sexually transmitted infections (STIs) than normal weight men, a new study has found.
Obesity is emerging as one of the fastest growing pandemics in modern times, but its effects on sexual health are unclear. This is the first major study to investigate the impact of being overweight or obese on sexual activity and sexual health outcomes such as sexual satisfaction, unintended pregnancy and STIs.
French researchers carried out a survey of the sexual behaviours among 12,364 men and women aged between 18 and 69. Of the participants, 3,651 women and 2,725 men were normal weight, i.e. they had a body mass index (BMI) of between 18.5 and 25, 1,010 women and 1,488 men were overweight (BMI between 25 and 30) and 411 women and 350 men were obese (BMI over 30).
The study found that among obese women, the rate of unplanned pregnancies was four times higher than among normal weight women, despite them being less likely to have been sexually active in the past year.
In fact, obese women were 30% less likely to have had a sexual partner in the last 12 months. However they were also less likely to seek contraceptive advice or to use oral contraceptives.
Obese men meanwhile were 70% less likely to have had more than one sexual partner in the last 12 months and were two-and-a-half times more likely to have experienced erectile dysfunction. Those under 30 were also far more likely to have had an STI than normal weight men.
The study also noted that obese women were five times as likely to have met their partner on the internet, were more likely to have an obese partner and were less likely to view sex as important for personal life balance.
The researchers believe that social pressure, low self-esteem and concerns about body image may help explain the findings. They added that the public health impact of the results is important.
"The scale of the problem and the magnitude of the effects (particularly the four-fold increase in risk of unintended pregnancy among obese women) warrants focused attention. In terms of targeting advice and care, a considerable proportion of the population is obese, is easily identified and as such, is at an increased risk in terms of poorer sexual health status," said the team from the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Medicale in Paris.
Details of these findings are published in the British Medical Journal. In an accompanying editorial, Dr Sandy Goldbeck-Wood, a specialist in psychosexual medicine, pointed to evidence showing that doctors find it difficult to discuss sex and weight issues with patients.
She believes that clinicians must be prepared to address these difficult subjects, which have such important effects on health and quality of life.
"We need to understand more about how obese people feel about their sex lives, and what drives the observed behaviours and attitudes. In public health terms, the study lends a new slant to a familiar message - that obesity can harm not only health and longevity, but your sex life. And culturally, it reminds us as clinicians and researchers to look at the subjects we find difficult," she added.