  
|  |
|
| How do I know if I'm pregnant? |
|
|
Reviewed by Dr Philip Owen, consultant
obstetrician and gynaecologist
|
What are
the first signs of pregnancy?
For
most women, the first sign of pregnancy is when their
periods stop. Although the absence of menstruation can be
caused by many things if, in addition, a woman's
breasts feel swollen or tender and she feels nauseous -
especially in the morning - it is likely that she is
pregnant.
How can pregnancy be
confirmed?
-
The normal way to test for pregnancy is
through a urine test.
-
This can be done at home using a pregnancy
testing kit that can be bought over the counter from
your local pharmacy.
-
A GP or
Family Planning Clinic will do a pregnancy test.
How soon can a pregnancy test
be done?
A woman can take a
pregnancy test just a few days after her missed period.
How can you calculate when the baby will be
born?
Conception takes place around the
time of ovulation when the egg is released from the ovary.
Ovulation takes place midway through the menstrual cycle, on about the
14th day if the first day of menstruation is taken as day
one.
The beginning of a
pregnancy is calculated from the first day of the last
period. A normal pregnancy will last 40 weeks in total and
it is not too difficult to estimate the date on which a
woman can expect to give birth.
If, for example, the first day of her last period
was April 1, add one week - April 8. Then add nine months
to find the date of the birth. In this case it will be
January 8 the following year. But for an accurate
prediction, the period must have occurred regularly with
approximately four weeks between the last two
periods.
What if I have just come off
the Pill?
If a woman gets pregnant
within a couple of months of coming off the contraceptive pill she may
experience irregular ovulation and irregular periods or even
none at all.
Under such
circumstances it is difficult to estimate the baby's
due date reliably and an ultrasound examination is
more useful.
An ultrasound scan
performed in the first half of pregnancy will give the
most reliable and accurate estimate of when the baby is due
by working out the size of the foetus. Every maternity
hospital will provide this as a routine service to
pregnant mothers.
|
Based on a text by Christel
Bech, nurse and Dr Charlotte Floridon
|
Last updated 08.11.2005
|
 |
|
|
 |
| |      |
|
