Most reliable results for pregnancy can be found after a missed period. Woman need to monitor length and variability of their menstrual cycles. Pregnancy test after the longest expected cycle may provide accurate results. But this wait may be painful in cases where pregnancy symptoms are severe; like – dizziness, headaches and fatigue. So more sensitive tests may be taken up.

To wait until the menstrual period is due, is the most accurate test of pregnancy in Women. Most women who are willing to conceive, will want to confirm their pregnancy the soonest. The earliest detection of pregnancy depends on OCI Concept. O stands for Ovulation. C stands for Conception. I stands for Implantation. Ovulation is the process of production of egg (ovum). Conception is ferilization of egg and sperm. Implantation occurs in early pregnancy where the fertilized egg adheres to the uterus wall.

The time taken for implantation is different in different women. Implantation occurs 6-12 days after ovulation. This produces the pregnancy hormone HCG in women. Pregnancy Test is based on Sensitivity of the test to HCG. The more sensitive it is, the more early the pregnancy is detected. More sensitive tests can detect the HCG at very low levels. So detection can occur the sooner. Generally 9-10 days after ovulation, most women may get confirm results.

Sometimes, you do not get a positive result, but may get a confirmation after few more days. This happens because you might have ovulated later than you thought and implantation might have took longer. But, 25% of pregnancy cases end up in miscarriage during early pregnancy. This may cause anxiety and depression.

Chinese Pregnancy Chart

In some women the uterus is tipped slightly forward, towards the stomach whereas sometimes it is tipped backwards towards the spine. This position in which the uterus is tipped backwards is termed as tipped uterus. Almost 20% of the women in the world suffer from this tipped uterus which is also called Retroverted uterus.

Causes Of Retroverted Uterus:
Some of the causes for Retroverted uterus can be summarized in the following points:

• Retroverted Uterus Is Genetic: Most common cause for this type of condition to occur is known to be genetic. It means that in most cases the women are borne with the tipped Uterus.
• Pregnancy: It one reason in which the normally placed uterus can become Retroverted.Actually, during pregnancy the uterus enlarges and the muscles which holds it gets weakened. So, after the delivery, there are chances for the uterus to reiterate.
• Menopause: Once the menopause takes place, the levels of estrogen in the body goes down. So, the muscles which holds the uterus also gets weakened. Hence, there are chances for the uterus to slip and reside at the back.
• Reproductive Problems: Pelvic Inflammatory disease and Endometriosis are few diseases which can result in the tilting of the uterus.

Symptoms Of Retroverted Uterus:
Some of the symptoms of Retroverted uterus are:

• Painful intercourse especially vaginal one.
• Painful menstruation.
• Lower back pain.
• Fertility becomes difficult.
• Infection of urinary tracts increases.

Once implantation is done the progesterone is required to prevent rejection of the developing embryo or fetus. Thus, plays an important role in reproduction.

Importance Of Progesterone Fertility:
Some of the important roles which progesterone plays in fertility are:

• Levels of progesterone rise at the time of ovulation. This is rise creates fertile environment for the fertilized egg.
• Progesterone also increases the temperatures of the body for the whole lethal period. This enables the appropriate atmosphere for the fertilization.
• Once the fertilization and implantation takes then progesterone is again triggered for maintaining an environment which could support the development of fetus or embryo.
• Incase fertilization does not take place the levels of progesterone falls drastically and results in triggering the shedding of the endometrium. As progesterone is essential for shedding of endometrium so incase implantation takes place and at the same time levels of progesterone falls then it might result in shedding of blood which means miscarriage.
• Progesterone creates a fertile warm environment in the womb which will promote the survival of the fertilized egg through healthy implantation.
• Progesterone strengthens the endometrium which is responsible for sustaining the embryo throughout the pregnancy.
• Progesterone prevents the shedding of endometrium before the actual time arrives.

Thus, progesterone is very necessary for pregnancy. The deficiency of this hormone can result in infertility of the women. In case of implantation its importance increases much. If at this point levels of progesterone decreases then it can result in the miscarriage..

Pregnancy Myths And Truths:
The myths and facts that are associated with the pregnancy are:

• There is a myth that if the mother will hold her hands above head then it will strange the umbilical chord of the baby around its neck.
• There is a very common myth that having sex during pregnancy will harm the baby. The fact is that you can have sex during pregnancy until and unless you have high risk pregnancies or any history of miscarriage.
• It is a myth that the way a women carries her baby only decides the sex of the baby. The fact is that gender of the baby is decided by the chromosomes.
• A myths regarding pregnancy says that if a mother sleeps on her back during pregnancy then it will harm the baby.
• Another myth says that if the mother submerges the hand or takes a bath in water then it harms both mother and child. But the fact is that there no such evidence.
• There a myth that if the bird flies over your house when you are pregnant then you will either have miscarriage or a still birth.
• There is another myth that if the hips gets broaden up during pregnancy then you will give birth to a baby girl. There is no truth in all these sayings.
• Another myth says that if you will have heart burn during pregnancy then your baby will have head full of hairs.

Teen Pregnancy Myths:
There are few myths which are associated with the teen pregnancy. They are:

• It is a myth that if a girl is having her period she can not get pregnant. This is because the sperms can remain active inside the vagina for as long as 7 days. So there is always a chance of conceiving.
• It is also a myth that you sex for the first time you can not get pregnant.
• It is also a myth that if the girl takes shower after intercourse pregnancy will not be there.
• It is also a myth that if the girl sneezes for fifteen minutes after the intercourse pregnancy will not be there.

Effects Of Ovarian Cysts During Pregnancy:

• Many ovarian cysts that are found during pregnancy period are not malignant. So the chances of ovarian cancer are not there. Your doctor can find it out by doing an ultrasound.
• Although ovarian cysts are not of much concern in normal person, they can be of great concern in pregnant ladies. Ovarian cysts if ruptures or twists in ladies who are pregnant it can cause pre labor pain or even lead to miscarriages.
• Generally, ovarian cysts do not pose any threat until and unless they break apart and ruptures. Even if they rupture chances of any kind of infection are less but excessive will be certainly there.
• If cysts becomes too large and gets twisted too, it is better to remove it by operation.
• The best time for removing cysts is second trimester. It is the best time to eliminate cyst without harming fetus. In case it ruptures it can cause threat to mother and can even lead to miscarriage.

Preventive Measures For Ovarian Cysts During Pregnancy:

• If you have ovarian cyst frequently you can have conception pills which will prevent pregnancy. Hence one of the ways for formation of cysts can be controlled.
• Natural methods can be used to prevent formation of cysts.
• Pain in pelvis can be reduced by keeping hot water bottle or hot bag on affected area.
• Chamomile, mint and raspberry teas can help reducing pain up to great extent.
• Caffeine is harmful for cysts as it can end up in rupturing of cysts.
• Intake of a lot of fluid is utmost important as reduces the chance of cyst formation.

Types of Molar Pregnancies
There are two types of molar pregnancies – partial molar pregnancy and complete molar pregnancy.

How different is Molar Pregnancy from a Normal Pregnancy?
In a normal pregnancy, the fertilized ovum receives the same number of chromosomes (in total 23 pairs) from the father and mother. But, in a complete molar pregnancy, the fertilized ovum does not receive any chromosome from the maternal side and the 23 chromosomes that it receives from the paternal side get duplicated. As a result, it ends up having two copies of paternal chromosomes with no embryo, placental tissue or amniotic sac. The placenta assumes the shape of cluster of grapes.

In a partial molar pregnancy, the fertilized ovum receives the normal 23 chromosomes from the mother’s side, but instead of receiving another 23 chromosomes from the father’s side, it receives 46 chromosomes. As a result, it gets total 69 chromosomes instead of normal 46 chromosomes from the mother and the father.

Molar Pregnancy Symptoms
Molar pregnancy is generally common in women who are over 40 years of age. Nearly one in every thousand women to one in fifteen hundred can have molar pregnancy.

Some general signs and symptoms of molar pregnancy are:

• Persistent vomiting and nausea
• Continuous or intermittent, heavy or light bleeding by 12th week
• Abdominal swelling
• No fetal movement or fetal heart tones
• Shortness of breath
• Tender and enlarged ovaries
• Abnormally high human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) hormone

Molar Pregnancy Treatment
Once diagnosed, D&C (dilation and curettage) may be considered. This helps in scrapping and removing the abnormal tissues. Sometimes, a second D&C may be needed for complete removal of the mole. Otherwise, drug treatment for inducing miscarriage of the mole can be considered.

Studies have shown that the negative affects of Post Abortion Syndrome scars a woman for life, affecting her fertility rate and her relationship with her near and dear ones.

Abortion also causes great physical damages. Some of the several negative effects of abortion are as follows.

1) Convulsions
2) Cervical injury
3) Excessive bleeding
4) Infection
5) Ripping or perforation of the uterus
6) Hemorrhage

According to studies conducted it has been found out that most of the women who underwent abortion suffered from “Sterility”. Reason being infections of the uterine wall and contraction of venerable diseases during abortion.

Studies have also shown that when the first baby is aborted, there tends to be a weakening of the cervix. This leads to further miscarriages and greater difficulties in future pregnancies.

Complications of abortions further affects the fetus infecting the child with cerebral palsy, premature births, abnormal development of the placenta, and also these threats pose to be a great risk to the mother’s life too.

Women who have undergone an abortion have a great risk of dying during a later pregnancy.

Abortions lead to long-term damages, which are irrevocable. Therefore, a woman has to be very careful and prudent while making a decision in favor of abortion.

Abortion should be avoided as much as possible so as to avoid future complications in pregnancy.

The muscle pull mainly happens due to the baby’s position, which causes a painful pulling like sensation at the abdomen. Resorting to relaxation techniques can be very helpful.

Some measures that a pregnant mother can take is

1) Do not rest on the side that is causing you pain.

2) Place a pillow or rolled up towels beneath the abdomen, so that it lessens the strain on the abdomen.

3) Resort to relaxation exercises. One exercise that is easy to follow and practice is – Stand next to a strong support-a wall or a strong piece of furniture, rest your self on the side that has the muscle pulls and very gently lift the knee on whose side the muscle pull happens. It may be difficult initially but will bring about lot of relief later. Repeat this as many times you can in a day.

4) While turning make sure you turn the entire body together. People generally have the habit of turning their legs first and then their upper body. But a pregnant mother especially while lying down should make an effort of rolling the entire body together. This may help relieve the pulling.

5) When the pain happens, make sure you bend at the waist, towards the pain.

6) Avoid sudden and jerking movements.

Keep these points in mind and sail through the blues of pregnancy safely.

However, headaches are also caused due to several other reasons and factors like

Fatigue
Stress
Tension
Pollution
Dehydration
Low Blood sugar level.
Loud noises
Crowds.
Hunger
Lack Of sleep.

Dealing With Headaches

1) One can deal with their problems of headache during pregnancy by taking in lot of fresh air by going for evening/morning walks.

2) Drinking lot of water.

3) Not exposing oneself to pollution and dust.

4) Eating healthy food at regular intervals.

5) Not straining oneself much and avoiding lifting heavy weights.

6) Techniques like biofeedback and meditation also prove to be very useful.

7) Massaging the back, for 10-15 minutes also helps reduce the intensity of the pain.

Can one Take Medicines To Reduce Back Ache?

Generally pregnant women are advised against taking any kind of drugs to reduce backaches. However, if drugs prescribed by a doctor seem to be the only relief, make sure that they are taken in small doses.

Large does of drugs can prove to be very harmful for the fetus. Keep these points in mind and get rid of the painful headaches in an effective way.