CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR PREGNANCY! You are about to experience one of the greatest adventures and miracles that human being can have. In the months ahead, you will be undergoing a variety of changes – changes in the way your body looks, changes in the way you feel, changes in your daily activities, and changes in your wardrobe. These changes will be exciting ones, but they may also be cause for concern and anxiety. The purpose of this section of IndianMomsAndBabies.com is to help you understand the changes that will take place so that you can eliminate as much of that anxiety as possible. The more accurate and detailed information you have about your changing body the more confident you will become about the adventure ahead. You will learn about the specific symptoms – what they mean and what you can do – and you will also learn about the personal reactions and the feelings which may seem unusual to you. This section (Pregnancy Suggested Readings) will help you to be well informed and confident so that your pregnancy will be as pleasant and safe as possible.

Modern medicine has made remarkable discoveries which have greatly reduced the discomforts and dangers which you great-grandmother faced. The years of medical research have greatly reduced the risks of pregnancy and have greatly increased the chances for a healthy normal childbirth.

Majority of newborns brain injury caused do NOT occur during labor and delivery, resuscitation, or treatment immediately following birth. Most instances of neurologic abnormalities occur prior to labor and delivery.

The point of this section of IndianMomsAndBabies is to help you as much as possible to be among the 98% of healthy mothers who have confidently reduced their risks. As your body changes, you will have many questions about what is happening to you.

New studies indicate that inadequate prenatal care affects a person’s intelligence. The implication would be that in-utero environment has a profound effect on IQ in the general population.

Information your healthcare provider (clinician) needs

You need to provide your health care provider with a great deal of information. She will need to know basic facts such as your age, your weight, and whether you have been pregnant before. There will be a physical exam and perhaps lab tests. You will need to provide a urine sample, and you may need to have a Pap test. And you should objectively try to describe your working conditions and any potential stress that exists at work or at home. But you will also need to provide other information which is very important as it can tell a lot to your clinician.

For example, you will need to recall the exact date of your last menstrual period. This information will help your clinician to decide approximately when your baby will be born. However this date is only an approximation for you and your clinician to be prepared.

Most babies arrive within a week of the calculated due date, few babies arrive exactly on the due date. It is perfectly normal for your baby’s birth to occur within one to two weeks of the expected date.

If the pregnancy extends beyond two weeks, the clinician may order additional tests. As you know, menstrual cycle vary and are not always exact. Sometimes stress or some physical factor can affect your menstrual cycle. In fact, some women even have bleeding after they become pregnant. Be sure to report any irregularities in your menstrual cycle.

Another piece of information that you will need to provide your clinician is your medical history. Think about your own family and father’s family. Is there any family history of chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart or kidney diseases or allergies to drugs? Have you ever had mumps, chickenpox, measles, hepatitis, or any previous operations?

Still another piece of vital information is blood test. This is important for several reasons. First, your baby receives its oxygen from hemoglobin in your red cells. If laboratory tests show that your blood lacks hemoglobin, then you are anemic and your baby will not get enough oxygen. This is something your clinician can then correct. The blood test will also show whether you are immune to Ruballa (German measles) or are Rh negative.