Posted by Lisa Rosenthal on Mon, Mar 05, 2012 @ 10:56 AM
Healthy Pregnancy
We've talked about pregnancy tests, positive and negative.
What about the concept of "pregnant enough"? When do you feel comfortable that you have a healthy pregnancy--that the pregnancy is stable, secure and progressing?
Signs of a Healthy Pregnancy
There are clinical indicators that demonstrate signs of a healthy pregnancy, to help monitor your progress. If you have been in fertility treatment, most likely your bloodwork will be checked frequently. It may be checked as frequently as every other day for a short time. Blood levels show a rise in Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG), and those levels are checked to see that they are rising appropriately.
Cramping and spotting are more typical than you might think. In as much as 25% of early pregnancies, spotting occurs. While it's scary, most often it's not dangerous. Call your doctor if it occurs, but don't make assumptions that your pregnancy is in danger of ending. Same thing with cramping. As your uterus enlarges, cramping is common and is not a dangerous sign. Cramping and bleeding that are worse than a normal menstrual cycle should be brought to your doctors' attention as soon as possible.
Pregnancy and Medication
To manage pregnancy and medication, any medications that you are on due to fertility treatment will be overseen by your fertility specialist (board-certified reproductive endocrinologist). Please do not make any decision to take yourself off, increase, or decrease a medication by yourself. If you have concerns about any of your medications due to a new and early pregnancy, speak with your doctor. The general rule of thumb is that if the medicaiton is listed as an A or B medication, it's safe to take during pregnancy, even early on. A trustworthy and reliable Web site to consult is www.safefetus.com.
Nausea can come and go during a pregnancy. You may get lucky and not experience it at all, or you may feel ill a good deal of the time. None of those variations are a reason to be concerned that the pregnancy is not progressing well. Especially, do not assume that because you don't feel nausea, that your pregnancy is not faring well.
Healthy Pregnancy Tips
When searching for healthy pregnancy tips, there may be many other concerns that you have about what's safe and what's not safe for your new pregnancy: Questions about exercise, food, common illnesses, travel, and more. Fertility specialist Dr. Mark Leondires, Medical Director of Reproductive Medicine Associates of CT, wrote a blog answering the most frequently asked questions about pregnancy. See if your question is there. If it is not, please write to us here; we'll be glad to answer you.
We want you to enjoy your pregnancy; we know what it took to get here.