Monitoring Your Pregnancy
Finally, you’re having a baby! After several years of trying you are about to experience how it is to become a parent. Pregnancy is one of the most wonderful things that a woman experiences in her life, but also one of the most dangerous. Getting pregnant and giving birth has risks and in order to overcome those risks, the couple should make sure that the mother monitors her pregnancy from day one up to the day of her delivery.
Once a person realizes that she is pregnant, she has to undergo a total lifestyle change in order to make sure that she and her baby are healthy and safe. The best way to make sure that both the mother and the baby are healthy is to properly monitor her pregnancy, her body and the food she eats.
During the first trimester, most mothers will start experiencing some inconveniences such as morning sickness, drowsiness, nausea, dizziness and lack of appetite. The good news is that most women only experience these symptoms during the early stages of pregnancy.
During the second trimester, the woman then starts to experience weight gain. The mother has to make sure that she monitors her weight gain because gaining too much weight during pregnancy could result in complications such as high blood pressure or gestational diabetes. Gaining too much weight will also make it difficult for the doctor to check the baby’s vital signs due to the increase in the layers of fat in the mother’s body.
On the third trimester, the mother should be physically and emotionally ready to give birth to her baby in a few months time. Everything that she and her baby will need during the delivery should be prepared already so that nothing is forgotten. It would be best if the mother was able to discuss a birth plan with her health care provider so that the mother will not have to think of anything anymore once she gives birth.
Prenatal visits are very important in monitoring one’s pregnancy. Before the delivery, the service provider needs to frequently monitor the baby’s height and weight. During the first trimester, the visit to the doctor can be done around once a month but as the delivery date of the baby draws near, the mother’s visit to the doctor becomes more frequent to make sure that the mother and the baby are both doing well.
The doctor usually monitors the mother’s weight, blood pressure and food intake. For the baby, the doctor checks the fundic height and the heartbeat. For a period of nine months, a mother should not have less than 4 prenatal visits with her doctor to make sure her pregnancy goes smoothly. Lack of proper monitoring could result to a lot of complications that could easily be avoided, if only the mother had regular check ups earlier on in her pregnancy.
A lot of infant and maternal mortalities have resulted due to lack of pregnancy monitoring on the part of the mothers and their service providers. As much as possible, the mother and her doctor or midwife should work together to make sure that the mother undergoes a safe pregnancy and should complications arise, both parties should be prepared to handle the situation so that the mother and the baby are healthy.
