The time from conception until birth; the average pregnancy is 280 days. Every organ and tissue of the body of the mother is affected by pregnancy. The time when a woman is most likely to become pregnant is the period between the sixth and eleventh days after the first day of menstruation.
Signs of Pregnancy
The breasts begin to enlarge as early as the second month, and with a first baby, even, sometimes, as early as the second or third week. Among the most definite signs of pregnancy are cessation of menstruation, morning nausea, and vomiting which begins usually during the second month and rarely lasts beyond the fourth month. Another symptom is increased emotionalism, with peevishness, fretfulness and irritability. Cravings for strange foods may appear. Fluttering (called “quickening”) is experienced between the sixteenth and eighteenth week. The usual changes in the shape and size of the body are well known. X-ray will show the presence of the child and, later, its position. The doctor can hear the heartbeat of the child between the eighteenth and twentieth weeks and sometimes even earlier. Laboratory tests like the Aschheim-Zondek test, made on rabbits and on frogs, are accurate determinations of the presence of pregnancy.
Prenatal Care
The modern doctor is careful about prenatal care in pregnancy. Just as soon as a woman believes she is to become a mother, she should consult her doctor. He will make a complete physical examination, laboratory studies of the secretions and excretions of the body, and a record of the past history of the patient. He will study the blood, the blood pressure, the work of the kidneys. He will make accurate measurements of the organs concerned in childbirth, and thus anticipate any difficulties that may arise. Examinations continue at intervals of a month, and later even at intervals of two weeks or oftener, depending on the development of various symptoms.
Diet
The prospective mother may gain about 15 per cent in weight during the nine months previous to the birth of the child. A gain of anything more than 20 pounds is a sign for additional studies of the diet and health of the prospective mother. The prospective mother must have enough vitamins, calcium and phosphorous to provide for the needs of the child. Milk and milk products provide most of the calcium. Diets ordinarily are low in iron, and iron is absolutely necessary for the building of the red blood cells. Among mineral salts, iodine is of great importance. The prospective child makes demands upon the body of the mother, and iodine is needed for the prevention of simple goiter.
Birth of Baby
The Birth of the Baby Before the baby comes, the mother should assemble the materials required at childbirth, depending on whether she is going to the hospital or having the baby at home. Today, in the United States, more than 85 per cent of all babies are born in hospitals. In most cases the time required for childbirth for a first baby will be between sixteen and eighteen hours, and for later babies, between eight and ten hours. But many women have them faster, others slower. A common belief holds that more babies are born at night than in the daytime. Actually, there is no such variation.
The body of the woman, in most instances, returns to normal in six to eight weeks after childbirth. During this period, rest and diet are important. About the fourth day, in most cases, the mother may begin light exercises, sit up in bed and increase her activity. The tendency nowadays is to get the mother up much earlier than formerly.
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WOMEN’S HEALTH