Pregnancy happens because of sexual intercourse or in the recent times owing to of assisted reproductive technology. Pregnancy in general lasts approximately 40 days (in human beings) from LMP (Last Menstrual Period) and ends with childbirth. This time span involves about 9 lunar months, whereby each month constitutes of 29½ days. Which when measured from the day of conception comes to 38 weeks.The developing baby inside the mother’s body is called an embryo during the first 8 weeks after conception after which it’s known as a fetus till it’s born.
Pregnancy can be confirmed by doing a pregnancy test.
Prenatal care is always necessary for pregnant women to improve the gestational outcomes. Prenatal care involves ingesting extra folic acid, doing regular exercise, avoid drugs and alcohol, getting regular physical examination done by a gynecologist and others.
Complications that arise out of pregnancy includes gestational diabetes, severe nausea, high blood pressure, deficiency anemia and at times vomiting among others.
While early term pregnancy can be anywhere between 37 to 39 weeks, term pregnancy is 31 to 41 weeks long. Full term pregnancy is considered between 39 to 40 weeks and late term pregnancy is gestation that ends on the 41st week. Any pregnancy that lasts beyond the 41st week is known as post term pregnancy. Babies that are born before the 37th week and are commonly known as preterm babies, are born with higher risk of health related issues like cerebral palsy.
According to experts, all deliveries before the 39th week by caesarean section or induced labor isn’t recommended- unless it is utmost required for certain medical complications and reasons.Women experience and undergo a lot of physical changes in her during pregnancy, which are not at all fearsome and are absolutely normal. These changes happen in the hematological, cardiovascular, metabolic, renal and respiratory systems in her body. For during pregnancy increase in blood sugar, cardiac output and breathing are all required for gravidity.
The levels of estrogen and progesterone hormones continually change in a woman during her pregnancy, which aids in suppressing the hypothalamic axis and therefore bring change in her menstrual cycle. As all fetuses are genetically different from their mothers, hence this process can be viewed as an unusually successful allograft. This occurs because of the increased immune tolerance of both the mother and the allograft during the pregnancy.