So You Think You’re Pregnant? A Brief Discussion Of Common Pregnancy Symptoms

A baby begins life even before he is born – from conception until the uterus finally pushes him out of his mother’s body. This is the phenomenon we call pregnancy. It starts when the male sperm unites with the female egg and develops into an embryo. While several women say they can already detect pregnancy from the moment of conception, some see the pregnancy symptoms much later.

As the woman’s body prepares itself for child-bearing, she will notice several changes. The telltale signs of pregnancy include the following:

Absence of menstruation

This is usually the first sign of pregnancy. Take note, though, that it should not always be linked with pregnancy symptoms, as missing your monthly period can also mean some other kind of hormonal imbalance or condition.

Morning sickness

It would be prudent to note that the pregnancy symptom called “morning sickness” does not happen only in the mornings. This feeling of dizziness can happen at any time of the day. The hormonal changes occurring during pregnancy generally trigger bouts of nausea and vomiting. Another related symptom would be constant tiredness, which a possibly pregnant woman experiences even if no physical activity had been performed (but, then, again, it could also be due to improper nutrition).

Strong craving for certain foods

The cause of this pregnancy symptom is still undetermined. But pregnant women have been infamous for requesting/demanding different kinds of food, owing to uncontrollable appetite urges. On some cases, “strong craving” is an understatement.

Mood swings and headaches

A woman’s emotions sometimes become slave to the hormonal changes linked with pregnancy. Quite common are bouts of depression, vagueness, listlessness and irritability.

Sleepiness

This symptom is not due to fatigue. Women who are pregnant usually long for sleep early in the evening. Again, blame the hormones.

Frequent urination

As the womb expands to make room for the growing fetus, it bears down on the urinary bladder, causing constant urges to pass urine. Some women have also been observed to develop white, creamy vaginal discharge during pregnancy, while the breasts tend to swell and grow tender (as the mammary glands brace themselves for breastfeeding).

Not all signs of pregnancy are obvious. But when the above mentioned symptoms present themselves to you, and you have enough reason to suspect that you are pregnant, you must consult your doctor at once, preferably an obstetrician. (An obstetrician specializes in caring for women while they are pregnant and even after pregnancy.) The doctor will then run tests to find out whether you ARE pregnant and in which pregnancy level you are already in. If your doctor bears good news, that, indeed, a miracle has formed in your womb, congratulations! You will soon be holding in your arms the greatest gift you will ever receive.

The Power In A Gathering Of Women

Forget "fight or flight" as the only duo of responses in the face of stress. For women, there's a third response: "befriend". A landmark UCLA study turned five decades of stress research on its head with the revelation that a cascade of brain chemicals gives women a larger behavioral repertoire when confronted with stress. The hormone oxytocin is released as part of the stress response in women. It controls the fight/flight response and, instead, encourages her to tend children and gather with other women.

Accordingly to co-researcher Dr. Laura Cousino Klein, now assistant professor of bio-behavioral health at Penn State, the study suggests that this "tending and befriending" response to oxytocin produces a calming effect. Although it will take new studies to reveal all the ways in which oxytocin encourages women to care for children and band together, it might also explain why women consistently outlive men.

I have addressed numerous women's conferences and corporate networks of women and I can attest to the observable behavior that participants leave these sessions feeling stronger, encouraged, and positive. I believe they also leave healthier. The famed Nurses Health Study from Harvard Medical School found that the more friends people have, they less likely they are to develop physical ailments and the more likely they are to cope better with challenges.

Sadly, today's busy agendas often find women canceling the most positive and healthy thing they can do: gather with other women to engage in the kind of "rapport" and "report" talk that hallmark feminine conversations. The corporate women's networks that generate the most return for the time and money investment allow for the nuts-and-bolts training needed for the business while also creating plenty of opportunity for mentoring, problem-solving and the informal sharing of personal issues.

Create a gathering of women and stand back. The energy reborn from conversation, caring, compassion and concern can move a community, a business, and a nation into a higher place.

5 Heart Healthy Exercises You Can Do During Pregnancy

Pregnancy is a time of celebration, love, and unwanted but necessary weight gain. However, being pregnant doesn’t mean that your health and figure has to suffer permanent damage. You can gain weight in a healthy fashion while doing some very easy and safe heart healthy pregnancy exercise routines.

One of the simplest and most effective pregnancy exercises you can do is walking. Not only is walking one of the best cardiovascular exercises, it is also one of the safest pregnancy exercises you can engage in. Walking is one of the few pregnancy exercises that you can do for the complete duration of your pregnancy.

Another extremely beneficial heart healthy pregnancy exercise is swimming. Countless doctors and pregnant women have attested to the wonderful benefits of swimming during pregnancy. A weekly pregnancy exercise routine of swimming gives both the arms and legs a great workout while promoting cardiovascular health. Because of the nature of being subdued in water, swimming will also remind expectant mothers what it felt like before the pounds were added on. This is definitely a welcome change every now and then.

The third pregnancy exercise routine you can start doing to keep your body healthy is enrolling in an aerobics class. Many fitness centers and community centers offer low impact aerobics classes for pregnant women. One of the nicer benefits of this pregnancy exercise is that it is done in the company of other pregnant women under the watchful eye of a professional aerobics instructor. This means you are going to get a safe workout catered to the special needs of pregnancy.

Weight training is also a very beneficial pregnancy routine to keep your body healthy. Although you must only use very light weights when engaging in this pregnancy exercise, weight training is an excellent way of toning your body and increasing muscular strength.

The last heart healthy pregnancy exercise you can do to stay fit is Pilates/yoga. Both of these body conditioning exercises promote stretching and flexibility within the muscles. Yoga is also a nice accompaniment to walking. By doing a combination of these pregnancy exercises, you can have a healthy balanced cardiovascular routine.

Being pregnant doesn’t mean that you have to sacrifice exercise and health. By walking, swimming, doing aerobics, weight training, and engaging in a Pilates/yoga routine, you can have a healthy and fit pregnancy.