While carrying the desired pregnancy, the expectant mother wants to be sure that her child is growing and developing correctly. But until the woman begins to feel the baby's movements, she may be overcome by doubts whether everything is in order. To determine that pregnancy is progressing, both subjective sensations and the achievements of modern medicine will help.
Instructions
Step 1
Monitor your condition. Morning sickness, drowsiness, aversion to certain foods, sensitivity to odors, swelling and tenderness of the mammary glands - these signs indirectly confirm both the presence of pregnancy and its development. Although the disappearance of any of the symptoms or their combination does not in itself mean that the pregnancy has stopped, this fact should alert you.
Step 2
If the breast has decreased in size, toxicosis has disappeared, you do not feel the discomfort that has followed you for the past weeks, consult your doctor to make sure that the pregnancy is progressing. Perhaps these changes will turn out to be a feature of your body, but everything is in order with the baby.
Step 3
From the moment of implantation of a fertilized egg into the uterine cavity in a woman's body, it is possible to detect human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) - a pregnancy hormone produced by the chorionic tissue - the embryonic membrane on the basis of which the placenta is formed. From 1 to 11 weeks from conception, the level of hCG in a woman's blood is constantly increasing, and from 11-16 weeks it begins to gradually decrease, since by this time the chorion is converted to the placenta.
Step 4
To monitor the development of pregnancy up to 16 weeks, periodically donate blood to determine the level of hCG. If your antenatal clinic does not do such an analysis, contact a specialized medical center or laboratory. A blood test for hCG is taken on an empty stomach: in the morning or during the day, but not earlier than 2 hours after a meal.
Step 5
With a regular visit to an obstetrician-gynecologist, you can track the development of your pregnancy by objective signs: an increase in the height of the uterine fundus and abdominal circumference, which may be invisible to you. When the doctor takes these measurements, ask them to tell you their values, write them down and compare with previous indicators.
Step 6
If your doctor has a fetal doppler in his arsenal, you will be able to listen to your baby's heartbeat from week 12 - a sure sign of a developing pregnancy. Of course, if funds allow you, you can purchase this device for personal use and regularly monitor the child's condition, but keep in mind that it is not cheap.
Step 7
The best way to determine the progress of pregnancy is ultrasound (ultrasound). After 5-6 obstetric weeks, the doctor can see the heartbeat of the embryo. Therefore, if you want to make sure that your pregnancy is developing in accordance with the term, contact your antenatal clinic or other medical institution to the ultrasound diagnostics doctor. There is no consensus in the medical literature and among practicing doctors about how often an ultrasound scan can be done, but if there are doubts about the correct course of pregnancy, it is still better to carry it out.
Step 8
From about 18-22 weeks, the expectant mother begins to feel the fetal movement. From this time on, additional studies will not be required: daily record the baby's movements, and all the necessary tests, ultrasound and determination of the child's heart rate are routinely performed.
