Obstetrics

Obstetrics

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Weeks of Gestation

At conception, the egg and sperm will meet, creating a single cell organism called a “zygote”. If the egg was fertilised, it will drop into your uterus. Once the fertilised egg (orzygote) is in your uterus, fluid will enter dividing it into two. One will be the placenta; the other will be the baby.

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Your Antenatal Card

The Gestational Age (GA) refers to how far pregnant you are as calculated from the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP) or from an early pregnancy ultrasound. for example, if you are 32 weeks pregnant, your baby’s gestational age is 32 weeks and is written as 32.

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Vaginal Examination

Unless there are health concerns or complications, there is no medical reason to have routine vaginal examinations as part of your regular pregnancy visits. Pap tests are recommended for women every 2 years. Pap smear in early pregnancy is safe and does not cause miscarriage.

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Smoking and Pregnancy

Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, premature labour, low birth weight and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). In 2009, 14.5% of Australian women, or one in seven, smoked during pregnancy. Pregnant women aged under 35 years were more likely to smoke (14%) than those aged 35 years or older (9%).

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Kick Chart

A ‘kick chart’ is a graph or grid printed on a piece of paper with spaces to record the daily movements of your baby, usually after about 28 weeks of the pregnancy. Kick charts are mainly used for women who express concern about their baby’s movements.

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Iron and Pregnancy

Iron is essential to normal human physiology. Iron is an integral part of many proteins and enzymes that maintain good health. In humans, iron is an essential component of proteins involved in oxygen transport. A deficiency of iron limits oxygen delivery to cells, resulting in fatigue, poor work performance, and decreased immunity.

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Induction of Labor “IOL”

Induction of labour is usually undertaken if the risks of continuing the pregnancy are greater than the risks of induction to deliver the baby. The woman’s experience during induced labour is usually similar to natural labour. Augmented labourSometimes, labour starts naturally but fails to progress because of weak or ineffective contractions. Natural labour can be helped along by some induction methods. This is called “augmented labour”.

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Diet and Weight Gain During Pregnancy

A good approach is to eat to satisfy your appetite and continue to monitor your weight. Being pregnant means you will gain weight. However, how much weight you gain is very individual.In recent years, research could not find any substantial benefits for either the woman or her baby through monitoring weight gain.

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Physical Changes in Pregnancy

Conception usually occurs about two weeks after the start of your last normal period. However, it takes about 6 days for your newly conceived baby to reach your uterus from your fallopian tube, and further 6 days for them to fully implant in the lining of your uterus, to start ‘interacting’ with your body.

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Prenatal Diagnosis

While the majority of babies are born without any abnormality, 3-4% of pregnancies result in babies with abnormalities. Some but not all fetal abnormalities can be detected during pregnancy. No single test checks for everything. Different types of tests are available.

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Kegel Exercises

A Kegel exercises is the name of a pelvic floor exercise, every woman, pregnant or not, should learn how to do. Kegel exercises target your pelvic floor muscles. Pelvic floor muscles are attached to the pelvic bone and act like a hammock, holding in your pelvic organs.

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Blood Pressure

Your blood pressure is taken at every pregnancy visit as well as intermittently during labour and occasionally after the birth, depending on your health. When a caregiver takes a person’s blood pressure, they measure the pressure exerted by the blood against the walls of the blood vessels in the arteries.

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Sex during pregnancy

Sexual intercourse throughout pregnancy is perfectly safe, in the absence of pregnancy complications such as heavy vaginal bleeding or the waters (amniotic fluid around the baby) are broken. During the first 12 weeks or so, some couples will feel so excited and sex becomes an intimate celebration of this event.

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Cardiotocography (CTG)

Cardiotocography (CTG) is a technical means of recording (-graphy) the fetal heartbeat (cardio-) and the uterine contractions (-toco-) during pregnancy, typically in the third trimester. The machine used to perform the monitoring is called a cardiotocograph, more commonly known as an electronic fetal monitor. CTG can be used to identify signs of fetal distress.

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