Pregnancy Signs And Symptoms

Outline:-

• Signs of pregnancy,
• Symptoms of I Trimester.
• Symptoms of II Trimester.
• Symptoms of III Trimester.
• Abnormal symptoms.

Signs:

Signs are those which are seen by physicians.

Symptoms:

They are observed and felt by the patient.

Signs of pregnancy:

There are number of associated symptoms in case of pregnancy. Initial signs typically appear within first few weeks of conception. Although not all are universally present nor all of them are diagnostic by themselves. But they are useful for presumptive diagnosis of pregnancy and confirmed along with lab diagnosis.

 Initial signs:

• A rise in human chorionic gonadotrophic hormone which is released from the cells of placenta, this typical rise is very helpful for diagnosis of pregnancy. Within 15 days are so this hormone appears in blood and later in urine too.
• Implantation bleeding—seen as spotting within III weeks of conception when the embryo is getting implanted.
• Raised basal body temperature from the day of ovulation.
• Chadwick’ sign—darkening of cervix & vagina.
• Göodel’s sign--- softening of vaginal portion of cervix.

Later signs:

• Linea nigra---darkening of skin as vertical patterns in the abdomen during the middle of pregnancy due to the hormonal changes.
• Strongly increasing size of the abdomen which is clear indication if pregnancy.

Symptoms:

Symptoms which appear during pregnancy vary greatly and it varies from person to person. Not all the symptoms appear in a person.

I Trimester:

During this stage there is rapid cell division taking place in the embryo and it gets implanted in the uterus. During this stage all the major organs are formed.

First month of pregnancy almost Passover without any symptoms.fom the beginning of second month women starts getting symptoms usually. Some of the typical common symptoms are

• Breast feeling tender, soft & sore due to hormonal changes inducing the mammary glands for the production of milk. There will be gradual increase of the breast from here
• Morning sickness—comprises of vomiting sensation on the sight of food due to raise in the hormonal levels in the morning. But pregnant women despite this feeling should try taking essential nutrients.
• Increased craving for some strange food like pickles, raw mango etc..
• Constipation and indigestion— due to increased hormonal flow slowing down the bowel movements and absorption of nutrients .Hence this should be compensated with large intake of water and fruits. Multivitamin supplements should be continued to overcome this malabsorbtion.
• Frequent urination---due to extra fluids to be filtered by the kidney.
• Fatigue,dizziness,headache---due to raised progesterone (hormonal effects) compounded by increased blood volume which leads to fall in blood pressure and fall in blood sugar hence leading to deficient blood supply to brain. This is also due to increased metabolic needs of pregnancy.
• Heightened sensation to aromas.
• Mild back pain.
• Mood swings, dysphoric effects, depressed mindset due to the effect of progesterone on the mood regulatory part of brain.

One should be very careful during this stage as there are lot of chances for miscarriages and hence if any abnormal symptoms like severe pain in the abdomen and heavy blood flow should be immediately attended by a physician.

 II Trimester:

In this stage there is morphological differentiation and development of the foetus.Therewill   be maturation of the organs.

Many of the symptoms seen in the I Trimester continue with increased severity .

Some of them are as follows:

• Face look blushed due to increased blood flow and  hormonal effects
• Fatigue, dizziness continues due to due to raised progesterone (hormonal effects). and due to the greater demand from the growing foetus.
• Increased urinating frequency due to the growing foetus compressing on the bladder and due to the increased fluid secretion during pregnancy.
• Constipation and indigestion— due to increased hormonal flow slowing down the bowel movements and due to the compression of stomach and other organs by the growing foetus .Hence there will be always a feeling of abdominal heaviness and indigestion.  But antacid should not be taken without advice as they contain aluminium which may affect the foetus.
• Slow increase in size of the abdomen as the foetus is growing and the organs start to grow.
• Symptoms of morning sickness gradually reduce as pregnancy progresses.
• Increased back pain –due to weight gain, posture /torso thrown out of alignment and the centre of gravity shifts leading to severe back pain. The other reason for this is hormonal effect on the joints and ligaments to loosen it for easing pregnancy.
• Bloating and weight gain—due to the growing foetus. There will be increase in weight upto12-16 kgs.

III Trimester:

     There is full growth of foetus in this period. All the organs start maturing in this stage. Hence there is final weight gain here.

• Fatigue, dizziness continues.
• Breast size increases.
• Constipation and indigestion.
• Increased urinating frequency.
• Full weight gain
• Growth of abdomen reaches its maximum.
• Severe back pain.
• And finally uterus contractions during the time of pregnancy.
• Edema due to the compression of inferior venacava and pelvic veins and pooling of blood in the lower parts of the body.
• Dehydration due to expanded intravascular space.

Abnormal signs and symptoms:

• Uncontrolled increase in weight more than normal---this should be properly diagnosed and reduced as it may interfere with general health of the mother and with delivery
• Increased blood sugar level-- When the body is not able to make all the insulin it needs during pregnancy there is a build up of high levels of glucose in the blood, and is termed Gestational Diabetes.
• Increased blood pressure—due to hormonal effects are any other reasons leads to reduced blood supply to brain and may cause pre-eclampsia during delivery.
• Seizures.
• Heavy vaginal bleeding—is abnormal during pregnancy and may be due to abortion
• Severe abdominal pain---should be attended immediately may be due to abortion.

Abnormal pelvic girdle pain due to overstretching of ligaments during pregnancy. This may cause abnormal severe pain and sometimes remain so for the rest of life