Saturday, January 12, 2008

What Is A Pregnancy Calculator?

You are pregnant and excited about having a baby. Soon the 9 months of pregnancy will be over and you will have a tiny little infant in your arms. But how do you calculate when your baby is due? This requires a pregnancy calculator. Pregnancy calculators use many methods to calculate the due date. Some of them are given here:

The Last Menstrual Period Method (LMP)

The gestation period of a pregnancy is 40 weeks. So add 40 weeks to day one of your last menstrual period and then subtract two weeks from the day that you get. That is your due date. You subtract two weeks, because ovulation occurs in those two weeks

Basal Body Temperature (BBT)

The Basal Body Temperature of a woman rises up to 1.6 degrees during ovulation. If you are sure of your fertilization date, you must add 266 days to it to get the due date.

Naegle’s Rule

In Naegle’s Rule, you must calculate 3 months backward from the first day of your last period and add 7 days to it. This method is quite popular with doctors.

Ultrasounds

Ultrasound is a high-pitched sound, which is directed at the woman’s abdomen. The echo of the sound creates a picture of the baby inside. This can help tell at what stage of growth the baby is in the mother’s womb and thus, we can get a due date for her pregnancy.

Despite the fact that a pregnancy calculator is used so often in pregnancies, babies don’t necessarily follow calculations. Except for 10% of the babies that are born on the due date, 90% are born within two weeks of the due date, here or there.

A pregnancy calculator is useful agreed, but do not depend much on it. Instead, enjoy every moment of your pregnancy. After all, these moments are rare and do not happen often in a lifetime.

Pregnancy Due date Calculator- Calculating Your Due Date

The pregnancy due date calculator helps you keep a track of the growing infant in your womb. It also ensures that you take medical help, if you have past the final stages of pregnancy, without any signs of labor.

A pregnancy Due Date Calculator Uses the Following Methods to Calculate Your Due Date

  • Your last Period

  • The day you think you conceived

Due Date as Calculated by Doctors

In this method, 40 weeks are added to the time of your last menstrual cycle to calculate your due date.

Due Date as Calculated by Naegle’s Rule

Here, we subtract 3 months from day one of your period and add 7 days to it

Due Date as Calculated from Date of Conception

The Pregnancy calculator adds 266 days to the date of conception, to calculate your pregnancy due date.

Pregnancy Ultrasounds

Most doctors use the ultrasound method to see if the baby is doing fine in the different trimesters of pregnancy. Ultrasounds of different stages are considered a safe and harmless way of seeing how your baby is doing and calculating your due date.

Online Calculators

An online pregnancy calculator can be quite a blessing. It offers to help you keep a track of the changes your body is going through, may offer diet and health tips and tips on exercise, rest, and relaxation. It also offers you tips on how to deal with each pregnancy trimester. Almost all pregnancy online calculators can be personalized with specific information regarding you and your baby.

It is imperative that you prepare in advance for your baby’s birth, as the baby is not always born on the expected due date. The pregnancy due date calculator helps you do this. It helps to keep a track of your baby’s development through all the stages of pregnancy and especially through the final stages. We wish you a safe, happy, and healthy pregnancy and lots of baby dust.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Finding The Right Pregnancy Doctor

A good pregnancy doctor is one, who has the ability to identify any complications in the initial stages of pregnancy. It is necessary that you have a good obstetrician or midwife to take care of you during pregnancy.

An Obstetrician is a doctor who is qualified to treat women during pregnancy, childbirth and shortly after pregnancy. A mid wife is a certified and trained nurse, who will take care of the mother to be, from the preconception stages to after delivery

Choosing A Good Doctor For Yourself During Pregnancy

Here is how you can choose a good pregnancy doctor

  • Is he a reputed name in his field? Have any of your friends or relatives consulted him previously

  • Are his qualifications in order and is he associated with reputed hospitals?

  • Does he listen carefully to your concerns?

  • Does he stay close by, so that you can call him at odd hours, in case of an emergency?

What Can You Expect From The Doctor’s Visits?

  • He will vaccinate you against german measles, hepatitis, and tetanus

  • He will check your urine and blood for infections at an early stage

  • Advise you if you have a history of family illnesses.

  • Monitor weight gain

  • Test the position of the baby and monitor fetal development

  • Advise you on a healthy diet

The Infertility Issue

Infertility can be present in the woman, in the male, or as a combination of the two. The doctor must diagnose this and prescribes lifestyle changes, medication, or surgery. The lifestyle changes he may prescribe could be to quit smoking, eat a healthy and nutritious diet, and bring down your stress levels. In other cases, the fertility specialist will give treatment, based on the different problems diagnosed. Please do not be afraid, infertility is usually curable.

A good pregnancy doctor will provide you with prenatal care at every stage of pregnancy to ensure the arrival of a healthy baby.

Pregnancy Journal- A Treasure Trove Of Loving Memories

Do you want to treasure forever, the memories of how it felt to be pregnant for the first time? Alternatively, are you having a second kid and wish to keep a record of your thoughts and feelings during pregnancy? There will be a million emotions that you will go through, so you absolutely must keep a pregnancy journal.

Special Feelings

The feelings you go through during pregnancy are sometimes quite inexplicable. Moreover, you just feel like writing them all down. The first time you went to the doctor and he said you were going to have a baby. You were thrilled. Your partner’s reaction when you told him about it. The first time you felt the baby inside kicking you. The time when you just could not control your hunger pangs. You had to sneak into the kitchen to get a nighttime snack. The cravings you have for a particular food. The mood swings. Doesn’t it all call for a pregnancy journal?

There will be other feelings too, feelings of doubt and of fear. Visualize your baby. Think about how it will look once it is born. All this writing will not only de-stress and relax you, but it will also help keep your grey cells active. Speak into your journal from your heart and your heart will feel lightened.

Memories For Your Children

So, jot down all your feelings about pregnancy in an attractive journal and create a book full of memories for your little one, when s/he grows big. They will just love it. In addition, for all you know, it could be passed on as a family heirloom to your grandchildren. So grab that pen and start writing each special feeling in to your pregnancy journal.