Pregnancy Q&A - part 1

   Before I was pregnant with Funky Monkey I had no clue about anything "pregnancy", except for what I had seen on TV. From big Hollywood blockbusters that misinform to some "documentaries" that misrepresent what the real pregnancy, labor and delivery are like, I have conjured up an image of what pregnancy would be like. Boy, was I wrong!
  Here are short questions and answers to the most common pregnancy concerns taken from real life.

Q - I think I might be pregnant, now what.
A - Unlike in the movies, you don't need to rush in to your doctors to confirm early pregnancy. Home pregnancy test are more sensitive than the doctor's office ones (First Response home pregnancy test will test positive at pregnancy hormone levels of just 6.5 mlU/ml - thousandths of an international Unit per milliliter, whereas most doctors levels will not test positive until 75 to 100 mlU/ml). That means that the home pregnancy test will show up positive many days prior to the one from doctor's office. When I was pregnant with Funky Monkey I rushed to confirm my positive home pregnancy test at the doctor's office. I was already 2 days past when my cycle was supposed to start, so I wasn't super early. To my dismay, the doctor informed me that my test was inconclusive and I had to return in few days. Eventually, the urine test at the doctor's office confirmed what I had known for days. With Girly Monkey I knew that the pregnancy tests done at home were more accurate so when I went to the doctor and they told me that the test was negative I asked for a beta hCG test (blood test) to confirm pregnancy. Blood tests have an advantage over urine test because hCG (the pregnancy hormone) gets secreted into blood few days before being secreted into urine. Now there are 2 kinds of beta tests, quantitative and qualitative. Qualitative test has a threshold that you have to reach before it will come back as a "Yes" or "no" answer. Quantitative test will check the actual level of pregnancy hormone in your system. Anything over 5 is considered to be pregnant.


Q - So, my Home Pregnancy Test came back positive, now what?
A - Now you can go ahead and book your first prenatal visit with the doctor, or a midwife that will be looking after you in pregnancy. In Canada, you don't need a referral to see a midwife but you might need one for OB/GYN.  Since I now use a midwife, I just call them and see if they have a space and if they will take me on. Midwives can only take a limited number of pregnant ladies, so make sure you phone them early. Be advised that you might not see anyone until 8-12 weeks pregnant. Just eat healthy and take your vitamins while you wait for your first prenatal appointment. The baby will be growing and developing inside you even if you are not seeing any doctors for a while. If you have any complications or special concerns don't be afraid to request a visit sooner.

Q - So I had my first prenatal visit and I thought that I was 6 weeks pregnant but the doctor informed me that I am 8. What gives?
A - No one in the movies tells you how pregnancy is calculated. So, on an average, women ovulate about 14 days after the first day of their last menstruation. That's when the conception occurs. The logic would dictate that this is the point at which you consider yourself pregnant. Now the brilliant medical minds thought that it would be too easy for women, or that women are knowledgeable enough to know when they ovulate (insert eye-roll here), so they decided to count pregnancy from the first day of your last menstrual cycle. Yup, you guessed it, by the time you are ovulating you are already 2 weeks pregnant. This is very problematic for women that ovulate sooner or later than the "14 day average". When we got pregnant with Girly Monkey I didn't ovulate until day 32 (how do I know? Here is some pointers). If I gave my doctor the first day of the last menstrual cycle as a starting point he would have calculated my pregnancy at 6 weeks and 6 days at the time when I was only 4 weeks pregnant. This can lead the doctor to assume your pregnancy is not viable, or that your baby is not growing like it's supposed to. Here's where a "dating" ultrasound can confirm your dates.

Q - So what is "dating" ultrasound?
A - "Dating" ultrasound has nothing to do with going out on a date. (If you're lucky, they will allow your partner for the last part of it though.) It's an ultrasound done between 8-12 weeks to measure (or "date") the baby inside you. Since all babies develop in very similar way, the ultrasound technician is able to measure your baby and estimate when the baby was conceived. The margin of error for early ultrasound is +/- 5 days. Be aware that the ultrasound is nothing like you have seen in movies. You are asked to have a very full bladder. By full, they mean having 1.5 liters of water 2 hours before the test and not urinating for an hour and a half before the test. By the time you get around to laying on the table you will be so uncomfortable that despite seeing your baby on the monitor (which at this point will resemble a cute little blob) all you will think about will be the approximate distance to the nearest washroom and how quickly you can make it there without peeing yourself.

Q - I have seen pregnant women having "morning sickness" in the movies. Is this what it's really like?
A - "Morning Sickness" is nothing like they show you in the movies. First of all, "morning sickness" is a misnomer, as it can happen at any time of the day. It also doesn't have to be this violent episode that women in the movies have in the morning and then they can go on their day eating pickles and ice cream. The truth is that "morning sickness" is different for different women. Some women will not feel sick at all. Some women might have little queasiness throughout the day for few weeks, and some women will be violently sick for the whole duration of their pregnancy. It's kind of like playing Russian roulette with your stomach. You will not know how your body reacts to the pregnancy until you are already pregnant. It's a funny mother nature's joke on women.  For me, "morning sickness" started about week 6 and ended about week 13. I was nauseous all day, but without much throwing up. Strong smells would turn my stomach (chicken was the worst with all pregnancies), and I didn't have much appetite. Very few things sounded good. It was a culinary torture.

Q - I am only couple of weeks pregnant and my belly is getting big already. Is that possible.
A - Hate to burst you bubble, but you are probably not "showing" yet. Chances are that it's just bloating. The beauty of early pregnancy! If you are a first time mom, your uterus will not even emerge from behind pubic bone until week 12! We all want to show early on as proof that we are pregnant, but even moms that had many pregnancies will not show very early on. It's a nice feature if you're not quite ready to share the news with the world yet!


Check out tomorrow for more Pregnancy Q&A!