Frequently asked questions about pregnancy

Dr. Mohamed Tema

Consultant of Obstetrics and Gynecology

United Doctors Hospital

• The pregnancy period is a journey during which every woman wishes to be crowned with happiness and reach at the end of it to a safe and healthy child, God willing, so we will review the journey of pregnancy with you step by step by answering the most important questions posed by every woman during the pregnancy journey, and the first of these questions, of course, is How do I know that I am pregnant? You will know that you are pregnant when your period is late from its usual date, then you should go to the obstetrics and gynecology clinic to do a hormonal pregnancy blood test, preferably a digital test, and when it is positive, you are pregnant.
• The question then arises what do you have to do if you become pregnant? What you should do then is to tell the doctors any medical history for you or your family and also disclose any medications you take regularly, and some medical tests will be done, including a complete blood picture in order to exclude the presence of anemia, then a urine test, a blood sugar test, a liver virus test, a rubella test, Toxoplasmosis disease and a blood type analysis, and blood pressure, weight and height will be measured.
• Many women wonder when the intrauterine gestational sac appears, and we say that the gestational sac appears in the fifth week of pregnancy through vaginal television rays or in the sixth week of pregnancy through abdominal television rays, provided that the hormonal pregnancy test is more than 1500 in the case of vaginal rays or more than 2000 through abdominal x-rays.
• But for some women, the pregnancy sac does not appear inside the uterus through abdominal television scans, although there is a hormonal test of more than 2000, then it is necessary to perform a vaginal television scan and repeat the hormonal test after 48 hours to exclude the presence of ectopic pregnancy.
• One of the greatest fears of many women and makes them always wonder is what women say that vaginal rays cause miscarriage of pregnancy, so we say that this is incorrect information as it is safe during pregnancy.
• It is also necessary for women to know the style of nutrition that they will follow during pregnancy and to answer this important question we say that pregnant women must eat from 5 to 6 small meals a day and must contain proteins, fruits and fresh vegetables while staying away from canned food because it contains preservatives and we recommend limited amounts of carbs, preferably whole grains.
• Pregnant women should know that there are foods that are preferred to avoid in pregnancy, which are fatty foods because in the first pregnancy they increase the feeling of nausea and in the last pregnancy they give a false feeling of fullness, as well as carbohydrates that are excessive and especially those made from white flour because they will gain you excess weight without any benefit to the fetus and excess salt should also be avoided because it increases the swelling of the body, which increases the chance of developing high blood pressure disease during Pregnancy and salt is replaced with lemon and you should also avoid excessive sweets, spicy foods, chili and excess spices because they will increase the secretion of stomach acid, which leads to a sensation of heartburn, and it is preferable to avoid coffee of all kinds and forms because of its risks in pregnancy and if necessary, let it be a small cup daily, as for smoking, we advise to completely stay away from smoking completely, whether actual or passive, which is what we mean by inhaling the dust of other smokers who are present around the pregnant woman because of its danger to the mother and the fetus.
• Many women wonder about the practice of sauna, sports and the possibility of travel, and to answer these important questions, we say: It is recommended to stay away from the sauna permanently in the first months of pregnancy because of its serious damage to the fetus during the formation stage, while light sports are not prohibited, such as walking and swimming, while violent sports must be avoided, as for traveling by car, there is no objection, but taking into account the fastening of the seat belt and straightening the legs or lifting them whenever possible with stopping every hour to walk a little to enhance blood circulation, and in the case of traveling by plane, it is assumed that traveling by plane does not cause problems until the beginning of the seventh month of pregnancy, but taking some precautions such as asking to sit next to the corridor for easy wandering every hour and wearing socks with drinking a generous amount of water and juices to help moisturize the body and prevent blood clots in the legs.
• The pregnant woman always wonders about the vitamins that are supposed to be taken during pregnancy, so we say that doctors will prescribe folic acid for you in the first three months and starting from the fourth month, iron, calcium and omega-3 tablets will be prescribed, as for doses, they are determined by doctors because they may differ from case to case

It always remains an obsession that haunts every pregnant woman, which is how do I rule out the presence of fetal abnormalities?

• To answer this question, we recommend doing a four-dimensional television scan when the age of the fetus is between 11-14 weeks to measure the thickness of the fetal neck, and it is preferable to perform the scan at a fetal medical specialist and then make other detailed scan of the fetus at the age of 20-24 weeks.
• There are three frequently asked questions from pregnant women, namely, can hair dye be used? Is it possible to fast the holy month? How can I avoid constipation, which is frequent during pregnancy?
• As for hair dyes, it is recommended to stay away from them because they contain ammonia, unless they are natural henna, provided that you make sure that they are natural and contain henna only without the presence of ammonia, and for fasting, there is no objection to fasting if the pregnancy is normal and free of medical problems, provided that it is allowed for the pregnant woman to break the fast if she feels or senses fear for her health or the health of her fetus, and consults experienced and honest doctors in that. To avoid constipation, eat foods rich in fiber such as green salad and orange juice.
• One last question remains before the end of the pregnancy journey; this question is what the pregnant woman notices from the appearance of stretch marks on her abdomen, so what about these marks? We say that the appearance of these signs is normal and there is no need to worry because they will disappear gradually, but you have to moisturize the skin with some creams or natural recipes such as almond oil and olive oil.
• The last stop in the pregnancy journey is the signs of labor, i.e. birth? We say these signs are the feeling of labor pain, which are uterine contractions that you will feel in the abdomen and lower back, which are similar to menstrual pain, and come regularly every three minutes and last for a minute, and one of the signs is also the descent of mucous vaginal discharge that carries the color of blood, then the rupture of the membranes surrounding the fetus and the descent of amniotic fluid.

With our wishes for a safe pregnancy and a happy birth.