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Although they are usually associated with the onset of menopause, hot flashes during pregnancy are quite common. Hot flashes are short periods when you experience intense heat and increased heart rate. Your face may become quite flushed and you may experience profuse sweating. If you are unfamiliar with this sensation, the experience can be rather frightening. One episode could last as long as five minutes, but they are usually less than a minute in duration. Some women do not experience hot flashes at all when they are pregnant and others have them all the time.

Experts suggest that hot flashes are caused by an increase in heat in the regulatory areas of the brain that control body temperature. One of the symptoms of pregnancy is an increase in the basal body temperature so it is only natural that you will go through hot flashes. Many things can trigger an episode, such as eating spicy foods. This is true even if these foods never bothered you before you became pregnant. Hot weather is another trigger that will make you feel warmer than normal and very uncomfortable. This is why many pregnant women find the summer months particularly trying when they are in the final trimester.

You don have to visit your doctor to get help for hot flashes when you are pregnant. There are natural ways of controlling this sensation and he/she will not likely prescribe any medication. They are often associated with lower than normal estrogen levels in the body. The best advice is to get to know the things that trigger your hot flashes and then avoid them as much as possible. The usual triggers include the following:

* Hot showers

* Drinking caffeinated drinks

* Consuming alcohol

* Smoking

* Becoming angry or stressed

* Hot drinks

Wearing loose clothing that gives your body room to breathe is another natural way of controlling your episodes of hot flashes. Another technique to reduce the discomfort is to take deep breaths from your abdomen and let the air out slowly through your nose. Taking walk can help to relieve the symptoms. Other treatments include swimming, taking cool baths and keeping cold water on hand for drinks when you need them.

While treatments for hot flashes do exist for menopausal women in the form of hormone therapy, this is not possible for a pregnant woman. When expectant mothers experience hot flashes the best remedy is to make changes in their lifestyle to help reduce the frequency and intensity of the episodes. During warm weather, having a fan close at hand or sitting near an open window with a wind blowing through will really give you comfort.

There is nothing to get concerned about when you do have hot flashes when you are pregnant. The episode may be embarrassing for you when you are in the company of others, but once you explain that you are expecting a baby, your friends will easily understand your situation. Some of them may have had the same experiences and may be able to offer you helpful advice.

For more information on hot flashes during pregnancy,very early signs of pregnancy and pregnancy stages visit http://www.Pregnancy-Articles.com

Now that you are 34 weeks pregnant you have a little over a month until the baby arrives. No doubt you are making lists of things you still need to buy and you probably have the nursery complete. You could have the baby at any time after the next few weeks, but there is nothing to worry about. Babies born after 36 weeks are considered full term and do not have any health problems. The lungs are fully developed by this time and the baby will not have any problem breathing on its own.

During this time, you may start to feel tingling sensations in your pelvic area. This is from the pressure of the baby on the pelvis as it starts to move into the birthing position. The head is down at this time and you may have feelings of pressure in the lower region of your stomach. You should be familiar with the admission procedures at the hospital and perhaps arrange a tour to see what to expect when you are admitted. It is time to have your suitcase packed to bring with you to the hospital. Even though the event may be weeks away, it is best to be prepared so that you don forget any essential items that you will need. This is true if you notice that the baby has dropped, which means that your belly is lower than it once was. You probably won notice the dropping, but some mothers do feel a sinking sensation in their stomach when the uterus does drop. You will find, though, that with the baby resting lower, you can breathe much easier.

Turning over when you are in bed may be very difficult because your belly is large at this point in your pregnancy. One solution is to wear satin pyjamas or nightgowns in bed so that you can easily slide from one position to another. Restless leg syndrome is another aspect of discomfort that expectant mothers encounter at this stage when they are trying to sleep. This is the sensation of a tingly or crawling feeling in your legs that gives you the feeling that you have to keep moving your legs in order to get comfortable. It could be caused by dehydration, which is why it is important for you to maintain the fluid levels in your body by drinking 8 glasses of water a day.

At this stage, the baby weighs about 5 pounds and is about 18 inches long. Many mothers start talking to their babies at this time, if they haven done so before. It is something that you should do so that the baby will get used to the sound of your voice. Reading stories to the baby is encouraged as is playing music to calm and relax the baby. The music will also help to calm you as well. Another way you can relax at this time is to have a perineal massage, which is a massage of the vaginal area that helps to prepare your body for labour and birth.

For more information on what happens at 34 weeks pregnant,31 weeks pregnant and 22 weeks pregnant visit http://www.PregnancyHut.com

It is when you are 12 weeks pregnant that you can tell by an ultrasound if you are going to have a boy or a girl. Although you may have noticed some weight gain, your belly is not yet large enough for others to detect that you are pregnant. If you have been experiencing morning sickness, you may even have lost weight. Morning sickness reaches its peak in this week and the next, so much so that you can get sick just by brushing your teeth. You may notice that your gums are tender or that there are small lumps on your gums. This is a normal part of being pregnant, but there is nothing wrong with visiting your dentist just to check things out.

You will still be feeling tired and want to take naps during the day. It is important that you go to bed early and get a good night rest. Even though your stomach may churn at the thought of food, you should make sure you have healthy meals and snacks. Taking your folic acid and iron supplements is extremely important for the growth and development of the baby.

At 12 weeks, the baby is starting to look less like a little alien and more like a human baby. Its eyes have moved into the proper position on the head and the ears have developed. The baby can now swallow and does in fact swallow some of the amniotic fluid that surrounds it in the uterus. It doesn have lungs at this point and so cannot breathe. The intestines have not yet formed inside the body and are still in the umbilical cord. It is during this week that the baby starts to develop fingernails and toenails.

The baby is now about 2.5 inches long and weighs about .5 of an ounce. Even so you will still be able to see the nose and chin. Since your risk of having a miscarriage is greatly reduced by this time, you can start to relax and enjoy your pregnancy with worrying all the time. If your morning sickness has decreased or started to wane, you may start craving certain foods and be able to cook some meals for yourself. It is important that any meat you eat is cooked thoroughly so that you do not take a chance of getting toxoplasmosis. It is also important that you refrain from emptying the cat litter because you can get this virus from cat feces.

You may feel a lot better when you wear loose clothing even though you are really much bigger than your normal size. The loose clothing lets you feel more comfortable, especially if the weather is hot and humid. Take a walk when you can so that you get your exercise and start preparing your muscles for the job ahead for the next six months. When sleeping at night, you may also find it more comfortable to curl yourself around a body pillow.

Don be alarmed if your breasts and nipples are tender and if your breasts start to enlarge. This is your body way of preparing food for the new arrival.

For more information on what happens at 12 weeks pregnant,31 weeks pregnant and 22 weeks pregnant visit http://www.PregnancyHut.com

There are three pregnancy stages, which are called trimesters. Each stage lasts about three months. During each of these stages, the mother-to-be experiences new changes in her body as the baby grows and develops inside the womb. One of the major changes is that your belly expands and your emotions are like a roller coaster. You will probably cry for no apparent reason, so that your partner feels as if he has to tiptoe around you. You will probably be very fearful about what is going to happen to your body and of course you will have fears about the health of the baby. These are natural emotions that every pregnant woman experiences and should not be cause for alarm.

During the first stage of pregnancy, which lasts until about the 12th week, you will have to learn about being pregnant. This is when you will start to feel more tired than usual and have to take frequent naps. You will also start making frequent trips to the bathroom because the baby growing in the uterus places more pressure on your bladder. Morning sickness is a symptom of this stage when you feel nauseated in the morning or at various times of the day. The smells of cooking could make you feel sick and many women actually lose weight during this stage. Eating plain crackers helps to alleviate the feeling of nausea, but if you are actually throwing up a lot of the time, your doctor can give you suggestions as what to do. Some of the other changes you will experience during this stage include decreased interest in lovemaking, breast tenderness, expanding belly, and an increase in your basal temperature.

It is during the second stage of your pregnancy that you will start to look pregnant with a growing belly. The nausea and fatigue start to decline during these weeks and you will start to take an increased interest in sexual activity. The sexual organs and breasts have increased bloodflow, which will make them more sensitive. The baby starts to move during the fourth month and this is an exciting time for mothers-to-be as it makes the pregnancy more real for them. The first ultrasound usually occurs about the 18th or 19th week and it is them you can see the life that is growing inside you. Some of the physical changes you will notice in your body during this stage include milk leaking from your breasts on times and pressure on the lower parts of your body, which could result in haemorrhoids or varicose veins. When you visit your doctor, you will be able to hear the baby`s heartbeat.

The last stage of pregnancy is the third trimester. You will probably feel uncomfortable because your body is larger. This is especially true of it is during the hot weather of the summer. You will become impatient and want the baby to be born as soon as possible. You will start to feel excited about the baby and start nesting, which refers to making a room in your home for the baby and shopping for baby clothing. This is probably the most uncomfortable stage as you will experience backache and leg cramps and the need to urinate increases. During this time you will likely experience false labor, called Braxton-Hicks contractions, which are painless contractions of the uterus as it moves the baby into the birth canal. Sometimes, these contractions can be quite painful, but they usually subside after a very short time.

For more information on pregnancy stages,the Chinese pregnancy calendar and;hot flashes during pregnancy visit http://www.Pregnancy-Articles.com

This is a guide for expectant fathers. Not what to expect from the impending birth of your beloved offspring; that is relatively straightforward. No, this guide is about what to expect from your wife, girlfriend, partner, significant other over the coming months. Once you’ve planted your seed and that baby is on its way, there’s every probability that it will be some time before you see the woman you know and love again.

Pregnancy does something ‘other worldly’ to your woman that no text book will tell you about. You will read of morning sickness and back ache and food cravings but there are other aspects to this period of your life that you won’t read about and that nobody is willing to admit to - a darker side to pregnancy, and that is what I am here to warn you about.

Let’s first break the pregnancy down into the trimesters that you will have read about already. The first three months are when your pregnant lady will experience the most changes. Her body will feel as though it has been taken over by an alien life form. The baby will be too small to feel moving around but the body goes through a major upheaval during this most important developmental stage in the baby’s forming process.

For reasons as yet unexplained, she will need to pass urine approximately forty seven times per day, without sleep breaks. She will also very probably get excruciating back ache. Apparently, this is something to do with the effect of hormones on the ligaments, personally it just feels like a practice run for how knackered the body will feel for the rest of her days.

A large proportion of pregnant women will get a degree of morning sickness. Do not turn away in disgust. Do not complain if you wish to keep your ability to ever father children in the future. Just realise that when she’s doing her exorcist impressions and projectile vomiting one hundred paces across the room that this is all your fault, you did this to her. Just hold her hair out of the way and know that this stage will pass.

Towards the end of the first trimester of pregnancy, you may be lucky to get glimpses of the woman you once knew. The sickness will, hopefully, settle down as will the other symptoms and her body will begin to adjust. Now she will begin to feel broody and want to start busting your credit card with baby purchases for a bump that you can’t even see.

One tip here. She will want everyone to be able to see she is pregnant so when she turns side on to you looking as svelte as ever just say yes dear, you can see the bump and yes dear, pregnancy suits you. Stroke and cuddle the non-existent bump as if you already know it the way she does.

Moving into the second trimester of pregnancy, you will actually start to see the bump. Do not, under any circumstances, tell her she is fat. Never. Tell her she is positively blooming, glowing, beautiful, regardless of whatever you may think of her changing shape. This should be a relatively easy phase. Between three and six months of pregnancy your woman will be able to cope, she will feel the joy of her baby moving, sleep will still be possible, bladder pressure will be bearable and all will be rosy.

The third trimester of pregnancy will be bitter sweet. You will be starting to bond with your baby, learning its waking and sleeping patterns (don’t be fooled into thinking this will continue after birth, just accept that they don’t sleep). You will have adjusted to sharing your bed with a beached whale and you will know that if you want to get out sometime today then best you help your beached whale up out of the bed, off the sofa or out of that chair because by the time she manages it herself it will probably be time to set off for hospital.

Your wife will now be a little cranky, particularly if it’s summer. Her ankles will have become cankles (the same thickness as her calves), shoes and clothes will be a nightmare to get into or out of, legs will go unshaven, toenails uncut unless you would care to assist with any of the above. Bathing will be a mission in itself. But don’t worry, however much she moans about the situation, you are now on the home stretch and it’s almost time to stop holding your breath and look forward to your imminent arrival.

Prenancy expert Catherine Harvey looks at the warnings that men should be supplied with when pregnancy is diagnosed in their partner.

Now that you are over halfway through your pregnancy at 28 weeks, your thoughts will undoubtedly turn to wondering what you baby will be like. You may be wondering if you will have a colicky baby or if it will sleep through the night. You may even be thinking of practicing getting up several times during the night and spend some time daydreaming about the new baby as you rock in the rocking chair. You will want to ask questions of your friends that have children to get information about what you can expect. What you will soon realize is that all babies are different and no two sets of parents will have the same experiences.

Your doctor will have taken blood tests by this point to determine whether or not you are RH negative or positive. If the results show that you are RH positive, then you don have anything to worry about. If you are RH negative, you will have to have a shot of Rhogam or Rh immunoglobulin during your 28th week to avoid complications when the baby is born with Rh positive blood. This is also necessary for your future babies after this one.

The results of your glucose testing will also be available this week. If the results are positive, you will have to have further tests for gestational diabetes. This involves eating certain foods for a few days prior to the three-hour long test. If this test comes back with a positive result, then you will have to follow a special diet and take other precautions for the rest of your pregnancy.

The time for delivery is getting closer and inside the uterus the baby is preparing to make its entrance. The baby can open its eyes part of the way and is able to blink its eyes. The irises also have color so if you have a 3D ultrasound with the baby eyes open, you just might be able to find out what color they are, but the eyes don have their final color until the final few weeks. The baby is a lot fatter now that it has been in previous weeks and is starting to fill out the wrinkles in the skin. The average weight of a baby at 28 weeks is about two to three pounds and it is about 15 inches in length.

Your friends will likely start planning a baby shower for you. This is the time when you can have fun choosing baby items at a baby registry ?especially items that you probably think are too expensive to buy yourself. You will be feeling pretty good with lots of energy and you won be as emotional now over little things. This is a great time for you and your partner to start discussing possible names and enjoying each other company. Get out for walks when the weather is suitable and make sure you get the right amounts of water and calcium each day. Sleep is essential even though you may not feel that you need it.

For more information on what happens at 28 weeks pregnant,24 weeks pregnant and 34 weeks pregnant visit http://www.PregnancyHut.com