What to Expect
What to expect regarding office visits – A normal pregnancy lasts about 280 days or 10 lunar months of 28 days each, or 40 weeks. Your first few office visits are every 4 weeks until 28 weeks, followed by every 2 weeks until 36 weeks, and then every week until delivery. At your first visit, we will take your history and perform your physical examination. In addition, your first visit usually includes a vaginal ultrasound to confirm the age of the pregnancy. We also do your first blood tests at this visit and share the results with you at your following visit.
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Smoking
We suggest that you stop all smoking during pregnancy and breast feeding. There is no safe amount to smoke while you are pregnant, but if you must smoke, limit your cigarettes to 5 each day or less. Remember that if you do decide to smoke to limit all your smoking to outside your home and outside your car.
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Alcohol
There is NO safe amount or kind of alcohol to drink during pregnancy, and there is no safe time in pregnancy to drink. Please stop all beer, wine, and liquor.
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Medications
It is important to take your pregnancy vitamins and iron the entire time you are pregnant. You may use Tylenol for headaches and minor discomfort, and you can use Sudafed, 30mg, for cold symptoms. You can use non-medicated throat lozenges for a sore throat. The B.R.A.T. diet (Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast) is good to treat diarrhea, as is Gatorade. Do not use any other medicine unless you have discussed it with your practitioner, which would include prescription medicine, over-the-counter medicine, creams, liquids, sprays, and especially someone else’s medicine.
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Weight
The ideal weight gain in pregnancy for a woman who starts pregnancy at a normal weight is about 25 to 35 pounds; an overweight woman should try not to gain more than 25 pounds. A woman who begins her pregnancy at less than 110 pounds should gain at least 30 to 40 pounds. The average weight gain works out to be about 2 pounds per month for the first 6 months and about a pound a week after that until delivery. Pregnancy is not the time to diet to lose weight--it is an excellent time to adjust your diet to get the best possible foods for your growing baby. “GOOD” foods include fresh fruit and vegetables, lean meats (broiled, not fried), poultry, fish, cheese, whole wheat bread, margarine, skimmed milk. Do not eat undercooked meats while pregnant.
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“Morning sickness” and vomiting
Your body begins to work much harder very early in pregnancy, and it is easy to get overheated. Your stomach also takes a longer time to empty in pregnancy. This combination makes it easier for you to feel warm, nauseated, or even vomit. Dress as cool as you can (you can always add layers of clothes) and eat and drink much more often but in small amounts so that your stomach doesn’t get to full. Keep your home, car, and workplace cool; avoid heavy and hard to digest foods, and limit your use of carbonated beverages. It is OK to use the Sea-bands or acupressure for nausea or vomiting, and there are some medications that can be used, either in suppository form or by injection as prescribed by your practitioner.
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