Many women may be considering pregnancy following weight loss surgery. Before making major family planning decisions, it is important to know the associated health dangers with this, as well as whether it is the appropriate step for you to take and when you can take it. There are several guidelines available to help you decide when and if you should consider pregnancy following weight loss surgery.

The first 18 months following your surgery are not an ideal time for you to become pregnant. Your body is still enduring major physical transformations. You will be trying to know your optimal nutritional balance and your food intake is constantly changing. Your hormones will be imbalanced because of rapid changes happening in your body. This is why it is not optimal to become pregnant within the first 18 months post weight loss surgery.  Read more . . .

The way that you feel each week during your pregnancy can change amazingly. These changes can be due to a number of reasons but it is important that you monitor your pregnancy week by week to ensure that you and your baby are healthy.

Your doctor or midwife can observe your pregnancy week by week to accurately evaluate how your baby is growing. You may not have checkups during the early stages of your pregnancy each week but these appointments will definitely become more frequent towards the end of your pregnancy. Read more . . .

The first trimester covers from conception up to the 12th week of pregnancy. There are an assortment of ways that your body is changing throughout early pregnancy and adjusting to the embryo that is growing inside.

The most common sign of early pregnancy is that your periods will cease completely or may become remarkably light. This menstruation cessation is normally the symptom that most women take to mean that they are in the stages of early pregnancy.

The notorious morning sickness is another indication that many women experience during early pregnancy. The term ‘morning sickness’ is actually a bit misleading because many women feel nauseous or experience vomiting at different times throughout the day during their early pregnancy, not just in the morning. One method of alleviating this nausea is to eat small meals throughout the day, snack on crackers or dry toast, or drink  lemonade or juice during your early pregnancy. Ginger and ginger ale are also beneficial in soothing this uncomfortable portion of early pregnancy. Read more . . .

A number of women expect to undergo various physical examinations and tests during their pregnancy. It is beneficial if you have a guide for more of the common tests that you may be asked during pregnancy so that you will be aware of the benefits of each test prior to having the actual test conducted.

Prenatal tests help provide valuable information for the soon-to-be-parents and the physician with regards to the unborn baby’s health. It helps give proper assessment for any health concerns that may need to be addressed in utero to assure a better quality of life after the infant is born.

Pregnant women who are aged 35 or older are more at risk to produce an offspring with chromosomal abnormalities and are offered prenatal tests in addition to the usual general pregnancy tests. Read more . . .