first trimester

Go home! Eat right, take your prenatal vitamins, exercise and make any lifestyle changes you need to make. If you have morning sickness, it should peak around the 8th week of your pregnancy.

Some women have more severe nausea than others, and up to 50% of pregnant women still have symptoms in their 20th week.

Other symptoms you will probably experience in your first trimester include fatigue and tenderness in your breasts.

In order to remember the things you want to discuss with your doctor at the next visit and to track dates, you may want to keep a ‘pregnancy journal’ and include your
trimester milestones, when your next doctor’s appointment is, what you have been eating and when you experienced any symptoms you want to discuss with your doctor.
If your questions are not urgent, write them down so you don’t forget to ask the next time you see the doctor. If your questions or concerns are urgent, call your doctor right away.

At the end of your first trimester, your doctor may suggest a blood serum screening to determine your risk of having a baby with Down syndrome, open neural tube defect, or trisomy 18. She may also suggest a chorionic villus sampling if you have a family history of genetic problems. If your doctor suggests other tests, ask him why he is recommending these tests and what the results will tell him.

If test results are not good, remember that your doctor has more options and remedies for problem pregnancies than ever before in history. Get all the information about the issue and remain calm. Your doctor may suggest you see a specialist if her concerns are serious.

Finally, a word about pregnancy-related headaches. These can come from hormonal changes, dehydration and lots of other sources. If you experience a migraine headache during pregnancy, know that about 15% of pregnant women get migraines during this time, and it is usually during early pregnancy. About 10-30 minutes before onset of a migraine, you may start to feel tired and nauseated. You may even get blurred vision or see tiny points of flashing light. Other symptoms can include a tingling sensation in your hands or legs and sensitivity to light and sound.

Ask your doctor how to treat these headaches and understand that they usually go away as your pregnancy progresses. If your headache includes any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately: sudden or explosive head pain, headache accompanied by fever and/or stiff neck, headaches accompanied by slurred speech or serious vision problems.

If you work in a strenuous job or in a risky environment, you should tell your employer about your pregnancy immediately and talk to your doctor about taking your leave sooner or see if you can work in another section of the company temporarily.

An example of a risky job might be a job where you have to climb or balance (like a telephone repair job), a chemist, x-ray technician, medical disease research, or a job where you have to do a lot of lifting, or a job where you work in a poorly ventilated location, or where it is very hot or very cold all the time.

You should also be wary of jobs that require you to travel to countries where you might be exposed to exotic or contagious diseases.

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