Prenatal Tips for the First Trimester
There are lots of medical issues that people worry about once they become pregnant. Be sure to ask your doctor about them. Some questions may be about things your friends or family members have told you like:
- Toxoplasmosis- This is a rare, but serious infection that a baby can get from the mother during pregnancy. People usually get toxoplasmosis by eating raw or undercooked meats, drinking unpasteurized milk, and handling the feces of cats. In newborns, this infection may cause vision or hearing loss, learning disabilities, seizures, or death. The effects on babies are more severe if the mother gets infected early in the pregnancy.
- Having a baby after 35- Most mothers 35 and older have healthy babies, but some older women have a higher risk of miscarriages, high blood pressure, diabetes, and Down syndrome. It’s important for all women, including those over 35 to keep regular appointments with their doctor during pregnancy in order to monitor their health.
- Gestational diabetes is diabetes that happens when you’re pregnant. Even women who have no history of diabetes may develop diabetes when they’re pregnant. Your doctor will check for this at your first doctor’s visit. Women who have gestational diabetes are extremely thirsty and hungry, very tired, and have a high blood sugar count on a diabetes test. Doctors can help future moms with this condition and help them have a healthy baby.
- Preeclampsia- after 20 weeks of pregnancy, but sometimes earlier, some pregnant women have severe high blood pressure (hypertension). This condition is known as preeclampsia and can be mild or severe. Signs of severe preeclampsia may include sudden and rapid weight gain, blurred vision, severe headaches, nausea and vomiting, intense pain in the upper right abdomen. The most common treatment for preeclampsia is to deliver the baby if it is safe to do so. If the baby has not developed far enough, the mother may be placed on bed rest. There is no proven way to prevent preeclampsia.
Learn more about Your Prenatal Baby: First Trimester from Just In Time Parenting. You can also go to our Resource Links for additional information on child care and development.
