If you have no prior medical disorder and no previous gynaecological disorder, you may not need any specific testing the minute you conceive. However, if you do have previous losses or previous gynecological disorders, then your OBGYN will determine what extra tests are needed.

When you know you are expecting, please remember to eat safe to protect your developing child. i.e. no raw foods, no cured or uncooked meats, no unpasteurised cheeses, and no alcohol as much as possible. The main thing is to avoid having a bad tummy upset which would affect the stability of the uterus and excessive alcohol could adversely affect the fetal development.

Be careful with long term medications as well, do check whether they are pregnancy safe.

In the first trimester of pregnancy, there is a huge change in   your   hormones every week as evidenced by the rapid growth of the fetus inside your womb. As such, you will generally feel more tired and maybe nauseous and bloated. Allow your body to adapt and as the pregnancy is not very stable in the first trimester, l urge mums to be to listen to their body and check with your doctor to what extent you can exercise and what forms of exercise are suitable.

Check with your OBGYN if you feel your symptoms are excessive, ie if you feel really tired and breathless, you cannot retain much food or drinks, your abdomen is overly bloated, you are passing urine way too often or you are constipated for more than 2-3 days. These are obviously not normal and you will need some help with handling these issues.

Occasional menstrual like cramps are commonly felt during the first trimester. The frequency and intensity are important. The more intense the cramps, the higher the risk of bleeding as cramps means the uterus is contracting against the developing sac, and excessive shearing forces and lead to internal bleeding.

Stress is a useful term to blame for miscarriages and there are various types of stressors, Work? Physical discomfort? Emotional? Stress causes one to function less optimally which may indirectly trigger undesirable events.

Nausea is a common symptom and it can occur as quickly as when the pregnancy test turns positive or can occur more commonly at approximately 8 to 10 weeks or for some more fortunate women, none at all.

If you are planning to conceive , please ensure that all long term medications for medical conditions are safe for the developing fetus. Eg thyroid disease, diabetes , SLE etc . As the correct thing to do is to continue to ensure that your medical conditions are under control

Preferably not but if you really did, consume in small amounts after the first trimester. No known quantum on a regular basis is proven to be safe.

Perhaps one a day is what I usualy say. One could always use decaf to reduce the caffeine in the coffee and try non caffeinated teas

PRENATAL vitamins are meant to be taken PRIOR to pregnancy. Folate, Iron, Vit D and Zinc and Omega3 oils are good supplements prior conception and to be taken into the pregnancy

Most mothers can feel their baby move by 20 weeks gestation but it is variable as when there is an anterior placenta it will reduce the sensation until the fetus grown up at 20 weeks

This is a sugar challenge test to determine if the mother has developed Gestational Diabetes . She drinks a 75g of glucose and her blood is drawn at 0 h, 1 h and 2 h. If the levels in the first and/or second hour are above the threshold, she is deemed to have Gestataional DM

Check with your OBGYN if you feel your symptoms are excessive, ie if you feel really tired and breathless, you cannot retain much food or drinks, your abdomen is overly bloated, you are passing urine way too often or you are constipated for more than 2-3 days. These are obviously not normal and you will need some help with handling these issues.

No bleeding in pregnancy is normal and care must be taken to determine where it is from and why. It could be due to vaginal infections, or worse a sign of preterm labour / shortening of the cervix

Reduce the risk of heart burn and reduce the amount of fluids you drink just before you sleep.

Deficiency in iron and proteins will commonly lead to swelling of hands and feet.

Every pregnant women should be wary of feeling excessive pressure within the vagina as if there is something something trying to drop out as there is commonly a physical reason.

Having knowledge to enrichen your experience is a good thing, however, excessive thoughts into every situation may have the opposite effect of making you highly anxious and the reduce the joy of the pregnancy.

Enjoy having a pedicure.

plant based, natural oils are always safer. If you are using any particular treatments, please check with your doctor on the contents.

A repeat caesarean section is best performed between 38 -39 weeks to allow the fetus to attain good maturity

Observe the frequency and intensity of uterine contractions. Contractions may present as lower abdominal pressure or low back aches , the urge to pass urine or motion but nothing really is coming out. If these tightening are getting increasingly frequent and intense and it is getting difficult to walk then you probably are in true labour and you should make your way to the labour ward.

Pain management options

1. music
2. massage
3. warm bath tub
4. Entonox
5. Intramuscular Injection of Pethidine
6. Epidural

Shaving the pubic hair makes it passage clearer to see the baby’s head but not essential. Shaving of the pubic hair makes the area easier to clean

It’s a sticky dark red brown blood and mucus mix and is associated with the dilation of the cervix

Belly support bands, warm but not hot baths, cat and cow yoga poses, command your husband to massage.

Detailed description of kegel necessary as most people don’t get it.