Interesting Facts About Pregnancy

For a woman, pregnancy is both an exciting and a scary moment of her life. Let's have a look at some of the interesting facts about this phase of a woman's life.

Facts

Speaking in medical terms, it is the nurturing of one or more embryos inside the bodies of the female mammals. In humans, it takes approximately 9 months for an embryo to develop fully into a baby.

What Are Trimester Periods?

In order to understand this period better and in a simpler manner, it is divided into three trimesters. In the first trimester, there is the maximum risk of miscarriage, which is the natural death of the embryo. In the second trimester, it is possible to monitor the development of the fetus accurately. In the third trimester, the fetus learns to survive and prepares itself for the outside world.

How Does A Woman Get pregnant?

In order to get pregnant, the female egg (oocyte) should unite with the male sperm, which is known as "fertilization" in medical science. The union occurs when a man ejaculates, releasing the sperms, inside a woman through sexual intercourse. Although conception starts at implantation of the fertilized egg in the uterine lining, for the sake of convenience, the first day of the last menstrual cycle is used to calculate the delivery date. After the implantation, there is a release of human chorionic gonadotropinhormone. It arouses the corpus luteum in the ovary to shoot up the level of progesterone. Hence, the body begins to experience changes and symptoms starts appearing as the indicator of being pregnant.

What Is A Due Date?

It is the date when the pregnant woman is expected to deliver her baby. As per the Merck Medical Manual, the human pregnancy lasts for 266 days, i.e, 38 weeks. However, if we count from the first day of the least menstrual cycle, it amounts to 40 weeks. However, these are average calculations. The actual duration of gestation period depends on many factors. For example, the first pregnancy period is usually longer than the consecutive ones.

What Is A Premature Baby?

If a baby is born before 37 weeks, it is regarded premature. On the contrary, if it is born after 43 weeks, it is regarded post mature. Interestingly, almost 90 per cent of babies are born within a couple of weeks after the due date. Only 10 per cent of babies are born exactly on the due date!

There are innumerable changes that take place in a woman's body during pregnancy. It also affects the emotional side of her. It is better to keep in constant touch with your doctor to know what's happening inside your body, as you prepare to bring a new life into this world!