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During pregnancy it is important to keep a close watch on your baby’s health. Monitoring the fetus regularly from time to time is essential to keep a tab on its health and, thus, ensure their well-being.

The tests for monitoring fetal health are necessary to assess its level of activity, health, growth rate and other aspects. Such tests also help in detecting medical problems that the fetus might develop.

There are different kinds of tests that are specially meant for monitoring the health of the growing fetus. Some of these are as follows:

Obstetric ultrasound:

Tags: baby growth during pregnancy, fetal blood sample, fetal blood test, medical tests during pregnancy

It is important to have well balanced meals during pregnancy. There are a lot of essential minerals, nutrients as well as vitamins that the developing fetus requires in pregnant moms. In general, the foods are safe, although there are certain foods you need to avoid during pregnancy. These are as follows:

Raw meat: uncooked sea food, beef or poultry are the foods that need to be avoided as they run the risk of contaminating your system with bacteria, salmonella and toxoplasmosis.

Deli meat: These are said to be contaminated with listeria that can result in miscarriage. It can actually cross the placenta and reach the baby, infecting it with blood poisoning and infection. This is life threatening. Take deli meat when it is cooked until steaming.

Tags: diet during pregnancy, during pregnancy, fish to avoid during pregnancy, healthy eating

Is being Underweight Risky for your Kid?

As a result of morning sickness, a lot of women fail to gain weight in the first trimester. Some even experience weight loss in the beginning. The good news is the baby at this stage does not need much nutrition, although steady weight gain is required for avoiding complications like malnutrition, low weight or premature delivery. Babies of underweight mothers are smaller for gestational age or GSA, indicating malnourishment.

Eat Healthy

It is important to plan a healthy and nutritious meal plan of minerals and vitamins for a developing fetus. Ask for food suggestions from your gynecologist or nutritionist. Don’t eat low calorie food or fewer proteins.

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How will you tell if any particular fish is too much or too little for the health of your unborn baby? In case you happen to be confused regarding food consumption, there are lots of women around you who are equally confused as you are. If you are pregnant, you might consider visiting a nutritionist or dietician, although this needs not be done overnight. After all, what you must drink and what you must avoid affects the development of the fetus. Make logical choices such as taking lots of fruits and vegetables as well as abandon alcohol from your diet. However, this is not the case with sea foods as researchers have mixed reports.

Fish and Pregnancy

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The second trimester of your pregnancy is crucial as you are slowly getting closer to your delivery date. There are some important tests that need to be conducted at this stage to take a look at the condition of the growing fetus and assess its health.

The major medical tests that you need to be conducted at this stage are as follows:

Ultrasound:

The ultrasound helps in seeing the number of babies in the womb as well as the position of the placenta. With the help of an ultrasound you can see the anatomy of the baby and check out for any abnormalities. The ultrasound can be done either through the vagina or over the abdomen. This, however, depends on the requirement.

Tags: prenatal checkups, prenatal exams, prenatal tests, second trimester

You must ensure the health and safety of your unborn baby by taking a look at the kinds of foods you consume. This is why doctors recommend measures of food safety for moms and babies alike. Mothers who are expecting and all those who are preparing their food should be watchful while they are dealing with the recommendations of safe food handling. Any kinds of illness that is likely to be contracted by a pregnant woman may affect her yet to be born infant who does not have an immune system that is strong enough to counter the adverse reactions, if any. Here are some tips for food safety.

Tips for Food Safety

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One of the tests that fall under the screening tests of prenatal care is the Alpha-fetoprotein test or AFP test. This is basically a blood test that is done to measure the quantity of alpha-fetoprotein in the mother’s blood. This test is also referred to as maternal serum AFP or MSAFP.

Now, what is Alpha-fetoprotein? It is a type of protein that is secreted by the liver of the fetus and is contained in the fluid that surrounds the growing fetus. It passes through the placenta and finally mixes with the mother’s blood.

The test is carried out between the 15^th and 20^th weeks of pregnancy. A sample of the mother’s blood is taken and sent to the laboratory for the purpose of analysis. Results of the test are available within a period of 1–2 weeks.

Tags: alpha fetoprotein test, fetal alpha protein test, fetoprotein test, maternal serum test, serum alpha fetoprotein test

Eating is important during pregnancy as this is the time when you are required to supplement both yourself as well as your child with the essential requirements that are needed for good health. You should be additionally watchful of what you are consuming as you require about 300 extra calories on a daily basis. This is true especially in the later stage of your pregnancy as this is the time that your baby develops fast and quickly. These calories are available in a lot of nutrients and food supplements for ensuring the overall development of your baby.

Tags: eating during pregnancy, good nutrition during pregnancy, healthy eating, pregnancy

It’s the third trimester of your pregnancy which implies that you are the doorstep of your delivery date. This is a stage which requires extreme caution on your part. Regular medial check-ups and tests have to be conducted to keep monitoring the status of your health and of the child as well.

The third trimester calls for some special tests apart from the usual ones. These are enlisted below so as to ensure that you don’t miss them out.

Group B Strep test:

Tags: common prenatal tests, prenatal checkups, stress third trimester, third trimester amniocentesis, trimester test

As a would-be-mother it is evident that you want your baby to healthy and free from any sort of abnormality and disorders. To make sure that your baby is fit, the Chorionic Villus Sampling test is advised by your physician.

The Chorionic Villus Sampling is used to locate genetic and chromosome disorders in the growing fetus. It is especially carried out if the family has a history of medical problems. Abnormalities in the chromosome and other genetic disorders can be easily detected through this test.

In this test, the chorionic villus cells that are located at the point where the placenta is attached to the walls of the uterus is analyzed. The cells are collected in either of the two ways:

Tags: amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling, doppler ultrasound, ultrasound, villus sampling