Some.omen.ill experience spotting as well as cramping . The mouth, lower jaw, and throat are developing. Please review the Terms of Use before using this site. Your Pregnancy and Childbirth: Month to Month, Revised Sixth Edition. So you're going to have a baby! We're here to guide you through the ins and outs of all nine months. You should also look to see if your symptoms could be caused by something else . Most pregnancy tests will be positive by the time a woman has missed her period. After it is released, the egg travels down a fallopian tube toward the uterus.
The "changes concern brain areas associated with functions necessary to manage the challenges of motherhood," study co-lead author Erika Barba said in a news release from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Though some expectant moms complain of fuzzy thinking -- the downside of "baby brain" -- researchers reported the women had no changes in memory or other thinking functions during pregnancy. That means the loss of gray matter does not lead to problems in those areas. The brain changes, which lasted for at least two years after the women gave birth, probably help them adapt to motherhood, the study authors suggested. According to study co-director Oscar Vilarroya: "The findings point to an adaptive process related to the benefits of better detecting the needs of the child, such as identifying the newborn 's emotional state. Moreover, they provide primary clues regarding the neural basis of motherhood, perinatal mental health and brain plasticity in general." Study co-lead author Elseline Hoekzema said in the news release that the changes "may reflect, at least in part, a mechanism of synaptic pruning ... where weak synapses are eliminated giving way to more efficient and specialized neural networks." The researchers also found that they were able to use these brain changes to predict a mother's attachment to her baby, according to the study published Dec. 19 in the journal Nature Neuroscience. The changes were similar whether women got pregnant naturally or through fertility treatments.
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Here's what's known about who should worry about Zika virus : Pregnant women By far those at the highest risk are pregnant women . Zika causes a range of birth defects , from brain damage so profound it causes the pregnancy to miscarry, to horrifying cases of microcephaly, to subtler defects of limbs and joints. It's not yet clear what percentage of pregnant women go on to have babies with birth defects, but studies show pregnancies in all three trimesters can be badly affected. Women who never remember having had symptoms have had their babies affected, as have women who suffer rashes and muscle aches. Doctors now caution all pregnant women to stay away from places where Zika is spreading if at all possible, and if not, to wear mosquito repellent, to cover up with long sleeves and pants, and to stay inside with air conditioning as much as possible. Women who don't live in areas where Zika can spread can relax a little but should remember that Zika can be spread sexually and that people can come back infected from Zika zones. Related: She's pregnant and worried about Zika Partners of pregnant women Zika is spread sexually as well as by mosquitoes, so any sex partner of a pregnant woman, or a woman who might get pregnant, needs to take precautions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that men who may have been infected use a condom for the duration of a sex partner's pregnancy. Women who may have been infected need to put off getting pregnant for at least eight weeks and because the virus can live in semen for six months or longer, men who may have been infected should avoid unprotected sex for at least that long. Zika doesn't always cause symptoms so people need to be aware that if they've been somewhere that Zika is spreading, it's possible they were infected and did not notice. Play Copy this code to your website or blog Women thinking about getting pregnant or who might get pregnant accidentally Close to half of all U.S.
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About.s Advertise Contact Us Partnerships What to Expect Foundation What to Expect Bookstore Press Room Privacy Policy Advertising/Editorial Policy Terms of Use Help The material on this website is provided for educational purposes only and is not to be used for medical advise, diagnosis or treatment, or in a place of therapy or medical care. But, you can also have periods of being scared or worried about what your life will look like after the baby. The timing of your first appointment may also depend on your overall health. Delivered to your in box. Please review the Terms of Use before using this site. Top of Page Symptoms of pregnancy: What happens first Could you be pregnant? Tender, swollen breasts. Sometimes it’s obvious that you are at a higher risk—information that can help you prepare yourself for the possibility. Pregnancy is an exciting time, but it can also be stressful. Verify here .