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Pregnancy
Pregnancy is the period during which a fetus develops inside a woman’s womb. Pregnancy usually lasts about 40 weeks, or just over 9 months, as measured from last menstrual period to delivery.
Early Symptoms
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Missing your period – although some women’s periods do not stop when they are pregnant, or become irregular
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Nausea and vomiting
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Fatigue
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Breast tenderness
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Passing urine more frequently
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Increased hunger
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Specific food cravings
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Distaste for foods you usually like
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Dysgeusia – a sour or metallic taste that persists even when you’re not eating
Later Symptoms
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The most obvious sign of pregnancy is a growing belly!
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Backache
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Breathlessness
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Constipation
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Weight gain
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Haemorrhoids (piles)
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Headaches
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Heartburn and indigestion
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Itchy skin
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Leg cramps
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Mood changes (such as unexplained crying)
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Tingling and numbness in your hands
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Vaginal discharge
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Vaginitis
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Varicose veins and leg oedema (swelling)
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Sore teeth and gums
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Pyogenic granuloma (also known as “pregnancy tumors,” non-cancerous inflammatory growths)
How is it Diagnosed?
Modern pregnancy tests can detect a pregnancy very early on. Pregnancy tests detect the hormone human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), which starts to be produced around 6 days after fertilization.
Most pregnancy tests come in a box that contains 1 or 2 long sticks. You pee on the stick and the result appears on the stick after a few minutes. All tests are slightly different, so always check the instructions.
Stages of Pregnancy
Length of pregnancy varies between women. Babies are considered 'full term' if they are born anywhere between 37 and 42 weeks.
First Trimester: 1 to 12 weeks
A missed period, morning sickness, and tiredness are common symptoms of early pregnancy.
Conception
Usually, a woman ovulates (releases an egg) approximately once per month. If a sperm cell reaches this egg, which is usually hanging out in the uterus (womb) or one of the fallopian tubes, it can enter the egg and fertilize it, forming an embryo, which has the potential to develop into a fetus. Twins, triplets, quadruplets, etc, are formed when more than one sperm cell fertilizes the egg (non-identical/fraternal/dizygotic embryos), or when one fertilized egg divides into two or more (identical/monozygotic embryos).
Implantation
But conception does not necessarily lead to pregnancy. Once fertilized, an egg must implant itself in the uterine lining. This lining is what gets released every time a woman has a period. It’s a thick, blood-like substance that builds up in each menstrual cycle to line the inside of the womb. If conception and implantation does not happen, the lining is released, and a new menstrual cycle begins.
Implantation can happen several days after conception, and cannot happen without conception. However, conception can happen without implantation. It’s impossible to know how frequently fertilized eggs do not implant and are eventually released with a woman’s period. When this happens, a woman will never even know she conceived.
Second Trimester: 13 to 27 weeks
During the second trimester, most women find that morning sickness eases and they have more energy. Pregnancy may become visible and you may have gained some weight. Gestational diabetes, when it occurs, is usually detected around weeks 24 to 28 of pregnancy, although it can develop earlier.
Third Trimester: 28 to 40+ weeks
During the third trimester, a baby is growing rapidly. In later weeks, it will “drop” down into your pelvis to prepare for birth. Back pain, breathlessness, and sleep difficulties are common in this stage. Although preeclampsia may develop at any time during the second half of pregnancy, there is a higher risk of it developing during this stage.
Important note
Because it’s impossible to know when conception and implantation occur, pregnancy terms and expected birth or due date (EDD or EDB) are calculated from the first day of your last period. What this means is that the legal pregnancy “clock” usually starts ticking before a fetus is even conceived. By this measure, it is possible to be legally “six weeks pregnant” and only have conceived two weeks prior. It’s clear to see the troubling implications of this with six week abortion bans, or even 12 week abortion bans.
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Complications
Pregnancy is a natural process, but that doesn't mean it’s a simple one. Pregnancy puts a lot of stress on a woman’s body. There are numerous complications that can occur in pregnancy. This is not a comprehensive list, but some of the most common are:
Depression
All sorts of hormonal changes occur in the body during pregnancy, and this can throw various systems out of balance. It is not uncommon for pregnant people to experience depression and/or anxiety, or other mood disturbances, during pregnancy and following birth.
Ectopic Pregnancies
Ectopic pregnancies occur when an embryo implants in one of the fallopian tubes instead of in the womb. This is catastrophic for both the embryo and the mother. There is no way an ectopic pregnancy can reach full term, as the fallopian tubes cannot accommodate a growing fetus. They will burst when the fetus grows too large for them to contain. This will lead to miscarriage, but also causes serious, potentially life-threatening damage to the mother. Ectopic pregnancies can be detected on scans, and it’s important to treat them quickly. There is no way to move an implanted embryo to the womb. The treatment for an ectopic pregnancy is abortion.
Gestational Diabetes
Diabetes is a condition in which the body does not produce enough insulin to control blood sugar levels. During pregnancy, your body makes more hormones and goes through other changes, such as weight gain. These changes cause your body’s cells to use insulin less effectively, a condition called insulin resistance. Insulin resistance increases your body’s need for insulin. All pregnant women have some insulin resistance during late pregnancy. However, some women have insulin resistance even before they get pregnant. They start pregnancy with an increased need for insulin and are more likely to have gestational diabetes.
Iron-Deficiency Anemia
Iron deficiency anemia occurs when there are not enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to the body's tissues. Our bodies use iron to make hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to your tissues. During pregnancy, the volume of blood in the body increases, and so does the amount of iron needed – as the body uses iron to make more blood to supply oxygen to the baby. If you don't have enough iron stores or get enough iron during pregnancy, you could develop iron deficiency anemia.
Severe iron deficiency anemia during pregnancy increases the risk of premature birth and is also associated with low birth weight and postpartum depression. Some studies also show an increased risk of infant death immediately before or after birth.
Maternal Mortality
Maternal mortality, when a woman dies in childbirth or from pregnancy complications, has been a growing problem in the United States for years. A 2021 report from the CDC counted 1,205 U.S. women who died of maternal causes in 2021, compared with 861 in 2020 and 754 in 2019.
There are many possible reasons for the increase, from women getting pregnant at older ages, to inequities in health care, to a rise in chronic health conditions. But about 84% of pregnancy-related deaths are thought to be preventable, according to data from state committees that review maternal deaths. So it is important to consider why these deaths are not being prevented. Many people believe it is because pregnant women – and women in general – are not taken seriously enough by medical practitioners.
When this sexism intersects with racism, the issue is confounded: Black women in the U.S. are almost three times as likely to die in childbirth, or from pregnancy complications, as white women.
Miscarriage
Miscarriage is a lot more common than many people realize (ADD STATS) and can happen for all types of reasons. In most cases, it is impossible to determine the cause. Many women might miscarry before they even know they are pregnant. Often, a woman experiencing a miscarriage may need medical support in expelling all of the fecal matter from the uterus – if any is left behind, this can cause infection, which can be fatal. The treatment for incomplete miscarriage is abortion.
Pre-Eclampsia
Preeclampsia, formerly called toxemia, is a potentially fatal condition in which a pregnant woman develops high blood pressure, elevated protein levels, and swelling in the legs, feet, and hands. It can range from mild to severe. It usually happens late in pregnancy, though it can come earlier or just after delivery.
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The only cure for preeclampsia is birth. Even after delivery, symptoms of preeclampsia can last 6 weeks or more.
Case studies
"I Was Pregnant and in Crisis. All the Doctors and Nurses Saw Was an Incompetent Black Woman."
"I begged for an epidural. After three eternities an anesthesiologist arrived. He glared at me and said that if I wasn’t quiet he would leave and I would not get any pain relief". In this article from 2019, Tressie Mcmillan Cottom tells the story of her horrific heartbreaking experiences during her pregnancy ultimately leading to disaster. Read her story here.
