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Pregnancy symptoms and your due date

Think you're pregnant but unsure what to do next...?


Pregnancy Testing

Pregnancy testing is free from a midwife.  This is a urine test using sensitive hCG indicators that can give a result within minutes. hCG is Human Chorionic Gonadotropin hormone - only present in the system where a pregnancy has been conceived as this hormone is mainly produced in the placenta. Blood tests for hCG are not needed unless we are monitoring your hCG levels to assess pregnancy viability. Contact me to arrange pregnancy testing after your period is at least one-two weeks late. If you've already tested positive, congratulations - your test will be the same type as ours.

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Pregnancy Signs

The first sign that you may be pregnant is when your period is late. This can happen for other reasons though not always due to pregnancy. If your period is late and you are pregnant, you will often also start experiencing pregnancy symptoms as listed below.

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Pregnancy Symptoms

Your body undergoes rapid hormonal and physiological change in early pregnancy which can manifest the following symptoms:

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  • breast tenderness and/or breast swelling

  • nausea and vomiting

  • sensitivity to smells

  • mild headaches

  • fatigue, mood swings

  • frequent urination, constipation or irregular bowel motions

  • dizziness, perhaps fainting

  • reduced or increased appetite, perhaps cravings for salty food

 

Women's responses to pregnancy or hapūtanga are very individual. Some will experience a lot of these symptoms, while others one or two. If your period is a few weeks late and you are experiencing some of these symptoms a pregnancy test will confirm whether you are pregnant.

Calculating when you are due

The pregnancy 'due date' is a ball park figure in the middle of what is regarded as 'full term', or when your baby will be fully matured. Full term can be anywhere from 37-42 weeks gestation/pregnant. We commonly refer to week 40 as the 'due date' as it lies within this window. This is based on ancient calendars tracking the phenomenon of pregnancy and birth.

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To calculate your due date, you need to know the first day of your last period. From this date, add on 40 weeks, or 280 days. The date you get is your 'due date', or the 40th week of pregnancy. (Yes, the first 2 weeks of the pregnancy 40 weeks, you're not actually pregnant yet. We count the time from the beginning of your period as we can track from there).

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Things that can alter this date include uncertainty of when your period was, a menstrual cycle that is not consistent, or a consistently shorter or longer cycle. The 40 weeks is based on a 28-day menstrual cycle. If your menstrual cycle was consistently 31 days, then you would add 3 days to the 40 weeks to work out your due date. This is because in a 31-day cycle, you would probably ovulate 3 days later then the usual 28-day cycle. This adjustment can be made for shorter or longer cycles by adding or subtracting the difference from the 28-day cycle.

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Here is an example - a wahine started her last period on 28th of March. 40 weeks/280 days from this date is 2nd January. However, this wahine usually has 27-day cycles, shorter than the usual 28-day cycle. Therefore we'll deduct a day to adjust for the earlier ovulation. Her due date is 1st of January.

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Want help working out your due date? Use the calculator provided here by Healthify.nz. Please note this calculator relies on a 28-day cycle, so you will need to adjust up or down if your cycle is shorter or longer.

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Not sure when your last menstrual cycle is, or was it quite irregular? A dating scan might be the best option for you. This is best carried out between 6-8 weeks of pregnancy for best accuracy (it should arrive at a date within 5 days of your 40th week). Don't worry if you are past this gestation as a dating scan can be carried out later. It might be a little less accurate but will still give a clear indication as to when your baby (babies) is due. This can be arranged at my early pregnancy clinic, or by your LMC midwife, or GP.

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