Before Testing for that First Sign of Pregnancy
Date: August 23, 2006
Conception initiates a true cascade of hormone changes. Tapping onto those changes has provided physicians with a way to detect the first sign of pregnancy. Medical advances now allow such detection to be done quickly and efficiently. Hence, present-day young couples can enjoy the accessibility of in-home pregnancy tests. Yet that very accessibility can also create problems. Sometimes a couple can be in too great a hurry for that first sign of pregnancy. Sometimes a couple can overlook the factors that could impact the health of their dream, their desired baby. The following article delivers some facts about those factors.
For the past twenty years, women have enjoyed the availability of in-home pregnancy tests. The users of such tests rejoice at their access to a simple and full-proof detection method. They expect that use of that simple test kit will reveal to them the very first sign of pregnancy. Those kits, which have become increasingly commonplace, do not stay long on the pharmacy store shelves. They have received widespread use. Almost every woman who loves children prays for that first sign of pregnancy.
Usually a couple that finds themselves desiring children focuses their attention and effort on the achievement of conception. Under those circumstances, many couples do not think about the benefits of preconception counseling. Yet such counseling offers assurance that the first sign of pregnancy forecasts the arrival of a healthy, full-size infant.
Still not every couple has a paired medical history that would underline a need for preconception counseling. On the other hand, far more couples could benefit greatly from that counseling, if they would only appreciate their need for that service. The following paragraphs seek to instill that appreciation in at least a few young couples. The following paragraphs detail the factors that could exacerbate a couple’s need for such counseling. The paragraphs will look at both medical and non-medical factors.
If one member of a couple has a major medical problem, then that couple should see a counselor before trying to create that first sign of pregnancy. If one member of a couple has diabetes, asthma, anemia, a heart condition or high blood pressure, then that couple should seek-out some preconception counseling. Yet even very healthy couples could follow a life style that had the potential to impact the health of a developing baby. Such couples would also benefit from preconception counseling.
What sort of lifestyle could potentially harm a baby, even before discovery of that first sign of pregnancy? What sort of lifestyle might present the sort of problems that could be avoided by the use of preconception counseling? The list of lifestyle choices of concern to obstetricians derives from decisions about diet, about exercise, about travel, about the work environment and even about pets in the home.
For example, a vegetarian should see a counselor before testing for that first sign of pregnancy. A planned visit to the counselor should also appear on the calendar of a woman who exercises hard daily, who works with toxic chemicals, who has recently traveled outside of the U.S., who uses birth control pills or who has a pet cat.
If a woman has had a long history of miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, stillbirth or other similar complication, then she should certainly talk with a counselor before trying once more to go after that first sign of pregnancy. Such a visit would underscore the woman’s concern for the health of that wanted baby. Present-day society applauds such health promotion. It has become an accepted reason for the use of preconception counseling. It also fueled the development of the in home in-home pregnancy test.