Q: What are some of the signs?
A: An amniocentesis can be associated with some possible complications and if you feel anything unusual after an amniocentesis you should let your doctor know right away. Some of the warning signs are:
Constipation is a common problem during pregnancy. One of the reasons is the hormone progesterone, which slows the movement of food through your digestive tract. And the problem may be compounded later in pregnancy by the pressure of your growing uterus on your rectum. Iron supplements can make constipation worse.
Constipation is usually not serious, though occasionally it can be a symptom of another problem. If you have severe constipation that's accompanied by abdominal pain, alternates with diarrhea, or you pass mucus or blood, call your doctor immediately. Straining during a bowel movement or passing a hard stool can lead to or worsen hemorrhoids, swollen veins in the rectal area. Hemorrhoids can be extremely uncomfortable, though they rarely cause serious problems and in most cases they go away fairly soon after your baby is born.
Non-medical treatments
Medications:
Stool softeners (like Colace®) and mild laxatives like Milk of Magnesia (we call it M.O.M. in the hospital!) are safe to use during pregnancy. M.O.M. can also be used for heartburn. It is always best to avoid stimulant laxatives (like Dulcolax®, Ex-lax® and Correctol®) unless directed by your practitioner. If you are not sure about a laxative's safety, be sure to ask your practitioner.
Abdominal achiness or pain is among the most common pregnancy symptoms. It is not uncommon to feel sharp pains on the sides of the abdomen with the growth of the fetus.
One cause for abdominal achiness and pains is due to the stretching of your round ligaments, which are located on both sides of the abdomen and run from the top of the abdromen to the groin area, which occurs during pregnancy. As the embryo grows within the uterus, the stomach get larger and larger and the thick bands of connective tissue stretch in order to accommodate the new size. It is this stretching of the ligaments that often causes some aches and pains.
Another cause for abdominal achiness and pains may be due to the increased blood flow that is now necessary in order to support your growing baby.
Yet another cause may be due to the fact that throughout your pregnancy there is a build-up of your endometrium in your uterus. While your endometrium shed during menstration, now that you are prengnat and no longer menstrating you are no longer shedding your endometrium.
Sudden changes in body position are enough to trigger round ligament/abdominal pain. Getting up quickly, lying down, or even a sharp cough can cause new stretching of the ligaments that can be painful. These pains often last only a few brief moments, but it is not uncommon for the soreness to linger for a few hours. If the pains are associated with spotting, cramping, change in body temperature or fever, it is important to seek out medical attention.
Abdominal achiness is something that comes with pregnancy, but that does not mean you have to sit around in pain for its duration. Sitting down with your feet propped up is one of the best solutions of round ligament/abdominal achiness and pain. If resting does not relieve the pain or the achiness turnes into sharper pain, contact your attending physician for more advice.
During pregnancy, the ligaments located on the left and right side of the abdomen may create some abdominal discomfort from time to time. It is not uncommon to feel sharp pains on the sides of the tummy as well with the growth of the fetus.
Causes of Round Ligament Pain
Ligaments are located on the sides of the abdomen. These run from the top of the tummy to the groin area. As baby grows, the tummy gets larger and larger and the thick bands of connective tissue must stretch in order to accommodate the new size. As the ligaments stretch, some aches and pains are often felt by pregnant women. Increased blood flow to the area may also cause some pain which is also common.
[bmed_ad_r]Important Facts about Abdominal Achiness
Sudden changes in body position are enough to trigger round ligament pain. Getting up quickly, lying down or even a sharp cough can cause new stretching of the ligaments that can be painful. These pains often last only a few brief moments, but it is not uncommon for the soreness to linger for a few hours. If the pains are associated with spotting, cramping, change in body temperature or fever, it is important to seek out medical attention regarding the pain.
Treatment for Round Ligament Pain
Abdominal achiness is something that comes along with pregnancy, but that does not mean mom has to sit around in pain for the duration. Sitting down with feet propped up is one of the best solutions. If resting does not relieve the pain or the achiness turns into a sharper pain, contact your attending physician for more advice.
Pregnancy is a beautiful, life-altering experience, but it can also be painful. The female body is used to the normal monthly cycle and average hormone levels most of the time. When pregnancy occurs, hormones like estrogen and progesterone flood the body, weight gain occurs and the abdomen stretches larger than most women can even comprehend. The pain associated with these changes can often be scary and confusing.
Here's a list of Safe Medications to Take During Pregnancy.
Crohn’s Disease is an inflammatory autoimmune disorder. Typically, the body can tell the difference between native and foreign substances, but patients with Crohn’s Disease lack this ability. Their bodies are constantly on high immune alert causing constant inflammation, particularly in the gastrointestinal tract. Patients are often diagnosed with one of four types of Crohn’s Disease depending on the portion of the gastrointestinal tract affected. The disease can affect the rectum, small intestine, large intestine or colon. 
Who is at Risk?
Anyone with a family history of Crohn’s Disease or of Jewish decent are at increased risk for the condition. Smoking also increases the risk of contracting Crohn’s Disease.
Symptoms
Crohn’s Disease symptoms tend to present when the condition flares. The specific symptoms depend upon the area of the gastrointestinal tract most affected by the disease. Common symptoms include:
Other symptoms that appear less often include constipation, pain in joints, inflammation of the liver, bloody stool and sores on the skin.
Complications
Due to a thickening of the intestinal tract, patients may experience intestinal blockage or bowel obstructions. Growth may be slower than average and nutritional deficiency may occur. Children may show signs of sexual developmental delays.
Diagnosis
[bmed_ad_r]Patients presenting with symptoms of Crohn’s Disease will often undergo a detailed medical history and physical tests, before being scheduled for other diagnostic procedures. Palpation of the abdomen often reveals masses in the stomach that may hurt to touch. Joints may appear swollen and a skin rash may be present in some cases.
After physical testing is complete, doctors may suggest colonoscopy, upper GI, enteroscopy, endoscopy and CT scan to make a final diagnosis. A stool culture may be collected for testing.
Crohn's Disease During Pregnancy
The prognosis of Crohn's disease during pregnancy depends on the severity and exptent of the disease when she becomes pregnant and the medications she takes. If she is in remission at that time than two-thirds of women will stay in remission. Women who have active Crohn's at the time of onset of pregnancy are more likely to remain active during pregnancy. There is no complete agreement of the effects of pregnancy on Crohn's disease or the effect of Crohn's on pregnancy. The more severe the extent of the disease at the beginning of pregnancy, the more severe it will be during pregnancy, and there will be an increasec risk of premature birth and low birthweight babies.
Treatment
There is no definitive cause or cure for Crohn’s Disease. Patients must alter diet to reduce symptoms. Specific foods are not prohibited, but each patient will likely discover trigger foods that cause symptoms to flare up. Patients should eat a well-balanced diet broken into small meals eaten five to six times a day. Water intake should also be broken into small amounts. High-fiber, high-fat and fried foods should be avoided. Foods that commonly cause gas like beans and cabbage should also be avoided.
Medical treatment for the disease may include medications to reduce stress, fiber supplements and over the counter pain medications. Corticosteroids and anti-immune drugs may be prescribed in moderate to severe cases.
If the condition does not improve with other forms of treatment, patients may have bowel resection to remove the diseased portion of the gastrointestinal system. Bowel resection may relieve symptoms temporarily, but it does not cure Crohn’s Disease.
Life Expectancy
While the symptoms of Crohn’s Disease may be controlled with medications and altered diet and nutrition, patients are at increased risk for colon and bowel cancer. With effective treatment, patients can live a normal life-span, but complications may increase the risk of early death.
Strep throat is one of the most common childhood illnesses. Small white patches appear on one or both sides of the throat and a fever abruptly starts. Strep throat can lead to scarlet fever in rare cases. Most children have a strong enough immune system to fight off the infection without antibiotics, but antibiotics reduce the number of days a child is contagious.
Causes
Strep throat is caused by group A streptococcus bacteria. The bacteria are present in the throat at all times. It takes an injury or abrasion to the throat to trigger strep throat. Many 
doctors will ask parents to think back a week or so for any out of the ordinary coughing or sneezing that was harder than normal. Coughing or sneezing hard can cause small openings for strep bacteria. Strep throat is also caused by infection from another child. Strep throat is passed through sneezes and coughs.
Symptoms
The most common symptoms of strep throat include abdominal pain, fever, sore throat and difficulty swallowing. A child can come down with strep throat without having any symptoms for the first few days, but once symptoms arise, they can accelerate quickly. Parents may notice small, white spots in the throat. If you don't see any spots, do not rule out strep throat. Spots of infection can appear further down the throat, beyond where the naked eye can view.
Diagnosis
Most doctors will take a brief history and list of complaints before taking a look in the throat. If there are white patches in the throat, the doctor will likely order a rapid strep test. This test requires the nurse to rub a long cotton swab on the white patch. The swab is then tested for strep bacteria. If white patches are not visible, the doctor may still order a strep test. If the strep test is negative, but the doctor has a gut feeling it is strep throat, antibiotics may be ordered.
Treatment
Most cases of strep throat will go away within 7 to 10 days without medical intervention, but many parents choose to visit the family pediatrician for an antibiotic. Antibiotics fight the strep infection and relieve symptoms within 2 to 3 days. It is important to continue taking the antibiotic as instructed until the prescription is completely gone. Strep throat may recur if children stop taking antibiotics when symptoms disappear. It takes about 24 hours of antibiotics before children are no longer contagious.
There are times during pregnancy when you are just plain uncomfortable. Working until the latter stages of pregnancy could increase this feeling exponentially, but there are a few things you can change about your workspace to increase your comfort level.
Place a small fan on your desk. The body's temperature naturally raises when you're pregnant. Instead of sitting in a pool of sweat all day, place a small fan on your desk. It's best to choose a fan that uses electricity as you could need it for several months and batteries get expensive. If you choose a battery-operated fan, use rechargeable batteries and place batteries in the charging device before leaving work each day.
Wear comfortable clothes. Restrictive clothing is not only uncomfortable, it can increase risk of pregnancy complications. Wear loose fitting clothing in layers. When you feel warm, take off a few layers. If you get a chill, add a few layers. Always wear materials that allow the skin to breathe, like cotton.
Leave the high-heels behind. Your feet are swollen and your balance is off thanks to increased progesterone. Leave high-heels behind for the duration of pregnancy. You'll feel much better with a low-heeled shoe. 
Drink plenty of water. Dehydration is one of the main causes of early labor pains. Drink plenty of water throughout the day to stay hydrated. Drinking more will mean spending more time in the bathroom, but you should be walking around often so bathroom breaks every hour are healthy for baby.
Eat healthy, nutritious meals. Choose whole foods that are nutrient dense. This doesn't mean picking up Chinese food for lunch or eating donuts from the break room. Lean proteins, complex carbohydrates and full-fat yogurts are ideal for lunch.
Stay away from stress. Stress not only makes you feel horrible, it can be detrimental to your pregnancy. Remove yourself from stressful situations whenever possible and use deep breathing exercises to reduce stress and control heart rate.
Take frequent breaks. Sitting for long periods of time can increase the risk of blood clots during pregnancy. Get up and walk around for a few minutes every hour. If you're drinking lots of water, you should have no trouble getting in those frequent breaks because you'll be walking to and from the bathroom often.
Being comfortable at work during pregnancy is important. Some women must work until the last few weeks before birth and the final trimester tends to be the most uncomfortable.
Endometriosis was one of the most painful things
I’ve ever lived through. Every month the cramping felt like knives were
scraping the inside of my uterus and due to irregular bleeding I was
afraid to have intercourse or do anything that could bring my period
early.
Many serious complications in pregnancy are extremely rare, but it’s important that you learn the signs and symptoms of them so that you know when to immediately contact your doctor.
Just because labor is over and you’re holding the cutest baby on earth
doesn’t mean the pain of pregnancy is over. Pregnancy and labor pains
are taken over by postpartum pains almost immediately after giving
birth.
A study published in Springerplus from researchers at Ahmadi Hospital and Ain Shams University reveals a simple blood test that may help predict the viability of pregnancy with early vaginal bleeding. Data was collected from 260 women – 178 viable pregnancies and 82 non-viable pregnancies. All patients were admitted to the hospital for abdominal pain or vaginal bleeding at around 10 weeks gestation.
Doctors took a two ml blood samples from all patients and ran a progesterone assay. About 94% of viable pregnancies measured in excess of 10 ng/ml of progesterone. About 80% of women who later lost the pregnancy measured less than 10 ng/ml of progesterone.
Conclusion: When patients in early weeks of pregnancy complain of abdominal pain or vaginal bleeding, a progesterone assay may be able to predict the viability of the pregnancy. Researchers involved with the study did not suggest how attending physicians or obstetricians should use the information. No information was provided regarding how long after the progesterone assay the pregnancy spontaneously terminated.
Source: Abdelazim IA, Elezz AA, Elsherbiny M. Relation between single serum progesterone assay and viability of the first trimester pregnancy. Springerplus. 2012 Dec;1(1):80. Epub 2012 Dec 27.
Pain and bleeding in early pregnancy can cause mental stress, but are pregnant women receiving proper follow-up care after diagnostic intervention for these symptoms during pregnancy? According to researchers from Oxford University, less than 10% of women receiving an ultrasound for pain or bleeding prior to the 16th week of pregnancy were scheduled for a follow-up appointment with their general practitioner.
A total of 57 women were recruited for the study. None of the women had been seen at the emergency clinic where the ultrasound was ordered for pain or bleeding in early pregnancy. Of the patients seen, less than 10% were given immediate follow-up appointments yet 33% reported feelings of distress, including anxiety among viable and non-viable pregnancies.
General practitioners are advised to offer follow-up appointments to address mental and physical health status in women with pain and bleeding in early pregnancy. Appointments could be beneficial for women with both viable and non-viable pregnancies.
Source: Moscrop A, Harrison S, Heppell V, Heneghan C, Ward A. Primary care follow-up and measured mental health outcomes among women referred for ultrasound assessment of pain and/or bleeding in early pregnancy: a quantitative questionnaire study. BMJ Open. 2013 Apr 11;3(4). pii: e002595. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2013-002595. Print 2013.
Increased abdominal pressure can cause an umbilical hernia at any point in your life. A bad cough and heavy lifting are both common causes, so it’s no wonder pregnancy can also cause a hernia.
