Questions in a pregnancy health history
The woman’s breasts get bigger. A pregnant woman’s
breasts get bigger to prepare to make milk for the baby.
Another possible cause of this sign is that breasts often get
bigger just before monthly bleeding.
The woman feels light baby movements inside.
Most women start to feel their babies move between about
16 weeks and 20 weeks of pregnancy (at about 4 or 5 months).
Another possible cause of this sign is gas in the belly.
Sure signs of pregnancy
The woman feels strong baby movements inside.
Most women begin to feel the baby kicking by the time
they are 5 months pregnant.
The baby can be felt inside the womb. By the 6th or
7th month, a skilled midwife can usually find the baby’s
head, neck, back, arms, bottom, and legs by feeling
the mother’s belly.
The baby’s heartbeat can be heard. By the 5th or 6th
month, the heartbeat can sometimes be heard with tools made
for listening, like a stethoscope or fetoscope. By the 7th or 8th
month, a skilled midwife can usually hear the baby’s heartbeat
when she puts her ear on the woman’s belly (see page 139).
A medical pregnancy test says the woman is pregnant. This test can be done
with a kit at home or in a laboratory with a little of the woman’s urine or blood.
This test can be expensive and is usually not necessary. But it can be useful, for
example, if a woman needs to know if she is pregnant before taking a medicine
that might harm a baby inside her.
Now I can be
sure I am
pregnant.
A Book for Midwives (2010)
87