What does it mean to be a pregnant woman?

A gestational woman is generally a woman who is pregnant during the period of 28 days (4 weeks) as a gestational month, counting from the first day of the last menstrual period before pregnancy. The full course of pregnancy is 10 gestational months (40 weeks), or 280 days, and a woman during this period is clinically referred to as a gestational woman. The first 13 weeks of gestation are early, 14-27 weeks are mid-pregnancy, and 28 weeks and beyond are late pregnancy. The first sign of a woman in pregnancy is menopause, which is a delay in menstruation of more than 10 days. Early pregnancy reaction is another characteristic manifestation of women in pregnancy, including chilliness, dizziness, fatigue, drowsiness, nausea, morning sickness, loss of appetite, etc. Some women also have mood changes. These symptoms usually appear 6 weeks after menopause and last for about 8 weeks to disappear on their own. Due to hormonal changes, pregnant women may also experience breast tenderness, darkening of the areola, dark brown nodules around the areola (Montserrat’s nodules), skin pigmentation, skin chloasma, stretch marks, and increased and thickened pubic and axillary hair. Women during pregnancy need to follow medical advice and have regular prenatal checkups. These include basic health care examinations such as weight measurement, blood pressure, abdominal circumference, fetal heartbeat, fundal height, fetal orientation, cervical examination, and Bishop score (to check the maturity of the cervix). It also includes obstetric ultrasound, blood count, urine count, Down’s syndrome screening, amniocentesis, and fetal dysmorphic ultrasound to determine the health of the mother and baby. It is also very important to ensure the nutrition of women’s diet during pregnancy, mainly a balanced intake of protein, calories, vitamins, carbohydrates, fats, dietary fiber, trace elements and so on. In early pregnancy, a light, easy-to-digest diet should be the main focus, with fewer and more frequent meals, more folic acid-rich foods, and oral folic acid as prescribed by the doctor. In the middle and late stages of pregnancy, the intake of high-quality protein such as fish, meat, eggs and milk should be increased appropriately, which is beneficial to maternal health and fetal development. In addition, yoga, walking and other low- to medium-intensity exercises should be performed appropriately when physical conditions allow, which will help natural delivery.