Pregnancy Problems

One of my freinds told me that her sister had a baby and she had to get the baby examined and the doctor had to stick his arm all the way to his elbow to see where the head is...has this ever happened to you moms?

shes 6'3"...but do they really stick up their whole hand to feel where the baby is? why cant they do an ultrasound?

No, they usually just push on your belly to make sure the baby isn't breeched. If she was very far along, he or she may have been stripping her membranes though.

For more informatio visit Pregnancy Website.

First pregnancy I had a delivered early what are my chances for the second pregnancy?

I had to deliver my first baby @ 34 wks on hospital bedrest. How likely will I have to do this again with my second pregancy? Also since I delivered a healthy baby the first time, is there a chance I'll miscarry this time or will I likely have another healthy pregnancy?

With my first, my son was born 3 weeks early.  With my second, I went 2 days over my due date and then begged for an induction. 

Every pregnancy is different, unless there is a problem with you physically that caused your first to be born early, for example if you have an incompetent cervix.

There is always a chance for miscarriage, but again, unless you have some physical problem that makes you prone to miscarriage, the chance for miscarrying isn't any greater this time than any other time.

It's normal to freak out and stress!  Just remember every pregnancy is different, and take good care of yourself.  That's all you can do.

Is there evidence that pregnancy causes the mother to develop an autoimmune disease?

My grandmother and a cousin both developed severe rheumatic autoimmune diseases after pregnancy, when being previously fine before pregnancy.  I have not been able to find any additional evidence of pregnancy causing an autoimmune disease to develop, but am wondering if anyone knows of a link between the two, either clinical or anecdotal. 

I realize that pregnancy has effects on women who already have autoimmune diseases, but am trying to weigh the risks of developing an illness from being pregnant.

What happens is that the disease is not active, but there, and flares after the delivery. Autoimmune diseases are "triggered" and often dormant.

I have RA. It was triggered by strep throat at age 27. I probably got it at about age 23, when it was assumed I had carpal tunnels from being a pastry chef. Turns out, after having the electrical test for carpal tunnels, I didn't have carpal tunnels. I was experiencing the beginning of my RA those years back, without the full-blown symptoms I had once the strep throat came along. Now I have the full-blown RA.

Keep in mind that giving birth is a traumatic event to your body and trauma can cause an autoimmune disease. People have been triggered into RA by car accidents, believe it or not.

Will home pregnancy tests still work a few months or ever all the way through the pregnancy?

What I mean is, is what they are testing for only present in the first month or so of the pregnancy, or will they still work throughout the pregnancy or at least in the first half or so? Would pregnant women who were 2, 4, 7, 8, and 9 months pregnant get accurate results if they used a home pregnancy test?

Pregnancy tests work based upon the high amounts of hormones we have present in our bodies during pregnancy. They work all through out pregnancy.