DID YOU KNOW THAT?

.... That impulse you often have when you lie down at night to move your feet, has a name? Yes, it has, it's called "restless legs syndrome" (RLS) and many pregnant women experience it! Maybe get the known "stinging feeling", numbness, tingling, and sometimes even pain. Symptoms vary depending on the case, but the result is the same in almost all cases. Disorder of origin, duration or quality of sleep. In plain words? It doesn't let you sleep a bit! The doctor cannot do much during pregnancy, other than to recommend a conservative palliative treatment, such as exercise and stretching legs.

Between the 28th and 36th week, you will need to visit the doctor every two weeks. One month before your due date, the visits will increase to once a week. Depending on the progress of your pregnancy, and risk factors, your doctor may recommend you to repeat a blood test for HIV, as well as for syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhoea. Also, if high levels of glucose have been detected in blood, you may soon have a (3-hour) glucose tolerance test. In addition, he will examine you for possible signs of preeclampsia, urinary tract infections, and will also perform a general gynaecological check of the cervix.

In this phase, the psychological support you can get from the doctor and his staff is very important. Talk to him about how you feel, how he sees the development of your pregnancy, how you can welcome the new member to the family, even about sexual intercourse with your partner. It is possible to feel anxiety, fear of the unknown, even a pervasive and inexplicable melancholy, do not be afraid to express your feelings to him.  Learn from him about the baby, how is it, how much does it weigh and what's its size, how it moves and what position has it taken, even what it might understand and feel. From now on, you might be asked to count the baby's movements from home so that you familiarise yourself and be able to tell if something is wrong.