Pregnancy all begins with an egg from a woman and a sperm from a man. First, the woman’s uterine wall begins to thicken, and an egg is released from one of her ovaries. The egg falls into the fallopian tube, where it meets the sperm of a male. Three hundred million sperm can enter the vagina but only one enters the egg (Nash np). This is called fertilization. The fertilized egg is now called a blastocyte, which is “no larger than a grain of rice” (Nash np). The blastocyte continues to fall down the fallopian tube until it reaches the uterus. This takes place anywhere between seven and ten days. Once in the uterus, the cells of the blastocyte immediately begin dividing exponentially. By the fourth day in the uterus, the blastocyte has become

During the sixth month, the uterus, which is the “size of a basketball,” is felt 1.5 inches above the mother’s navel (Murkoff 240). Now the baby is one foot long and weighs about two pounds. It is a good thing the umbilical cord is strong and doesn’t tangle, because the baby now has the ability to grip objects. The baby also possesses the ability to open and close his eyes, which now react to light. The baby’s vocal cords are fully developed, but he will remain silent until his birth. The fetus has developed enough this month to allow him to survive outside of his mother’s uterus.

During this first month, the mother will also undergo many changes. The mother may feel tired, have to pee more often, experience morning sickness, and salivate more. Besides physical changes, the mother may also experience emotional changes. Her emotions may resemble those of PMS. She may be very sensitive and irritable.

There are many symptoms of pregnancy, which include absent menstruations, morning sickness, frequent urination, and tender and swollen breasts. A pregnant woman may also experience darkening of the areola and nipple, blue and pink lines in breasts, food cravings, and/or the growth of the tiny glands around the nipple.

The mother will feel many new sensations this month as her body rapidly prepares for childbirth. The baby will probably drop into her pelvis, which will cause her to have to urinate even more frequently. This dropping of the fetus will also allow her to breathe more easily. Her Braxton and Hicks will be more intense and may even be painful. She may also have heavy vaginal discharge that may consist of more mucus and blood. She won’t feel the baby kick this month, because the fetus has run out of room to do so.

a cluster of thirty-two cells called a morula. The morula develops two layers wrapped around a fluid-filled core called a blastocyst. The outer layer becomes the placenta and the amniotic sac, and the inner layer becomes the embryo.

The pain of labor may be too much for the mother to handle; in which case, medication may be used. Tranquilizers, sedatives, and barbiturates allow for sleep; however, they may cause the mother to forget key points in her labor. Narcotics are medications that are given intravenously or are injected. These offer pain relief, but they may cause the baby to have breathing problems, or they can cause the mother to feel ill. Another medication that may be used is a local anesthetic, which numbs the mother. This is injected into the perineum before an episiotomy, but it offers no labor pain relief. A paracervical block is similar to a local anesthetic, except that it eases contraction pain. Regional anesthetics are injected into the spinal nerves, where they block signals in the spine. The two most widely used regional anesthetics are epidurals and spinal blocks. These are much more effective than local anesthetics, providing almost total pain relief; however, they do cause the legs to temporarily be completely numb and useless. Medications are taken by many women during labor.

Every labor is different depending on the mother. Labors vary in length and pain. As labor continues, it grows more intense with the contractions getting longer and stronger. Also during labor, the cervix will continue to soften and open. When the cervix dilates to ten centimeters the mother will be asked to push. The doctor will tell the mother when to push, coordinating each push with a contraction. The mother’s bowels may empty as she is pushing, but this is completely normal; however, some hospitals will provide the mother with an enema at the beginning of labor. The contractions and pushing move the baby out of the uterus and into the birth canal, or vagina.

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