Pregnancy: How to tell if you might be having twins
So you have already taken the pregnancy test and those two pink lines confirmed that you are carrying a new little bundle of joy. However, you just realized that there might be more than one baby cooking in the oven. You are not sure, so how do you tell if you are carrying twins?
ULTRASOUND
An ultrasound performed by your doctor or midwife is the only sure way to confirm a twin pregnancy. With tons of new technology today, doctors can confirm if there is more than one baby as early as six weeks. However, if a second sac is noticed around the 4-6 week mark, your doctor may have you scheduled for a second scan around 9-10 weeks to confirm that both sacs developed into fetuses. Sometimes a sac may not fully develop and this is known as vanishing twin syndrome.
HCG LEVELS
Some doctors monitor a woman’s HCG level during the first few weeks of pregnancy. These levels are hormones that are especially high in pregnant women, especially during the first trimester. If a woman is carrying twins, these levels may be higher, maybe even double the normal rate.
NAUSEA
Some women get morning sickness and/or nausea during pregnancy. Some women with multiple fetuses seem to be hovering over the toilet twice as much. It is said that if a woman is pregnant with twins, she may experience excessive nausea since the hormones in her body are elevated.
WEIGHT
Women who are pregnant with twins may see a rapid increase in their weight, especially during the first few weeks of pregnancy.
BABY MOVEMENT
Sometimes mothers of twins can feel their babies move a lot sooner than mothers of singletons. Usually a woman, especially first time parents, will feel their baby move around 18 weeks or so. Mothers of twins may feel their babies move as early as 13wks.
HEARTBEAT
Some doctors will check for a heartbeat via Doppler before performing ultrasound scans. Sometimes they can hear an extra heartbeat, which might indicate a second baby.
FAMILY HISTORY
If you have these symptoms and fraternal twins run in your family, then it is possible that you may be pregnant with twins as well. Remember, fraternal twins genetically run in the women’s side of the family and are carried down from all of the women. This typically means that you have a likely chance of releasing more than one egg during ovulation.
None of these signs guarantee that you may be having twins. The only evidence of having twins or other higher order multiples is having an ultrasound done. With today’s technological advances, twins can be spotted early in the pregnancy and a second baby is rarely missed. Most doctors perform an ultrasound around twenty weeks gestation and at this time, there would be definite evidence of more than one baby.
If you are pregnant with twins, then congratulations and good luck. It is an extremely loving and unique experience.
Who Has Down Syndrome Babies?
Most people associate having a child with Down syndrome with older women. While it is true that women over 35 do have an increased risk of having a child with Down syndrome, 80% of these children are born to those women under age thirty-five.
In the United States, approximately 5,000 babies with Down syndrome are born every year. A woman’s chance of having another baby with Down syndrome is approximately 1 in 100.
Prenatal Screening for Down Syndrome
Over the last 10 years, new technology has improved the methods of detection of Down syndrome. While there are ways to diagnose Down syndrome by obtaining fetal tissue samples by amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling, it would not be appropriate to examine every pregnancy this way. Besides greatly increasing the cost of medical care, these methods do carry a slight amount of risk to the fetus.
So screening tests have been developed to try to identify those pregnancies at “high risk.” These pregnancies are then candidates for further diagnostic testing.
Screening Vs Diagnostic Test
What is the difference between a screening test and a diagnostic test? In diagnostic tests, a positive result very likely means the patient has the disease or condition of concern. In screening tests, the goal is to estimate the risk of the patient having the disease or condition.
Diagnostic tests tend to be more expensive and require an elaborate procedure; screening tests are quick and easy to do. However, screening tests have more chances of being wrong: there are “false-positives” (test states the patient has the condition when the patient really doesn’t) and “false-negatives” (patient has the condition but the test states he/she doesn’t).
Maternal Serum Screening
The mother’s blood is checked for three items: alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), unconjugated estriol (uE3) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). These three are independent measurements, and when taken along with the maternal age (discussed below), can calculate the risk of having a baby with Down syndrome.
A very important consideration in the screening test is the age of the fetus (gestational age). The correct analysis of the different components depends on knowing the gestational age precisely. The best way to determine that is by ultrasound.
Test results are sometimes reported to doctors as “Multiples of the Median (MoM).” The “average” value is therefore called 1.0 MoM. Down syndrome pregnancies have lower levels of AFP and estriol, so their levels would be less than 1.0 MOM.
hCG in a Down syndrome pregnancy would be greater than 1.0 MoM.
Finally, the calculated risk is used to modify the risk already statistically calculated based on the mother’s age. We already know that as the mother’s age advances, the risk of having a baby with Down syndrome increases.
For example: Let’s say the test results come back in the typical range for a pregnancy not associated with Down syndrome (that would be 1.0 MoM for all components). This result reduces the woman’s risk of having a child with Down syndrome four-fold.
Hcg Weight Loss Should You Use Hcg For Weight Loss
It seems like every six months or so theres a claim that some wonder drug is going to magically melt pounds away and make you slimmer and trimmer for life. Excuse me if Im a bit skeptical, but Im not a big believer in diet pills or potions to lose weight.In fact, when a woman takes a home pregnancy test, that test is looking for the presence of HCG in her body. If she tests positive for HCG, then that means shes pregnant.Hmmm, so what is the truth about these claims?Believe it or not, HCG has been studied and discussed as a weight loss treatment for 40 years. As a matter of fact, there have been several studies done to test the effectiveness of HCG for the treatment of overweight people.Are there still doctors using HCG hormone to treat their obese patients?Some patients are getting this treatment under doctor supervision, but its interesting to note that these doctors also put their patients on a low-calorie diet, as would any good physician, so HCG is just part of the mix.If you live in the U.S., you will not be able to legally purchase HCG anyway, since it has been banned for sale here by the FDA since 1974. So, please be aware that if you do choose to pursue your quest to buy HCG weight loss supplements in any form, youll have to either get them on the black market, or from another country.Look, I know you want to drop those pounds as soon as possible, but taking advice from someone like Kevin Trudeau, who has numerous violations with the FTC and has served prison time, may not be in your best interest. People like him prey on your desperation.Theres no magic pill for losing weight – theres only you making up your mind that you are going to be healthier and happier the safe and natural way.
How to ensure the accuracy of your pregnancy test – Part 3
Is your period late? How many days? Might be time to take a home pregnancy test.
E.P.T, Clearblue easy, Accu-clear, Early detect, Fact Plus and many more are just some of the common brands of home pregnancy tests offered almost anywhere. These tests are on average 99% accurate. However, to have such an accurate reading you need to follow the directions and all tips.
Many home pregnancy tests claim they can detect the pregnancy hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin or HcG, for short, the day after your missed period. Most other tests call for 5 days or longer after your missed period. It’s been proven that the longer you wait the more HcG will be in your urine stream. Making the pregnancy test more accurate.
Many brands are now being sold with 2 in a pack, just to make sure.
All pregnancy test directs are about the same, follow them and you should have success. Always read the directions first, no matter what. Professionally say that the hormone HcG is more concentrated in the morning. You should try to use the first urination of the day. Remove the foil wrapper from the test strip. Remove the cap. Start to urinate and stick the absorbent end down in the flow of urination but only for 5 seconds. Replace the cap and lay the lest down flat, very important. Don’t sit there and hold it, don’t shake it like you see done in the movies. Leave it be for at least 5 minutes. You will know that the test is complete when the smaller window has a bar, that window is the indicator bar that the urine has soaked the absorbent stick completely. The result window is larger than the indicator window.
Some tests you will see a plus sign show up, some may actually say PREGNANT on them. Other have different colored bars to show either pregnant or not. Make sure you understand how your test will present it’s findings to you.
What are the changes of it being a false positive? Not too often are tests wrong about a positive. If you get a positive with one test, try another brand. If you still are receiving a positive and are sure your not pregnant, see a professional. What about a negative? Do you still feel like your getting the wrong reading? Wait a few more days and take another test or even another brand. Your HcG levels may be lower than normal and the tests may not pick them up for another few days. Just be patient, i know it’s hard.
Certain brands like E.P.T. and ClearBlue are well known. However just because they are well known doesn’t always mean they work for everyone. Each test detects different levels or the HcG hormone and a pregnancy test that worked for a friend might not be the pregnancy test for you. Try to buy different tests and see what works. Most often, if you’ve waited the 5 days after your missed period or longer, many of the pregnancy tests will give you an accurate reading.
At the first sign of a missed period ask yourself, have I had unprotected sex in the last 2 or 3 weeks? If that’s a no, then don’t panic. Your body might be under some stress and your period just might be late.
Now, look at that test? Do you see a plus sign, blue bar, double bars or just a straight PREGNANT on the second screen? If so, congratulations, your pregnant. See your doctor for prenatal care.
Kevin Trudeaus cures: The hype and the truth – Part 3
What Is There About Kevin Trudeau’s Cures and Kevin Trudeau?
Kevin Trudeau has come out with a best selling book entitled Kevin Trudeau’s Natural Cures. This is the top-selling self-published book in history. However in November 2007 Kevin Trudeau was back in court on contempt charges due to violating a previous court order to ban all infomercials related to his cures and schemes.
Kevin Trudeau gets into hot water with his infomercials. His infomercials advertise his products dishonestly according to the plaintiffs. The main problem with his last infomercial was the word “easy.” He describes his weight loss system in his weight loss book entitled, The Weight Loss Cure They Don’t want You to Know About, as “easy” when in fact it is a very complicated program and not easy for most people.
He also contradicts himself when he states that during this diet one should not use any prescription drugs when he in fact prescribes a daily injection of HGH (human growth hormone) in the first phase of the cure. HGH is only available in Europe and in the U. S. by prescription but not for weight loss, therefore it is a prescription drug.
He also states in his infomercials that once the diet is completed you will never have to diet again, but the book states that the last phase lasts forever. So the diet never ends.
Therefore he misrepresents the contents of the book in his infomercials, which has gotten him into to trouble again with the FTC. (http://www.ftc.gov/os/caselis t/0323064/071121order.pdf)
Kevin Trudeau was born February 6, 1963. He is an American Entrepreneur, best-selling author, and convicted felon. He is a multi-level marketing executive and television infomercial spokesperson who promotes health aids, dietary supplements (coral calcium), real estate, investment strategies, and memory-improvement courses.
He is also called a confidence trickster, deceptive marketer, epitome of the snake oil salesman, quack, and flim-flam man.
His critics cite his criminal history and warn buyers to beware of his advice. His biggest theory behind much of his writing is that the pharmaceutical industry actively suppresses miracle cures. (www.biblio.com/authors/589/ke vin_Trudeau_Biography.html).
Kevin Trudeau was diagnosed at an early age as learning disabled. He felt his learning disability was related to the inability to recall information and therefore developed his own program for “memory retrieval.” He founded the American
What is nitrous oxide?
Nitrous Oxide is also called Laughing Gas because it brings on euphoria or mirth on inhalation. Nitrous Oxide is colorless, odorless and is the only inhalation anesthetic agent that is not a vapor but a true gas by definition. Joseph Priestly, an English scientist and clergyman was the first to discover nitrous oxide in 1772. Priestly is also famous for isolating other gases such as oxygen, carbon monoxide, ammonia and sulfur dioxide.
Uses of Nitrous Oxide
Nitrous oxide is a mild sedative and an analgesic gas commonly used as an anesthesia to relax patients during dental procedures. After the procedure patients recover quickly from the effects of nitrous oxide. Usually a patient is administered oxygen at the end of the procedure to further counteract the effects of the nitrous oxide.
In the dairy industry; nitrous oxide is used as a mixing foaming agent in the production of whipped cream; because of its non-flammable and bacteriostatic (stops the growth of bacteria) characteristics.
In auto racing nitrous oxide is injected into the fuel line of racing cars to give more power to the engines and to give the cars extraordinary acceleration.
Nitrous Oxide is also used to prepare divers for the effects of nitrogen narcosis. Nitrogen narcosis is an affect on the brain of gaseous nitrogen that occurs to divers who go below 100 FSW( feet of salt water) due to the laws of partial pressures. Nitrogen is the gas that causes the bends also called decompression sickness.
Nitrous oxide is identified as an emitter of green house gas that adds to global warming.
Nitrous oxide has also been used as a recreational drug. There are dangers in using nitrous oxide as a recreational drug such as:
It can cause one to become disoriented resulting in falling, tripping and even tipping over in a chair.
Nitrous oxide also permeates the fatty tissues in the body, therefore it can out-gas into your gut or middle ear and cause severe pain.
Nitrous oxide can be become emotionally habit forming.
In addition nitrous oxide abuse can cause:
Nausea
Oxygen deprivation.
Loss of motor control.
Vitamin B 12 interferenc and folic acid interference.
Is Nitrous Oxide use Illegal?
In the United States nitrous oxide is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. The laws in each state differs regarding the use of nitrous oxide. Check the laws specific to your state and abide by them.
“Pregnant women should not use or handle nitrous oxide because studies with pregnant mice and rats exposed to nitrous oxide have been linked to birth defects.” Health line
Like the elements of fire and water; nitrous oxide is of great value to society but can be destructive in other instances. Lets use it only to our advantage.
Disclosing the Benefits of Home Water Purification
In the late 1960s, one American family visited some colleges in New England. During their trip, they stayed at a ski resort in Vermont. The water piped into main water line for that facility came from a natural spring. The quality of that water did not go unnoticed by the family’s breadwinner.
He had heaps of praise for the shower in that Vermont motel room. He did not realize that the day was coming when many homeowners would enjoy the pleasures that he had enjoyed. Those homeowners would purchase one of the home water purification systems.
Once a homeowner has invested in home water purification, then each shower that he or she takes reproduces the feeling felt by those who have showered in spring water. In addition, the decision to install a system for purification allows a homeowner to provide all of his or her family members with good tasting water.
Moreover, each of the systems can reduce the degree to which residents in a home must deal with the effect of harsh chemicals in the tap water. City water often contains a good deal of chlorine. Over time, exposure to chlorine can dry the skin. When a system for home water purification removes that chlorine, then residents can’t fail to notice that they have healthier skin and hair.
When a homeowner chooses to provide his or her family with purified water, then that homeowner needs to learn a few new words. Some systems for the purification of water in a home have what is called a “bactericidal system.” That means that the system has the ability to do away with any microorganisms that might have made their way into the water.
Other systems have received the designation “bacteriostatic system.” Such a system lacks the ability to remove from water going into the home all of the microorganisms in that water. A bacteriostatic system simply slows the rate at which those organisms can grow in the water, as it is piped into the home.
A homeowner should be concerned about four different types of water contaminants-biological, heavy metals, organic compounds and inorganic compounds. A good home water purification system has the ability to take-out all of those contaminants. Above, the reader was reminded about the extent to which chlorine in water can damage the skin.
Yet no homeowner should sleep soundly if he or she has failed to study home water purification. The residents in a home deserve more than just chlorine-free water. Toxin-filled water puts toxins in the air, whenever residents in the home take a shower. A system such as this can remove those toxins.
None of these systems can serve as a perfect replacement for spring water. The performance of any such system could diminish over time. Still, the vast number of contaminants in the water that enters most homes underlines the value of an in-home system for the purification of water.
The availability of a purification system has the potential to put clean, pure and great tasting water in the drinking glass of everyone who resides in a home. Those residents can benefit from the advantages offered by a home water purification system. They can drink water that has passed through carbon filters with ion exchange and micron filtration.
The homeowner who has paid for that system can know that he or she is insuring delivery of safe water to each tap in the home.
Early Pregnancy Testing How do EPT Pregnancy Tests Work & Their Accuracy?
Early pregnancy tests, also known as EPT’s, look for a hormone present in the urine or blood called Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG). One myth is that you need to wait until your first missed period to begin testing. While that may be the case with many drugstore brands, more sensitive tests allow you to begin testing a handful of days before your missed period – at around 10 days past ovulation.
While pregnancy myths are always circulating throughout the grapevine, there are also pregnancy test myths. Some myths are fiction and some are based on actual facts.
Early pregnancy testing determines pregnancy through the detection of the hormone hCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) in a woman’s urine. hCG is secreted by the developing placenta shortly after a fertilized egg has implanted in the uterine lining. This makes hCG an excellent, reliable marker for discovering if you are pregnant. Pregnancy tests come in two common formats: tests strips and midstream tests. To use a pregnancy test strip, you fill a container with urine and hold the test strip in the container for several seconds. With midstream tests, you simply hold the test in your stream of urine. Please do read the early pregnancy test instructions carefully for accurate results.
While taking an early pregnancy test, a first morning urine sample will provide a more concentrated presence of hCG, allowing you to detect pregnancy sooner. However, if you flush the body with liquids before collecting a urine sample, it may dilute the presence of hCG, hence producing inaccurate results.
Interpreting early pregnancy test results is a very simple process. Once the reaction time of the test is complete, which is usually about five minutes, color bands will appear in the test region of the strip or midstream unit. All tests have a “control” band that indicates whether the test is working or not. The “test” band indicates a positive or negative result. Given proper testing and interpretation procedure, a faint line in the test region may be read as a positive result, though it’s a good idea to verify any result with an additional test 24-48 hours later, always using first morning urine.
Everyone always wonders how soon you can test to determine if you are pregnant or not. The most sensitive early pregnancy testing kits can detect hCG levels at as low as 20 mIU (International Units). This level of hCG is present in the urine of pregnant women at about 7 to 10 days past ovulation. If you are fertility charting with a basal thermometer, or using ovulation tests, you’ll know when to begin testing for pregnancy. Test sensitivity equates with early detection and the lower the number; the sooner a test can detect pregnancy. If pregnant, the amount of hCG in your system should be around 25 mIU at 10 dpo (days past ovulation), 50 mIU at 12 dpo, 100 mIU at around two weeks dpo. Early pregnancy testing kits are the most sensitive available, sensitive to 20 mIU/hCG. For earliest detection of pregnancy always use first morning urine, as this urine sample contains the most concentrated amount of hCG.
Kevin Trudeaus cures: The hype and the truth – Part 10
Kevin Trudeau as many of you will already know is an author, convicted felon, and promoter of dubious health products, that claims to be able to cure very nearly any condition through his all natural books and remedies. With titles such as ‘Natural Cures they don’t want you to know about’ and more recently ‘More Natural Cures Revealed: Previously Censored Brand Name Products That Cure Disease’ he has never been far away from the public eye, or controversy for that matter either.
And while there are limited portions of the books that are filled with herbal remedies that have some merit at least, his claims regarding knowing the cures for amongst a myriad of other diseases, AIDS, Cancer and Arthritis are certainly false. The bulk of the relevant knowledge in his books appears to have been taken from other herbal and alternative medicine books.
In fact if even a hundredth of his books were valid cures or treatments, he would be the single most important medical figure of the last century, rather then a convicted felon out to make money from the ill and infirm. His approach tends to be to claim miraculous cures and then when they don’t appear in his book he says he was threatened by the pharmaceuticals industry or some similar excuse.
His first encounter with the police came from running pyramid schemes in the early 90s, and has continued in earnest since then. So much so in fact that the infomercials he produced and appeared in towards the end of the 90s and up until 2004 landed him a $2 million dollar fine after a product he claimed cured cancer was unsurprisingly found out to be completely non beneficial in any way. He has also been given a life time ban on producing infomercials to promote his products, although sadly he is still allowed to promote his books in the same way.
If you will believe what he says then the reason that he cannot reveal all of the cures for terminal diseases that he knows, it is because the FDA has threatened him and that they want to keep people ill rather then cure them instantly because this makes them more money. Although this does all sound very convenient to me, and it makes me wonder why the FDA has not held back other important medical discoveries that have lead to cures in the past such as Chemotherapy or surgical procedures rather than perpetual medications.
Also a lot of people who buy his products tend to forget that he isn’t actually a doctor, nor has he ever had any kind of medical training of any sort.
Weight Loss 101: Eating on an Hcg Diet
“If you are interested in losing weight with HCG hormone therapy, it is important that you also follow a special diet as well. By combining a low calorie diet with your hormone therapy, you will be able to obtain the greatest benefits from this weight loss program.
Reducing Your Caloric Intake
In order to follow the HCG diet correctly, you will need to reduce your caloric intake to just 500 calories per day. Obviously, you would be able to lose weight with a 500 calorie diet even if you weren’t getting HCG hormone treatments. If you cut back to this many calories without the help of HCG, however, you will likely lose muscle as well as fat. Obviously, this isn’t healthy and will not result in a toned body.
HCG helps to prevent the loss of muscle as you reduce our caloric intake. In addition, HCG makes it easier for you to cut back to this many calories because it acts as an appetite suppressant. During the first few days of the program, you might experience mild hunger after reducing your food consumption. By the second week, however, most people find small servings of food to be quite satisfying. This is partially because the HCG helps to release calories from your stored fat and these calories then circulate throughout your body. In addition, your hypothalamus makes adjustments to your metabolic rate, which helps you feel full faster.
The Diet Plan
There have been some changes made to the basic diet plan recommended to those on the HCG diet, but the original diet plan is as follows:
• Eat nothing for breakfast. You may drink tea or coffee, but it cannot include sugar and you can only have up to one tablespoon full of milk within a 24 hour period. You may use Stevia or Saccharin.
• Lunch consists of 100 grams of either veal, chicken breast, beef, lobster, fresh white fish, shrimp, or crab. All fat must be removed before cooing the meat and it must be weighed while in its raw state. It must be cooked through grilling or boiling and without any added fat. This meat is to be accompanied by one vegetable. You can choose from the following vegetables:
o Asparagus
o Beet-greens
o Cabbage
o Celery
o Chard
o Chicory
o Cucumbers
o Fennel
o Green salad
o Onions
o Red radishes
o Spinach
o Tomatoes
Lunch also consists of one piece of Melba toast or one grissino breadstick as well as an orange, an apple, one half of a grapefruit, or a handful of strawberries.
• Dinner is the same as lunch, though you are encouraged to mix and match the meats, vegetables, and fruit you choose for each meal.
Other diet plans have been introduced since the original, namely those that revolve around eating all organic foods. Therefore, it would be a good idea to read about other diet plans in order to determine which one you think will be best for you.”
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