What to expect when you're expecting by Heidi Murkoff, Sharon Mazel Read Free Book Online Page A

some reason it never completes implantation. Instead of turning into a viable pregnancy, it ends in a period. Though experts estimate that up to 70 percent of all conceptions are chemical, the vast majority of women who experience one don’t even realize they’ve conceived (certainly in the days before home pregnancy tests, women didn’t have a clue they were pregnant until much later). Often, a very early positive pregnancy test and then a late period (a few days to a week late) are the only signs of a chemical pregnancy, so if there’s a downside to early home pregnancy testing, you’ve definitely experienced it.
    Medically, a chemical pregnancy is more like a cycle in which a pregnancy never occurred than a true miscarriage. Emotionally, for women like you who tested early and got a positive result, it can be a very different story. Though it’s not technically a pregnancy loss, the loss of the promise of a pregnancy can also be upsetting for both you and your spouse. Reading the information on coping with a pregnancy loss on page 576 can help you with your emotions. And keep in mind the fact that conception did occur once for you means that it’ll more than likely occur again soon, and with the happier end result of a healthy pregnancy.
----
    If You’re Not Pregnant …

    If your pregnancy test is negative this time, but you’d very much like to become pregnant soon, start making the most of the preconception period by taking the steps outlined in Chapter 1 . Good preconception preparation will help ensure the best possible pregnancy outcome when you do conceive.
----
A Negative Result

    “I feel as if I’m pregnant, but the three tests I took came back negative. What should I do?”
    If you’re experiencing the symptoms of early pregnancy and feel, test or no test—or even three tests—that you’re pregnant, act as though you are (by taking prenatal vitamins, avoiding alcoholic beverages, quitting smoking, eating well, and so on. until you find out definitely otherwise. Pregnancy tests aren’t infallible, especially when they’re taken very early. You may well know your own body better than a pee-on-a-stick test does. To find out if your hunch is more accurate than the tests, wait a week and then try again—your pregnancy might just be too early to call. Or ask your practitioner for a blood test, which is more sensitive to hCG than a urine test is.
    It is possible, of course, to experience all of the signs and symptoms of early pregnancy and not be pregnant. After all, none of them alone—or even in combination—is absolute proof positive of pregnancy. If the tests continue to be negative but you still haven’t gotten your period, be sure to check with your practitioner to rule out other biological causes of your symptoms. If those are ruled out as well, it’s possible that your symptoms may have emotional roots. Sometimes, the mind can have a surprisingly powerful influence on the body, even generating pregnancy symptoms when there’s no pregnancy, just a strong yearning for one (or fear of one).
----
    Testing Smart

    The home pregnancy test is probably the simplest test you’ll ever take (you won’t have to study for it—but you should read the package directions and follow them to get the most accurate results). The following tips may seem obvious, but in the excitement of the moment (Will I be? Won’t I be?), you might forget a couple of things:
Depending on the brand, you’ll either hold the test stick in your stream of urine for a few seconds or collect your urine in a cup and then dip the stick into it. Most tests prefer you use midstream urine because there’s less chance of contamination that way: Urinate for a second or two, stop, hold it, and then put either the stick or the cup in position to catch the rest of the stream.
If you’ll need to wait for the results, place the sample on a flat surface away from heat and in a place where it won’t be disturbed. Read the test after the