Pregnancy

Learn more about pregnancy, labour, birth and early parenthood up to 8 weeks

You can carry out a pregnancy test from the first day after a missed period. Pregnancy tests work by detecting a pregnancy hormone called hormone chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) in your urine. You can do a test at any time of the day or night. A positive pregnancy test is almost certainly correct but a negative test is less reliable.

Different pregnancy test kits work differently so it is important to follow the instructions for your particular kit carefully. If your period doesn’t arrive and you think you may still be pregnant then wait a week and repeat the test or go to your GP or sexual health clinic for advice.  (For your local clinic go the Services section of this website or to make an appointment phone 0300 303 0251, line open: Mon – Thurs: 8am–4:45pm and Fri: 8am–3:45pm). Pregnancy testing can be carried out at all sexual health clinics, including young people clinics.

The length of your pregnancy is normally calculated from the first day of your last period and lasts on average 40 weeks. As part of your antenatal care, you will be offered a dating ultrasound to work out your correct due date. Once you know you are pregnant it is recommended that you make an appointment with your local community midwife as soon as possible to begin your ante-natal care.

If you are planning for a baby, you and your partner can maximise your chances of conceiving and having a healthy pregnancy and labour by looking after your pre-conception health in a number of ways, including:

• Having sex: It may sound obvious, but regular sex increases your chance of falling pregnant. It is recommended to have sexual intercourse every 2-3 days, especially around the fertile period of the month, starting around day 10 of your cycle. There is no need for temperature measurements or the use of ovulation testing kits. After 12 months of trying 80% of couples will achieve a pregnancy.
• Take a folic acid supplement: Folic acid is an important B vitamin that’s been shown to prevent neural tube defects (NTD) such as spina bifida. It’s recommended that you start taking a supplement before you start trying to get pregnant as NTDs occur in early pregnancy. Some women on certain medication need to take an increased dose of folic acid.  Discuss this with your doctor or nurse.
• Stopping smoking: Whether you’ve just found out you’re expecting or further along in your pregnancy journey, NHS Lanarkshire’s Quit Your Way team will support you to quit smoking. Stopping smoking is one of the most important things you can do to improve your baby’s heath, growth and development and it is also the single most important thing that you can do to improve your own long-term health. Quit Your Way provides specialist support and advice for pregnant women who are ready to quit smoking, and you’re twice as likely to stop smoking successfully with the right support from the NHS. You can contact Quit Your Way for free; call 0800 84 84 84 or visit quityourway.scot for more information and to chat online with an advisor. Helpline and chat are available Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm.
• Limiting alcohol intake: Heavy drinking may affect sperm quality and make a successful pregnancy less likely. Binge drinking in pregnancy can affect the brain development of the fetus; women are advised not to drink alcohol when pregnant.
• Be a healthy weight: Being a healthy weight helps conception and makes pregnancy safer for you. While being underweight can make you less fertile, being overweight (BMI above 25) reduces fertility, increases miscarriage risk and the risk of fetal abnormalities. If you are seriously overweight and wish to become pregnant, speak to your doctor.
• Take regular exercise: This will reduce stress and increase your overall fitness. If you are overweight losing weight will increase the chances of conceiving. Conversely, too much exercise combined with low weight does reduce the chance of conception.
• Keep stress to a minimum: Stress can cause hormonal changes in the body, which can also lead to fertility problems.
• Consider a sexual health screen if you or your partner haven’t had one since you started to see each other.

A woman who has a regular monthly menstrual cycle will probably suspect she is pregnant if she misses a period. Other common signs may include:

• Sickness/feeling nauseated which can happen at any time of the day
• Breast tenderness/enlargement
• Needing to go to the toilet more frequently to pee (urinate)
• Increased vaginal discharge without any soreness or irritation
• Feeling unusually tired
• A strange taste in your mouth which some describe as metallic