Pregnancy Resources

Trying to figure out if you're pregnant or not can be a stressful time, whether you are happy about the pregnancy or not. On this page you will find:

 1. Information about the pregnancy and the development of your baby during pregnancy

 2. Resources for moms who want to raise their baby but don't have the support they need

 3. Information about labor  
Here are a few symptoms you might have if you are. You should know: stress and anxiety about a possible pregnancy will often delay your period, even though you are not actually pregnant. 

So do this:
     -Read the symptoms below and be realistic if you can
     -Think about who can support you during this time
     -Check out the support sites and hotlines listed below
     -You are going to be ok. Everything is going to be ok.

Classic symptoms of pregnancy 

In addition to a missed period, the earliest symptoms of pregnancy might include:
  • Nausea with or without vomiting. Morning sickness, which can strike at any time of the day or night, sometimes begins as early as three weeks after conception. Nausea seems to stem at least in part from rapidly rising levels of estrogen and progesterone, which cause the stomach to empty more slowly. Pregnant women also have a heightened sense of smell, so various odors — such as foods cooking, perfume or cigarette smoke — might cause waves of nausea in early pregnancy.
  • Tender, swollen breasts. Your breasts might provide one of the first symptoms of pregnancy. As early as two to three weeks after conception, hormonal changes might make your breasts tender, tingly or sore. Or your breasts might feel fuller and heavier.
  • Increased urination. You might find yourself urinating more often than usual, especially at night.
  • Fatigue. Fatigue also ranks high among early symptoms of pregnancy. During early pregnancy, levels of the hormone progesterone soar — which can put you to sleep. At the same time, lower blood sugar levels, lower blood pressure and increased blood production might team up to sap your energy.
  • Food aversions or cravings. When you're pregnant, you might find yourself turning up your nose at certain foods, such as coffee or fried foods. Food cravings are common, too. Like most other symptoms of pregnancy, these food preferences can be chalked up to hormonal changes — especially in the first trimester, when hormonal changes are the most dramatic.

Other symptoms of pregnancy

Sometimes symptoms of pregnancy are less familiar or obvious. If you're pregnant, you might experience:
  • Slight bleeding or cramping. Sometimes a small amount of spotting or vaginal bleeding is one of the first symptoms of pregnancy. Known as implantation bleeding, it happens when the fertilized egg attaches to the lining of the uterus — about 10 to 14 days after fertilization. This type of bleeding is usually a bit earlier, spottier and lighter in color than a normal period and doesn't last as long. Some women also experience abdominal cramping — similar to menstrual cramping — early in pregnancy.
  • Mood swings. The flood of hormones in your body in early pregnancy can make you unusually emotional and weepy. Mood swings also are common, especially in the first trimester.
  • Dizziness. As your blood vessels dilate and your blood pressure drops, you might feel lightheaded or dizzy. Early in pregnancy, faintness also can be triggered by low blood sugar.
  • Constipation. An increase in progesterone causes food to pass more slowly through the intestines, which can lead to constipation early in pregnancy. Constipation can be aggravated by prenatal vitamins containing iron.

Development of your baby during pregnancy
Your little one at 8 weeks: 


A heartbeat and fingernails, already looking like a baby. Incredible, isn't it?
Want to learn more about the stages of development? Check out a Woman's Right to Know. 



Resources for Your Options: Keeping Baby, Finding an Adoptive Family or Abortion
If your pregnancy is unplanned, be sure to look at all of your options. If it's possible, every woman who gets pregnant wants to care for her child herself. Sometimes this is not the best option. Pregnancy can be an intense time for women as they decide their own future and the future of their child, so it's best to get counsel and learn as much as you can so you can make your best choice. 

Support for birth and raising your baby 
Contact Birthright at 800-550-4900
Contact Advice and Aid Pregnancy Center at:866-959-5068

Pregnancy Resource Centers in Kansas listing

Helpful labor information
What to reject when you're expecting: medical interventions that aren't always helpful
What a Home Birth Looks Like: intimately beautiful portraits of a home delivery
Find a Doula (for labor support)
Find a Midwife (national/United States)
Find a Midwife (in Kansas)

Fetal Development and Abortion
Woman's Right to Know
Information about the abortion procedure



Adoption
See the Adoption page for more information
If you're looking into private or state adoption, trying to place your own baby for adoption or making decisions about abortion, adoption or raising baby yourself, I hope you'll find this little catalog of resources helpful.

Private Adoption 

Adoption Funding Aid

Adoption blogs

 Thoughts on children and the miracle of adoption.

I love the root meaning of adoption. I think this is exactly what Father God had in mind.
Adoption: mid-14c., from O.Fr. adopcion or directly from L. adoptionem (nom. adoptio), noun of action from pp. stem of adoptare "chose for oneself, take by choice, select, adopt," especially "to take into a family, adopt as a child," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + optare "choose, wish, desire" (see option).

To choose or select, to take by choice...choose, wish, desire. How it works when Father God brings us in. We were all orphans and He brought us into His family. "God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing..." Psalm 68:6. What a Good Good Father!

"My friends, adoption is redemption. It’s costly, exhausting, expensive, and outrageous. Buying back lives costs so much. When God set out to redeem us, it killed Him. And when He redeems us, we can’t even really appreciate or comprehend it, just like Dimitri will never comprehend or fully appreciate what is about to happen to him … but … he will live in the fruit of it. As his Daddy, I will never expect him to understand all of this or even to thank me. I just want to watch him live in the benefits of my love and experience the joys of being an heir in my family. This is how our heavenly “Papa” feels towards us. Today, settle your busy heart down and rest in the benefits of redemption. Enjoy the fruits of His goodness, and stop trying to “pay Him back”. You’ll never get close you goofy little kid."
- Derek Loux

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