Conception

During the sexual intercourse sperms are deposited in the vagina. These sperm pass through the uterus and find their way into the uterine tubes. In the uterine tube the sperms penetrate the ova which results in the fusion of sperm with ova and produces fertilized ova.

After the fertilization the fertilized ovum continues its journey down the tube towards the uterus which takes about a week. It then becomes embedded in the wall of the uterus, which gives rise to the formation of an entirely new complete human being, and it is called the conception.

Symptoms of Conception

Following symptoms may be observed after the conception:

1. Stopping of mensuration.
2. Feeling of nausea up to the early months.
3. The breast becomes firm and enlarged.
4. The areola around the nipple becomes more deeply pigmented.
5. The glomerular filtration rate and the renal flow increases at the beginning of six to twelve weeks of conception.
6. Feeling of fetal movement after the fourth to fifth month of conception.

Hazards of Conception

1. If the age of mother is below eighteen years and above thirty five years.
2. Not having proper birth gap.
3. Chronic illness.
4. Mother suffering from venereal diseases and AIDS.
5. Mother suffering from malnutrition.
6. Maternal bossy weight is less than forty kg and the height shorter than 145 cm.

In the second stage the body is born. The baby is pushed out of the uterus and down the vagina, usually head first. The mother experiences sweating, vomiting and severe pain during this stage. As soon as, the baby is born and he/she starts breathing normally. The umbilical is clamped at two places and cut between the clamps.

The third stage of labor is considered the stage of discharge of placenta by powerful contraction of uterus. The placenta comes away from the wall of the uterus and passes out through the vagina. Genitals should be thoroughly cleaned after discharging placenta and mucus. The placenta should be buried.

Sex determination

Reproduction is brought by the activity of the male and female essential sex organs. The testis and ovaries, producing male and female sex cells, these are known as sperms and ova. The male sex cells- sperms deposited in the vagina during copulation, can survive about twenty four hours. The sperms are very long tail, which enable them to make their way towards the female cell, the ovum.The ovum is a female sex cell which s produced by the ovary every month after the menstruation. The ovum or ova have a life of about forty eight hours. The ova are received by the fallopian tube and pass towards the uterus. When a sperm meets an ovum and fuses with it, which normally takes place in the uterine tube, it is called the fertilization and a new cell is formed, which is the fertilized ovum. The fertilized ova receive twenty three chromosomes from each parent. It receives forty four ordinary chromosomes and two sex chromosomes. The sex chromosomes are x and y. The sperm carries the twenty two X chromosomes and one Y chromosomes, whereas the ovum contains twenty two ordinary chromosomes and X chromosomes. Thus forty four plus XY (the x from mother and y from father) produce male.

Pregnancy

The period after the conception to the birth of the baby is known as pregnancy period. The period of pregnancy is about 280 days. The possible date of delivery can be calculated by adding nine months seven days with the date of conception or the last menstruation. The hazards of pregnancy are given below:

1. If the age of mother is less than twenty and more than thirty five years.
2. If her weight is less than forty kg and height is less than 145 cm.
3. If she has already given many births.
4. If the birth spacing is narrower.
5. If the mother is infected or sick of chronic diseases.

Pregnancy is an important period. Special care is need at the time of pregnancy. Some implications for the care of a pregnant woman are given below:

• Cleanliness is a must. Care should be given in personal hygiene.
• The diet should be balanced. A pregnant woman should not eat more than in usual condition.
• Light physical exercise is beneficial.
• Frequent check- up should be followed.
• Heavy travel at the beginning of pregnancy and toward the time of delivery should be avoided.
• Immunization should be given on time.

Birth and Labour

After the completion of certain time period, the birth of the baby takes place. About after 280 days, the baby comes out of the vagina along with the placenta and mucus. The baby begins to press for its exit. This press is called as labour or the period from when the baby begins to press to come out up to the discharge of the cord and placenta is known as labour period.