Urine is tested for the presence of glucose and protein. Glucose in urine may be a sign of diabetes and should be evaluated further. The presence of protein could be caused by urinary tract infections, which can be treated by antibiotics; or, more seriously, by kidney disease seen in toxemia, a disease found in later pregnancy.

Your baby's sense of hearing develops by sixteen weeks into your pregnancy. Your baby can hear you and everything that goes on around you. If you speak to your baby every day, she'll get used to your voice. Other family members can talk to your baby too!

The dark line is called the linea nigra and is caused by increased amounts of melanocyte-stimulating hormone that your body makes when you’re pregnant. It will fade after the baby is born, but will not completely disappear.

Alpha fetoprotein, or AFP, is a substance produced by your baby's liver and is excreted through the placenta into your blood. You can have a blood test between 15 and 17 weeks of pregnancy to determine the amount of the substance present. A high amount could indicate that the baby has a neural tube defect such as spina bifida (open spine) or anencephaly (absence of the brain). The test can be positive 5% of the time and if it is, you'll be given further tests. A detailed sonogram (ultrasound) should be done to determine fetal age and another blood test may be taken. The score depends on the age of your baby.

A low amount of alpha fetoprotein may indicate Down's syndrome. This test however, will only detect about 20% of babies with Down's syndrome. A newer test, alpha fetoprotein 3, evaluates two additional hormones or enzymes. It detects up to 70% of Down's syndrome babies.

You can't, so save your money on all the creams and lotions that promise to prevent stretch marks. You can use lanolin and aloe, vitamin E oil, or vitamin E fortified lotions to help the itching and to ease the discomfort of the skin stretching. Stretch marks will usually fade to silver within a year after your baby is born.

The size of the uterus, measured in centimeters, corresponds roughly with the number of weeks you are pregnant. For example, if you are 32 weeks pregnant with a single baby, you should measure approximately 32 centimeters. Doing measurements each visit will determine the growth of your baby and whether or not he is growing well and within normal limits. A slow or too rapid growth can alert your provider to problems before they become emergencies. Further evaluations can then be made to determine your baby's well-being.

Absolutely. Seat belts do save lives. Place the lap belt across your thighs and the shoulder belt above your growing uterus. Placing the belts in this manner will protect your baby from trauma should you be involved in an accident.

Ultrasounds, which are also called sonograms, are done at various times and for various reasons during pregnancy. They are used to identify anatomic or developmental abnormalities, to check your baby's age, to assist in procedures such as amniocentesis, to locate the placenta, to confirm your baby's position near your due date, and to check how well your baby is doing. Your doctor may recommend that you have an ultrasound for one of these reasons. In some countries, ultrasounds are done routinely at 16-18 weeks and again at 32-34 weeks to check a baby's anatomy and well-being.

Ultrasound screenings are safe for you and your baby. If you are worried about the number of ultrasounds, you may ask your doctor not to perform one before ten weeks and to limit the number you have later in pregnancy.

Varicose veins are hereditary. They can occur in the lower legs, upper legs or vulva and are usually seen after twenty weeks of pregnancy. They occasionally occur before this time. Varicose veins are caused by dilation of the blood vessels in your lower extremities due to the progesterone induced relaxation of the vessel walls, increased fluid accumulation of pregnancy, and the increased weight of the uterus as the baby grows. If you have a family history of varicose veins, you can reduce the occurrence by keeping your legs elevated as much as possible during the day, wearing support stockings, avoiding stockings that are tight around the knees or upper thighs, avoiding standing as much as possible, and elevating the foot of your bed at night. Varicose veins will usually disappear after the pregnancy.

Yeast infections are very common in pregnancy. Your body produces more glucose to feed your baby. This changes the glucose content of your vagina. The change allows yeast to grow more easily than when you are not pregnant. Before using any over-the-counter preparations to treat your yeast infection, please check with your provider.

Water retention in pregnancy may cause your corneas to thicken. Visual changes such as blurred vision are not uncommon in pregnancy. This usually resolves as the pregnancy progresses. Contact lenses may not be comfortable and you may not be able to tolerate them while you are pregnant. You may need to wear your glasses. Most of the changes will revert back to normal after your pregnancy is over.

This is round ligament pain. The round ligaments are two structures, one on each side of the uterus, that attach the uterus to the pelvis. They grow along with your uterus as your pregnancy progresses. However, the round ligaments do not grow quite as fast. At about 20 weeks of pregnancy your abdominal muscles are more lax. This allows the uterus to be more mobile as you walk. The movement will stretch the round ligaments, causing pain on the sides of your lower abdomen. This is normal in pregnancy. It is not harmful to your baby - just uncomfortable to you.

Studies have shown that the risk of developing diabetes in pregnancy can be from 1 to 15%. 90% of pregnant diabetics are women who have developed the diabetes during their pregnancies. Babies of diabetic mothers are at a risk to develop: respiratory distress syndrome, which is a condition in which the baby needs help breathing; macrosomia, which is an abnormally large baby; hypoglycemia, which is low blood sugar; and hypocalcemia, which is low calcium, at birth. Since these conditions have the potential to be very serious and dangerous, all women are now screened for diabetes during pregnancy. A large percentage of women who do develop diabetes during pregnancy have no family history or risk factors such as obesity.

To screen for diabetes, a 50 gram glucose drink is given and then blood is taken and tested an hour later. If the results are higher than normal, a three hour test is then given. Approximately 15% of women who have an abnormal screening test will actually have gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes can usually be controlled by diet. Occasionally insulin is required to control sugar levels.