When you think you are pregnant and go to the doctors and they press on your tummy and then confirm you are pregnant, what is that they are feeling for? Obviously the baby will be the size of a pea so they wouldnt be able to feel that.
2006-09-04 22:16:48 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Pregnancy
I beleive that your uterus would be larger than normal. Fair enough the baby is probably the size of a pea, but the amniotic fluid around it can make your uterus swell (hence baby bumps!!)
2006-09-04 22:21:24 · answer #1 · answered by stephaniehudson50 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
feeling the tummy to confirm pregnancy can only happen once you are past 12 weeks. you are right in saying the baby is still small at this stage, but they arent feeling your baby - they are feeling if your uterous has risen above your pelvic bone, which happens around the 12th week. you cannot feel this yourself as once you move your arms to get your hands in possition you will have tensed your tummy muscles.
before that stage you will have to rely on a home-pregnancy-test which can detect the amount of pregnancy hormone in your urine once it has risen above a certian level - it reaches that level from the day you miss a period, or you can sit & wonder about possible symptoms. 12 weeks is also the average time that they can hear the babys heartbeat, scans are also avaliable, but not usually to simply confirm a pregnancy. early scans - before 12 weeks - are generally done if there is a problem & as baby is so small they will find it easier to scan through a device via the vagina, but later on it will be through the tummy.
i hope this helped.
2006-09-05 06:12:52 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Doctors can confirm your pregnancy by a hormone called beta HCG in your unrine.
The reason they press on your abdomen is to make sure you don't have any abnormal tenderness.
The hieight of your fundud (womb) isn't measured until later on in the pregnancy.
Extrenal ultrasound is used to pick up a foetal heartbeat after at least 12-24 weeks. Before then only internal scans can show this.
2006-09-05 06:01:39 · answer #3 · answered by andyp2904 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they are feeling for tenderness and believe it or not they can actually tell when you are pregnant by feeling your tummy as your womb etc changes shape when you are pregnant - even if you are only a few weeks. most of the time tho they do an internal exam while pressing on your tummy as it is meant to be easier to tell x
2006-09-05 06:19:20 · answer #4 · answered by Lady Ash 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They don't but they look silly pressing your head. They cannot confirm that you are pregnant by pressing your tummy, this is not possible unless of course you are far enough along to see and feel it.
2006-09-05 05:24:25 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i believe it down to the uterus swelling but you cant always go off that i was 12 weeks pregnant when my doctor said he doubted i was pregnant and if i was i would only be about 4-5 weeks it was only an ultrasound that said otherwise
2006-09-06 18:17:29 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The uterus is enlarged. Of course this is not a foolprrof way of confirming that you are rpegnancy, he will most probably take a urine sample to have it checked.
2006-09-05 05:25:40 · answer #7 · answered by London Girl 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What the doc is looking for is a softer than normal uterus and if you are far enough along to see if it has raised above the pelvic bone.
2006-09-09 10:10:01 · answer #8 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are looking for your fundus height! This only expands when your pregnant. .. this is normally accomplished at the same time of you having an internal examination
2006-09-05 05:22:22 · answer #9 · answered by silverthorn73 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are feeling the size/height of your uterus. It begins expanding right away. They will continue to feel it throughout your preganncy to be sure everything is growing right.
2006-09-11 12:47:52 · answer #10 · answered by priss879 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋