| 8 Signs You May Be Pregnant
Are you pregnant? The earliest way to know is through a blood test. However, some women notice symptoms even before they take a test. Although not conclusive, you should get tested if you notice these eight pregnancy signs.
How can you tell if you're pregnant? The earliest way to know for sure is through a blood test. Four days after fertilization, the egg begins to produce a hormone called hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), which can be detected in your blood and, a few days later, in a urine sample. However, some women notice symptoms even before they take a test.
Depression in women: Understanding the gender gap
About twice as many women as men experience depression. Hormones, work overload and sexual abuse are among the factors that may increase a woman's risk of depression. Family. Career. Coping with menstruation, pregnancy and menopause. As a woman, you certainly have plenty of issues to handle. But there's one more you might face someday: depression. Nearly twice as many women as men develop depression and related disorders at some point in their lives. A woman's unique biological, psychosocial and cultural factors may increase her risk of depression. Explore more about what lies behind this gender gap in depression. Biological factors affecting depression in women The female body itself may influence the development of depression. That's because hormones and related factors may alter mood through various stages of life.
Molecules In Blood Foretell Development Of Preeclampsia
High levels of two proteins in the blood of pregnant women appear to indicate the subsequent development of preeclampsia, a life-threatening complication of pregnancy, report a team of researchers from the National Institutes of Health and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. The proteins, which interfere with the growth and function of blood vessels, also signal the development of high blood pressure during pregnancy.
The findings appear in the September 7 New England Journal of Medicine.
"This finding appears to be an important step in developing a cure for preeclampsia," said Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., Director of the National Institutes of Health. "It may also provide the basis for predicting whether or not a woman will develop the disorder."
Preeclampsia is a leading cause of maternal death and often occurs without warning.
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