Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea. For example, you may feel a slight nausea or end up vomiting.
Pregnant individuals often feel sick particularly in the morning, but vomiting can happen at any time of the day. Eating a small breakfast before getting up and generally eating small meals frequently throughout the day can help with the nausea. Rest, cold beverages and citrus fruits can also help.
Your doctor may recommend an anti-nausea medicine if necessary.
Usually, the nausea eases up by the 16th week of pregnancy. For a small number of pregnant individuals, the nausea lasts until the end of pregnancy.
Pregnancy sickness and vomiting will not harm the foetus, increase the risk of premature birth or cause stunted foetal growth. For the expectant individual, however, the nausea can be difficult. Seek treatment if your general condition deteriorates, you lose weight or you keep vomiting everything that you eat and drink.
When you are pregnant, your need for iron increases. During pregnancy, it is normal for your haemoglobin level to decrease. This decrease happens because your blood becomes diluted as the amount of plasma without red blood cells increases more than the amount of red blood cells.
We will monitor your blood haemoglobin at the maternity and child health clinic and give you advice on the right iron supplement for your needs. Pharmacies sell iron supplements without a prescription.
You can maintain the iron stores of your blood by having a varied diet, even before pregnancy. Examples of good sources of iron include wholegrain products and meat. Dairy products impair iron absorption. If you have been recommended an iron supplement, take it at a different time from dairy products or calcium supplements.
Miscarriage means an interruption of pregnancy before the 22nd pregnancy week. Miscarriages are common: around 15% of pregnancies end in miscarriage. Most miscarriages occur before the 13th week of pregnancy.
The most common cause for miscarriage is a chromosomal abnormality in the foetus. In most cases, the miscarriage starts with a bloody discharge that gradually gets heavier. Minor bleeding can also occur in the early stages of pregnancy without it being caused by a miscarriage.
Remember that you cannot cause a miscarriage yourself and that once a miscarriage has started, it cannot be stopped by medical means.
After a single miscarriage, the next pregnancy is likely to progress normally.
Contact your health station or the Women’s Hospital emergency services if you suspect a miscarriage and you have heavy bleeding, severe pain or fever and your general condition is getting worse.
Miscarriage is often a psychologically stressful experience that causes a wide range of emotions that can affect you and your family for a long time. Talking to people close to you can help you deal with the emotions caused by miscarriage.
If necessary, seek conversational help from a professional. For example, you can contact your health station or maternity and child health clinic. Do not be alone with your feelings.
Pregnancy Loss Association (Tähti ry)(Link leads to external service)
Gestational diabetes is a disruption in the body’s sugar metabolism that occurs for the first time during pregnancy.
In gestational diabetes, the mother’s insulin production cannot cover the increased need during the pregnancy. Because of this, the mother’s blood sugar increases and the foetus may grow larger than normal.
A two-hour glucose tolerance test is used to detect gestational diabetes.
Risk factors for gestational diabetes include:
- being overweight
- diabetic family history
- being over 40 years of age
- having previously given birth to a baby weighing over 4.5 kg
- having a history of gestational diabetes
- sugar in the morning urine
- polycystic ovary syndrome (PCO).
If you are diagnosed with gestational diabetes, you will be given advice on the right diet and exercise to help you keep your blood sugar levels in balance during pregnancy. You will also be provided with equipment to measure your blood sugar regularly at home. In some cases, you may also be treated with medication.
After your baby is born, your blood sugar levels will be monitored at the maternity hospital. After giving birth, you will undergo a new glucose tolerance test.
Multiple pregnancy often comes as a surprise to the family. Twins are born into only about six hundred families in Finland per year. Fewer than ten triplets are born each year in Finland.
If you are expecting twins or triplets, we will talk with you and your partner at the maternity and child health clinic about your family’s individual support needs, starting during pregnancy.
At the maternity and child health clinic, we also offer multi-pregnant individuals an opportunity to take part in a breastfeeding counselling group during pregnancy, where we talk about breastfeeding and preparing for breastfeeding multiple babies. In the group, you will also meet other multi-pregnant people in Helsinki.
In addition to the maternity and child health clinic, we always monitor multiple pregnancies at the maternity hospital. The hospital staff will plan your twin birth together with your family.
Roughly half of twins are born at full term and half before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Around half of twins are born vaginally and half by caesarean section.
The dilation stage of labour is treated the same way as in any other birthing process. During the pushing phase, there will be more nursing staff present than for an ordinary delivery. We also provide home services for families with children for multiple-birth families.
Find out more about Home services for families with children
Sometimes an upcoming child can be diagnosed with an illness, disability or other special care needs based on a foetal examination during pregnancy.
Along with the diagnosis, you will receive first information from health care professionals about your child’s special needs during your pregnancy.
The first information often includes aspects such as:
- Medical information: You will receive information about the impact or prognosis of your child’s special needs.
- Rehabilitation: You will receive information about rehabilitation options to support your child’s wellbeing.
- Forms of support: You will receive information about forms of support that will make your family’s everyday life easier.
- Services provided by organisations: You will receive information about organisations and associations that offer peer support, advice, training and various events.
Read more on "First information on a child’s special needs"
Explore the ‘Infancy and childhood’ section of our website of Disability Services
