Not Your Average Pregnancy Trivia Quiz

Answer: hysterosalpingogram

A hysterosalpingogram (HSG) test is when a special dye is injected into the woman's uterus. X-rays are then performed to follow the dye's path in the woman's uterus and through her fallopian tubes. If the tubes are clear (meaning there are no impediments for eggs to travel from the ovary to the uterus), the doctor should be able to see the dye going through a clear path.

This is one test that should generally be performed on any woman who is having difficulty conceiving. Don't forget, just because one problem is found doesn't mean there can't be more problems.

Answer: minor surgery

A blood test can be used to determine if the male is producing the correct hormones in the correct amounts.

A semen analysis can determine if sperm is present in the semen. However, if no sperm are present, this doesn't necessarily mean the man produces no sperm.

During minor surgery, which an urologist performs, the doctor goes into the testicle to determine if sperm are being produced. Sometimes a man will be able to produce sperm, but because of problems with the vas deferens (which the sperm travel through) there are no sperm present in the semen.

Answer: Ovidrel

Clomid and FSH are used to get the eggs to grow while in the ovary. Gonal-F is used to make the ovaries produce more eggs, thus raising the chance of the woman producing enough eggs to fertilize (or for retrieval).

Ovidrel is an injection given to the woman to make the woman ovulate. Frequently, sonograms are done around the day of the injection to determine the optimum time for the injection.

Answer: Rh-

O- negative means the woman has Rh- blood. If her baby had an Rh+, she could become sensitized and have difficult future pregnancies unless she has the Rhogam shot, which prevents sensitization. To ensure a woman's baby is Rh-, she should make sure the sperm is from a man who is Rh-, because Rh+ is dominant and Rh- is recessive. Before the advent of the Rhogam shot, many women had miscarriages because their bodies rejected the fetus. The Rhogam shot is like an allergy shot for the blood!

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common virus that you could have without showing any symptoms.

Answer: False

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a procedure where the woman is injected with drugs to make her produce a lot of eggs. The eggs are harvested and, in a lab, injected with sperm to produce fertilized eggs. These fertilized eggs are then implanted in the woman's uterus. There are many risks for the woman - because her ovaries are being stimulated, the ovaries enlarge which can cause problems. Then there are the two minor surgical procedures when the eggs are extracted and the embryos are implanted, both of which also carry risks.

Intra-uterine insemination (IUI) is almost entirely risk-free as it basically mimics what would happen during a natural insemination between a man and a woman. In IUI, a catheter is threaded into the woman's uterus and the sperm are injected. This is timed with ovulation to hopefully have the sperm fertilize the egg. The only risks to the mother are possible infection (which isn't really a worry if performed using sterile instruments in a medical setting). Sometimes women use medication to produce more eggs and to ovulate, but these aren't required and the medicines used to produce eggs aren't as strong as those used for IVF as IUI only requires one egg while IVF requires many.

Answer: It could make a false positive

Over the counter pregnancy tests can be bought for as little as $1 in the United States and cannot harm the fetus as all they require is some of the woman's urine.

Because progesterone is the drug that is used to maintain a pregnancy, it could make a false positive in an over the counter pregnancy tests. A woman taking a progesterone (usually to prevent miscarriage) should rely on the blood test if she wants to be sure she is pregnant. Sometimes fertility clinics will advise patients that if they really want to use an at home pregnancy test, to test the morning of their blood test.

Answer: It could cause a miscarriage if untreated

Hypothyroidism means that the thyroid gland is not producing enough. Generally, all that is required is for the woman to take a pill once a day to boost her thyroid levels. However, if left untreated, the woman could suffer a miscarriage or other complications such as preterm labor.

Because the symptoms of hypothyroidism are similar to those of early pregnancy (such as weight gain and fatigue), it is difficult to identify unless you have a blood test done.

Because the medication is just the same thing as your body would produce, it doesn't cause birth defects.

Hypothyroidism isn't contagious and can't be caused by a poor diet. For example, because I have hypothyroidism caused by Hashimoto's Disease (essentially, my immune system is attacking my thyroid), my daughter has a 1 in 4 chance of also developing the same problem.

Answer: It could indicate the placenta is no longer functioning properly

Toward the very end of pregnancy, sometimes the placenta decides to 'check out' and stop working as well as it had throughout the pregnancy. If a baby begins measuring small, it could indicate that the baby isn't getting enough nutrients from the placenta. If this happens and the baby is at term or close to being at term, the baby may be delivered as we can provide the baby with more nutrition in the real world than in the mother.

Answer: If she waits too long, the baby may be at risk for infection

The baby lives in the amniotic sac and this protects the baby from the outside world. If the water breaks and the woman does not deliver within a certain period of time (typically around 24 hours), doctors become worried that the baby could develop an infection and prefer to deliver the baby. If contractions do not begin soon enough, the woman may have her labor induced to deliver the baby and prevent infections.

There is no need for a doctor to break the woman's water unless she isn't progressing and her water hasn't broken (it has to break at some point!).

Where the woman is located (smooth surface, carpet...) doesn't matter if she has contractions or not, beyond the woman being in pain.

Doctors can still test if the woman's water has broken - there are swabs that can be taken to test for the presence of amniotic fluid.

Answer: Pitocin

Ovidrel is a medication given to induce ovulation.

Prometrium is a progesterone that can be taken to prevent miscarriage.

Synthroid is a medication given to those with hypothyroidism.

Pitocin is a medication given to induce or speed up labor. This makes the contractions begin and become harder. Some women claim that being induced makes the contractions hurt more. I didn't have any contractions at all until they gave me the pitocin as an IV drip!