Patients can turn to an obstetrician both to supervise a normal pregnancy that has already begun, and when planning it. In this case, there may be no symptoms at all, or these will be normal signs of pregnancy (hyperpigmentation and enlargement of the nipples, swelling of the mammary glands, etc.).
However, pregnancy can cause the development of pathologies directly associated with it, as well as exacerbations of chronic diseases that were previously noted in the patient. In such cases, she is recommended to regularly monitor the obstetrician in order to timely diagnose the causes of these conditions and take the necessary measures to eliminate them. The frequency of visits is determined by the doctor based on the patient's health condition.
If necessary, he can send a pregnant woman for a consultation with a specialist in the competence of which is the alleged disease.
A delay in menstruation with the onset of pregnancy develops due to the fact that first the corpus luteum, and then partially and the placenta (fetal place), begin to secrete a hormone called progesterone.
An excess of this hormone promotes the growth of the endometrium (the inner layer of the uterus), thus promoting strong attachment of the placenta and at the same time preventing the development of miscarriage.
Through a complex mechanism, progesterone blocks estrogen, preventing the development of the next phase of the uterine cycle, which, in fact, is manifested by menstrual flow.
The reason for these changes is also a high concentration of progesterone, which accelerates the growth of the ductal epithelium of the mammary glands and the acini themselves (the smallest independent structural and functional unit of the mammary gland), against the background of a normal level of estrogen.
In addition, progesterone blocks prolactin, a pituitary hormone responsible for the onset of lactation. That is why milk from the mammary glands is normally released only after childbirth or at the very end of pregnancy.
Increased concentrations of progesterone, as well as some biologically active substances synthesized by the placenta, lead to an increase in the areola (areola), and also stimulate the secretion of melanotropin, a pituitary hormone responsible for the degree of pigmentation of the skin.