Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can cause significant complications during recovery from anesthesia. For this reason, it's important to tell your anesthesiologist that you have OSA before surgery so that he or she can take precautions to minimize the risks.
Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the muscles in the back of your throat relax during sleep. When these muscles relax, your airway narrows or closes as you breathe in and your breathing is momentarily interrupted. This may reduce the amount of oxygen supplied to your brain. Your brain senses that you've stopped breathing and briefly rouses you from sleep so that you can reopen your airway.
General anesthesia can impair the function of airway muscles, resulting in more frequent episodes of interrupted breathing. In addition, residual effects from sedating pain medications and anesthesia make it harder for you to wake up and take a breath.
For these reasons, you may be monitored for a longer period after surgery than someone who doesn't have obstructive sleep apnea. Many people with OSA require assisted breathing (mechanical ventilation) until fully awake. If you have been prescribed a device that provides continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), make sure you bring it with you. The CPAP device can be used in the recovery room to help you to keep breathing normally.
When you return home after surgery, it's a good idea to arrange for someone to be with you during the initial period when you are recovering from anesthesia and surgery. If this person observes that you're having trouble breathing, he or she should wake you — or if that isn't effective, seek emergency medical help.
It may seem strange, but you're not actually pregnant the first week or two of the time allotted to your pregnancy. Yes, you read that correctly!
Conception typically occurs about two weeks after your period begins. To calculate your due date, your health care provider will count ahead 40 weeks from the start of your last period. This means your period is counted as part of your pregnancy — even though you weren't pregnant at the time.
The sperm and egg unite in one of your fallopian tubes to form a one-celled entity called a zygote. If more than one egg is released and fertilized, you may have multiple zygotes.
The zygote has 46 chromosomes — 23 from you and 23 from your partner. These chromosomes contain genetic material that will determine your baby's sex and traits such as eye color, hair color, height, facial features and — at least to some extent — intelligence and personality.
Soon after fertilization, the zygote travels down the fallopian tube toward the uterus. At the same time, it will begin dividing rapidly to form a cluster of cells resembling a tiny raspberry. The inner group of cells will become the embryo. The outer group of cells will become the membranes that nourish and protect it.
At week five, your baby is 1/17 of an inch long — about the size of the tip of a pen.
This week, your baby's heart and circulatory system are taking shape. Your baby's blood vessels will complete a circuit, and his or her heart will begin to beat. Although you won't be able to hear it yet, the motion of your baby's beating heart may be detected with an ultrasound exam.
With these changes, blood circulation begins — making the circulatory system the first functioning organ system.
Growth is rapid this week. Just four weeks after conception, your baby is about 1/8 of an inch long. The neural tube along your baby's back is now closed, and your baby's heart is beating with a regular rhythm.
Basic facial features will begin to appear, including an opening for the mouth and passageways that will make up the inner ear. The digestive and respiratory systems begin to form as well.
Small blocks of tissue that will form your baby's connective tissue, ribs and muscles are developing along your baby's midline. Small buds will soon grow into arms and legs.
Your baby is now nearly 1 inch long and weighs a bit less than 1/8 of an ounce. The embryonic tail at the bottom of your baby's spinal cord is shrinking, helping him or her look less like a tadpole and more like a developing person.
Your baby's head — which is nearly half the size of his or her entire body — is now tucked down onto the chest. Nipples and hair follicles begin to form. Your baby's pancreas, bile ducts, gallbladder and anus are in place. The internal reproductive organs, such as testes or ovaries, start to develop.
Your baby may begin moving this week, but you won't be able to feel it for quite a while yet.
By now, your baby's vital organs have a solid foundation. The embryonic tail has disappeared completely, and your baby has fully separated fingers and toes. The bones of your baby's skeleton begin to form.
This week, your baby's brain will produce almost 250,000 new neurons every minute.
Your baby's eyelids are no longer transparent. The outer ears are starting to assume their final form, and tooth buds are forming as well. If your baby is a boy, his testes will start producing the male hormone testosterone.
Twelve weeks into your pregnancy, your baby is nearly 3 inches long and weighs about 4/5 of an ounce. Your baby's head is nearly half the size of his or her entire body.
This week marks the arrival of fingernails and toenails. Your baby's chin and nose will become more refined as well.
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