Learning Outcomes

When you have studied this session, you should be able to:

• Describe physiological changes in the female reproductive system during pregnancy and the consequences of these changes for the pregnant woman.
• Describe the average changes in the pregnant woman's body weight. 
• Discuss changes in the cardiovascular system during pregnancy, and the effects on blood pressure, cardiac output, blood volume and red blood cell concentration. 
• Recognise normal and abnormal changes in the pregnant woman's respiration, digestion, urinary system, skin and breasts, including the production of colostrum.