Hello, I'm Mrs. O'Neill, and thank you so much for joining me today.

This unit is all about intimate relationships with a focus on pregnancy and parenting.

So let's begin today's lesson all about pregnancy signs and testing.

Do remember that this lesson covers aspects of sex education and that might be a sensitive topic to you, and we recommend checking with a trusted adult before starting or doing the lesson with a trusted adult nearby.

You're going to need today an exercise book or a piece of paper, so something to write on, and a pen, or even a pencil, something to write with.

Our agenda for today's lesson is as follows.

Hopefully you've already completed today's introduction quiz.

If you haven't, just pause the video and go back now to complete that to really set the scene for the learning ahead.

Our first new knowledge that we're going to cover is looking at the possible signs and symptoms of pregnancy.

We're then going to look at what happens when you take a pregnancy test.

We're going to look at support in early pregnancy, and we're then going to complete our exit quiz, which I'll direct you to at the end of the video.

So our key words for today's lesson.

First of all, the term pregnancy.

Probably a word that you've already familiar with.

It describes a period of time when a biological female has an unborn baby growing in the uterus.

Well, so if we're going to use the more scientific terms for unborn baby, we might use embryo or foetus.

Those words describe the unborn baby in the very early stages, which is embryo, and the later stages, which is a foetus.

We'll also mention something called a false negative, which is when a pregnancy test doesn't recognise the pregnancy hormone in the urine that it's testing.

So therefore a false negative, not pregnant result might show from the pregnancy test, and that can happen very early on, and we'll talk about that later on in today's lesson.

So we're going to get straight on with a task today.

I want us to just really be clear on what those key terms mean.

So what I'm going to ask you to do is to correctly identify which image, and you can use the letter when you write this down, which image matches which key terms. At the moment, they're jumbled up on the screen.

So you're going to pause the video.

You're going to write down the letter and the key term that match, and do that for all five key terms, please.

Please pause the video and press play when you're ready to resume, thank you.

Wonderful, thank you for rejoining me.

Hopefully you've had time to complete this task.

We're going to now look at the answers.

So first of all, image A, pregnancy.

Clearly the person in that image is in the later stages of pregnancy.

B, there we have a foetus.

We've described the unborn baby in a more scientific term, and that's in the later stages of pregnancy.

From a few weeks into the pregnancy, it would be referred to as a foetus.

The uterus, the uterus is, and that's the area in the centre of that image.

It's also known as the womb, and that's where a foetus will grow into what later may become a born baby.

An embryo, so an embryo is in the very, very early stages of a pregnancy.

The scientific term for the unborn baby within the uterus is an embryo, and that soon, just within a very short amount of time, will become known as the foetus as it develops into the pregnancy.

And finally, we have pregnancy test, and there's an image there of what a pregnancy test looks like, and we'll come back to look at pregnancy testing in more detail in a little while.

So what are the possible signs and symptoms of pregnancy? We're going to recap some work here that you may have covered earlier in your lessons within school or in a different Oak unit.

We're going to recap how the menstrual cycle works, and you can see there on the image, an image of the reproductive system in a female body.

Initially, the egg is released, and the purple dot there represents the egg.

Scientific term for that is ovulation.

We can see there the egg travelling to the uterus, okay? It travels down something called the fallopian tube, and while this is happening, the lining of the uterus is thickening.

It's thickening every month while it is preparing in case an egg is fertilised, and an embryo will implant.

So the lining of the uterus is thickened.

If the egg is unfertilized, there will be a period where the egg will dissolve and the lining of the uterus, the thickened lining, will come away through a period.

However, if the egg has been fertilised through sexual intercourse and the sperm has fertilised the egg, then the fertilised egg will implant in the uterus and will become an embryo.

So I would like you to now pause the video again.

Three different stages of the menstrual cycle are listed on the screen.

They're not in the correct order, so I would like you to write those down in the correct order, please, okay? You might just want to use the letter for each stage.

Pause the video, write them down in the correct order, and press play when you're ready to proceed, thank you.

Wonderful, thank you for rejoining me.

Let's look at the answers.

So the correct order is C, the egg released with ovulation, followed by A, the egg travelling to the uterus.

If not fertilised, the egg will dissolve, and the lining of the uterus will continue to thicken, and B, period will occur where the lining of the uterus is shedded or the fertilised egg will implant in the uterus.

Well done if you got that right, and I've just put a square there around that final part of stage B, or the third stage in the order that we've been studying, because that bit, the fertilised egg implanting in the uterus, that is pregnancy.

That's what this lesson is all about.

So we're going to do a little bit of myth-busting now.

On the screen, you will see four different possible myths about pregnancy.

Think about the phrase, "You cannot get pregnant if," and think about you can't get pregnant if you have sex standing up, it is your first time having sex, you have sex during menstruation, a period, or you use the withdrawal method, which is where ejaculation from the male penis happens outside of the vagina.

Are any of those a myth? One or more of them? Which are myths or untrue rumours? I'd like to have a think now and point to the screen to the option or options that are myths, untrue rumours about getting pregnant.

Do that now.

Okay, let's see, let's see if you've managed to identify the myths about getting pregnant.

So having sex standing up.

Yes, you can get pregnant standing up, so to say that that is a myth would be false, okay? You can get pregnant standing up.

Equally, it's a myth to say that you can't get pregnant the first time having sex.

You can get pregnant the first time you have sex.

It's another myth to say that you can't.

Cannot get pregnant if you have sex during a period.

What do you think? Is that a myth? It is another myth.

You can indeed get pregnant during a period.

It is arguably less likely scientifically, based on the cycle, but everyone's cycle is different, and it's really important to note that you can get pregnant during a period.

It is not an 100% safe time to have sex if you don't want to get pregnant.

And a fourth myth, you use the withdrawal method to avoid pregnancy.

That will not guarantee you won't get pregnant, so it is another myth.

So to be really clear, the four different statements you see on the screen are all myths about getting pregnant.

You can get pregnant having sex standing up, you can get pregnant if it's your first time having sex, you can get pregnant during a period, and you can get pregnant even if the withdrawal method is used because some sperm may actually have come out of the penis before ejaculation occurs, and that's something that some people believe is a safe way to have sex to avoid pregnancy, but it's really important you know that all of these here are myths.

If, for any reason, you're a little bit unsure about contraception and ways to avoid getting pregnant, it might be worth going back to look at a previous Oak lesson that covers contraception, or also consulting a doctor or a sexual health clinic to ensure that you understand the safer ways to avoid not getting pregnant.

So pregnancy signs and symptoms. Every pregnancy differs.

Signs and symptoms include a missed or a late period.

So if you have a female body and you have periods, whether that be regularly every month or whether your cycle might be different to a 28-day standard monthly cycle, if the period is missed or is late, that may be a sign of pregnancy.

Feeling sick, nauseous, or tired.

Those symptoms can come on very, very early in pregnancy.

Needing to urinate more or large, more painful breasts.

Again, other symptoms of pregnancy.

Strange tastes, smells, and cravings.

Weight gain, which tends to occur later in pregnancy, but may also be a symptom for some women.

It's really important to say that many of the signs of pregnancy are actually due to hormonal changes that affect the physical and mental well-being of the person experiencing them.

Not everyone who's pregnant will have these symptoms, and equally, having one or more of these symptoms might not mean that the person is pregnant.

A pregnancy test is the most accurate way to check for pregnancy.

So if you experience one or more of these symptoms, it may be an idea to seek a pregnancy test.

However, it doesn't necessarily mean you are pregnant, and in actual fact, you may be pregnant without experiencing any of those symptoms. So on the screen, in a moment, I'm going to display lots of features.

Some of them are pregnancy signs and symptoms, common pregnancy signs and symptoms, and others of them are not, they're red herrings.

So I would like you to pause the video and to identify which of the features listed in the table are indeed pregnancy signs and symptoms. Please pause the video to do that now.

Thank you for rejoining me.

I hope that means you've been able to identify which of the features on the screen are indeed pregnancy symptoms. Let's see if your answers match mine.

So a missed period, weight gain, which may be more likely in later pregnancy, but it's still a symptom, strange tastes, craving, and smells, needing to urinate more, feeling sick, feeling tired.

Well done if you got those answers, or even if you got some of them, brilliant.

So true or false question for you.

If a female feels sick, this usually means she is pregnant.

Is that true, or is that false? Well done if you said false, because there are, of course, many reasons why somebody might feel sick, not just pregnancy, but if coupled with another symptom or if the sickness is unexplained and ongoing, then a pregnancy test should be taken.

So let's then now look at pregnancy testing.

What is it? How does it occur? So you can see there an image of a typical pregnancy-testing stick, and they can be purchased from most chemists, supermarkets at an affordable price.

Even corner shops may stock pregnancy tests, and they range in price.

They are generally affordable, but there are some that are, perhaps, a little faster than others, some that display the word pregnant or not pregnant, and some where you might have to interpret symbols, usually lines, on the test, like in the image that you see there.

If you're struggling to purchase one, you'll also be able to access a pregnancy test through your GP or sexual health clinic, and it involves simply urinating on the end of the testing stick, something that you would do in the toilet, and you would just hold the pregnancy-test stick under the flow of the urine just for a few seconds, and the instructions tell you exactly what to do, and they tell you what to look for to determine if the test is positive.

Results usually take approximately two minutes.

That might vary from from test to test, depending on the brand that you're using.

Normally there's an indicator on the test as well, like you see in the image, that tells you if the test is actually working, and that will show you, first of all, so you know, well, this is a test that's working.

It's not one that there's a problem with, and then the next indicator will tell you if it's recognised the pregnancy hormone in the urine, and if it has, it will give you a positive result.

So pregnancy testing is an easy, straightforward, and affordable process.

Is that true or false? Point to the screen.

What do you think? Yes, that's true.

Tests can be purchased, as we've said, from most chemists and supermarkets or obtained from a GP or clinic for free, and it simply involves urinating on the testing strip and waiting two minutes or thereabouts for a result.

It is a straightforward process.

So let's talk about something called false negatives.

Pregnancy tests aren't always accurate if they are taken too early because there's not enough of the pregnancy hormone to show in the urine.

The pregnancy test, essentially, can't recognise that level of hormone.

So if a test is negative, be aware of continued pregnancy symptoms and take another test a few days later or consult a GP or sexual health clinic if you or a partner is concerned at all.

So just to reiterate, if it's very early in the pregnancy, the pregnancy test might say negative.

If the period doesn't arrive within a few days, or if you continue to feel sick, or if there's just something, a symptom that's continuing that makes you think, "Could the test be wrong?" please do another test or go and speak to a medical professional.

False negatives are really common when pregnancy tests are taken in the early stages of pregnancy.

So based on that, I would like you to now pause the video, and I would like you to copy and complete the paragraph that's on the screen, filling in the correct words from the list at the bottom in the gaps.

Please pause the video to do that now.

Thank you for rejoining me, wonderful.

Hopefully you've had a chance to fill those words in.

Let's talk about the answers.

So a pregnancy test is not always accurate, especially if taken too early.

Be aware of continued pregnancy symptoms, even if the test is negative.

Well done if you got that right.

Let's now look at support in early pregnancy.

If you, a partner, or a friend has a positive pregnancy test, what happens next? So if the pregnancy is planned, and or the female who's pregnant is certain she wants to continue with the pregnancy, you might want to, obviously, tell a trusted adult, if applicable, first.

That might depend on the age.

So this lesson is obviously going out to young people in schools, however, you might be thinking back to what you've learned from this lesson in the years to come when you're an adult.

Contact a GP or your local midwifery service if you have that positive pregnancy test and you're certain you're going to carry on with this pregnancy, so it's a happy event.

Check online for any contact details of your local pregnancy services.

This will then trigger an arrangement for initial medical appointments to monitor the health of mother and baby, and going forward those appointments will follow.

There'll be routine checks and a system and processes to ensure that both mother and baby are fine.

But what if the pregnancy is unplanned or if the mother is uncertain about continuing with the pregnancy? Again, particularly if the person who is pregnant is still relatively young, they may want to tell a trusted adult, first of all.

Again, contacting a GP or a sexual health or pregnancy advisory service, for example, Brook.

They will advise on your options and next steps.

They'll also be supportive every step of the way.

So we're going to finish this lesson.

Our final task is going to be a scenario.

Izzy and John have been in a sexual relationship for some time.

They're both 16.

Izzy confides in John that her period is late, and she thinks that she may be pregnant and doesn't know what to do next.

John wants to reassure her that he'll help her through the process ahead.

What might John advise Izzy? So I want you to write a step-by-step guide for John and Izzy's next steps in finding out if they are pregnant and what to do if the test is positive.

So please pause the video to write your step-by-step guide, and then press play when complete.

Wonderful, thank you for rejoining me.

So let's see if any part of your answer matches mine.

So step one, purchase a pregnancy test from a local chemist or supermarket.

Step two, if negative, monitor symptoms in case of a false negative and retake the test in a few days if unsure, or see your GP.

Step three, if positive, discuss each other's feelings in a supportive way, and step four, make a GP appointment or contact a local pregnancy advice service if there's any uncertainty about going ahead with the pregnancy.

So our final reflection, something I'd like you to think about because this could be applicable to you in the future, and that might not be you yourself, but it could be a friend, or a family member, or a partner, why is it important to always seek support and advice if you or a partner has concerns about pregnancy? Why is that support important? And I want you to keep that in mind so that if ever you're in a situation where you might feel confused or concerned about pregnancy-related issues, you know that it's important to contact your GP, to contact a pregnancy advice service as soon as possible to ensure you get the support that you need depending on your circumstance.

Support will always be there.

Please don't forget to complete today's exit quiz.

Thank you so much for joining me.

Hopefully you'll join me for later lessons in this unit, goodbye.