Pregnancy

Whether you are pregnant or are planning to get pregnant, you will want to understand how to stay healthy and understand your baby's development. You will need to have regular visits with your healthcare provider. These prenatal care visits are very important for your baby and yourself. Some things you might do when you are pregnant could hurt your baby, such as smoking or drinking. Some medicines can also be a problem, even ones that a doctor prescribed. You will need to drink plenty of fluids and eat a healthy diet. In early pregnancy, you may get morning sickness, or nausea. You may also be tired and need more rest.

Prenatal care is more than just health care while you are pregnant. Your health care provider may discuss many issues, such as nutrition and physical activity, what to expect during the birth process and basic skills for caring for your newborn.

Your doctor or midwife will give you a schedule for your prenatal visits. You can expect to see your health care provider more often as your due date gets closer. A typical schedule includes visiting your doctor or midwife

About once each month during your first six months of pregnancy

Every two weeks during the seventh and eighth month of pregnancy

Weekly in the ninth month of pregnancy

If you are over 35 years old or your pregnancy is high risk because you have certain health problems like diabetes or high blood pressure, your doctor or midwife will probably want to see you more often.

Your Pregnancy Health guide for the following topics:

digital basal thermometers

fertility center

fertility treatment

health insurance pregnancy coverage

Infertility Clinics

ovulation predictor kit

Basic Facts about Pregancy

What is pregnancy?

Pregnancy is the term used to describe when a woman has a growing fetus inside of her. In most cases, the fetus grows in the uterus.

Human pregnancy lasts about 40 weeks, or just more than 9 months, from the start of the last menstrual period to childbirth

What are the signs of pregnancy?

The primary sign of pregnancy is missing one or more consecutive menstrual periods. That said many women experience menstrual irregularities that may cause missed periods, women who miss a period should see their health care provider to find out whether they are pregnant or whether there is another health problem.

Others signs and symptoms of pregnancy may include: nausea or vomiting, morning sickness, sore breasts or nipples, fatigue, headaches, food cravings or aversions, mood swings and frequent urination

Pregnancy Test

A pregnancy test is the best way to determine if you are pregnant. Home pregnancy test kits are available over-the-counter and are considered highly accurate. A health care provider can also do a pregnancy test.

NICHD research in the 1970s found that high levels of the hormone human chorionic gonadatropin (HCG) in the urine were associated with pregnancy. This research led to the development of the home pregnancy test that is commercially available today.

Prenatal Care

Prenatal care is the care woman gets during a pregnancy. Getting early and regular prenatal care is important for the health of both mother and the developing baby.

In addition, health care providers are now recommending a woman see a health care provider for preconception care, before she is even trying to get pregnant.

Health care providers recommend women take the following steps to ensure the best health outcome for mother and baby:

Getting at least 400 micrograms of folic acid every day to help prevent many types of neural tube defects. Health care providers recommend taking folic acid both before and during pregnancy.

Being properly vaccinated for certain diseases (such as chicken pox and rubella) that could harm a developing fetus. It is highly recommended to have the vaccinations before becoming pregnant

Maintaining a healthy weight and diet and getting regular physical activity before, during, and after pregnancy

Avoiding smoking, alcohol, or drug use before, during, and after pregnancy

High-risk pregnancy

All pregnancies involve a certain degree of risk to both mother and baby. But, factors present before pregnancy or that develop during pregnancy can place the mother and baby at higher risk for problems. Women with high-risk pregnancies may need care from specialists or a team of health care providers to help promote healthy pregnancy and birth.

Factors present before pregnancy that can increase risk may include:

Young or old maternal age

Being overweight or underweight

Having had problems in previous pregnancies, such as miscarriage, stillbirth, or preterm labor or birth

Pre-existing health conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or HIV/AIDS

During pregnancy, problems may also develop even in a woman who was previously healthy. These may include (but are not limited to) gestational diabetes or preeclampsia/eclampsia.

Getting good prenatal care and seeing a health care provider regularly during pregnancy are important ways to promote a healthy pregnancy.

Childbirth

When you are ready to have your baby, you'll go through labor. Contractions let you know labor is starting. When contractions are five minutes apart, your body is ready to push the baby out.

During the first stage of labor, your cervix slowly opens, or dilates, to about 4 inches wide. At the same time, it becomes thinner. This is called effacement. You shouldn't push until your uterus is fully effaced and dilated. When it is, the baby delivery stage starts. Crowning is when your baby's scalp comes into view. Shortly afterward, your baby is born. The placenta that nourished the baby follows.

Mothers and babies are monitored closely during labor. Most women are healthy enough to have a baby through normal vaginal delivery, meaning that the baby comes down the birth canal without surgery. If there are complications, the baby may need to be delivered surgically by a Cesarean section. More infor below.

Childbirth can affect bladder control. If you lose bladder control after childbirth, the problem often goes away by itself. Your muscles may just need time to recover.

The added weight and pressure of pregnancy can weaken pelvic floor muscles. Other aspects of pregnancy and childbirth can also cause problems: changed position of bladder and urethra, vaginal delivery, episiotomy (the cut in the muscle that makes it easier for the baby to come out) and damage to bladder control nerves.

Cesarean Section or C section

A Cesarean section (C-section) is surgery to deliver a baby. The baby is taken out through the mother's abdomen. In the United States, about one in four women have their babies this way. Most C-sections are done when unexpected problems happen during delivery. These include: carrying more than one baby, health problems in the mother, the position of the baby, not enough room for the baby to go through the vagina and signs of distress in the baby

The surgery is relatively safe for mother and baby. Still, it is major surgery and carries risks. It also takes longer to recover from a C-section than from vaginal birth. After healing, the incision may leave a weak spot in the wall of the uterus. This could cause problems with an attempted vaginal birth later. However, more than half of women who have a C-section can give vaginal birth later.

Baby Names

Most popular Baby Names this year are:

Rank	Male	Female
1	Jacob	Emily
2	Michael	Emma
3	Joshua	Madison
4	Ethan	Isabella
5	Matthew	Ava
6	Daniel	Abigail
7	Christopher	Olivia
8	Andrew	Hannah
9	Anthony	Sophia
10	William	Samantha

Teenage Pregnancy

Most teenagers don't plan to get pregnant, but many do. Teen pregnancies carry extra health risks to the mother and the baby. Often, teenagers don't receive timely prenatal care, and they have a higher risk for pregnancy-related high blood pressure and its complications. Risks for the baby include premature birth and a low birthweight.

If you're a pregnant teenager, you can help yourself and your baby by

Taking your prenatal vitamins for your health and to prevent some birth defects

Avoiding smoking, alcohol and drugs

Using a condom, if you are still having sex, to prevent sexually transmitted diseases that could hurt your baby

Teen Birth Rate Rises for First Time in 14 Years

The teen birth rate in the United States rose in 2006 for the first time since 1991, and unmarried childbearing also rose significantly, according to preliminary birth statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The statistics are featured in a new report, "Births: Preliminary Data for 2006, " prepared by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, and are based on data from over 99 percent of all births for the United States in 2006. Although the findings in this early version will not change, the final report will have more detailed data.

The report shows that between 2005 and 2006, the birth rate for teenagers aged 15-19 rose 3 percent, from 40.5 live births per 1,000 females aged 15-19 in 2005 to 41.9 births per 1,000 in 2006. This follows a 14-year downward trend in which the teen birth rate fell by 34 percent from its all-time peak of 61.8 births per 1,000 in 1991.

"It's way too early to know if this is the start of a new trend, " said Stephanie Ventura, head of the Reproductive Statistics Branch at CDC. "But given the long-term progress we've witnessed, this change is notable. "

The largest increases were reported for non-Hispanic black teens, whose overall rate rose 5 percent in 2006. The rate rose 2 percent for Hispanic teens, 3 percent for non-Hispanic white teens, and 4 percent for American Indian teens.

The birth rate for the youngest teens aged 10-14 declined from 0.7 to 0.6 per 1,000 and the number of births to this age group fell 5 percent to 6,405. The birth rate for older teens ages 18-19 is 73 births per 1,000 population - more than three times higher than the rate for teens ages 15-17 (22 per 1,000). Between 2005 and 2006 the birth rate rose 3 percent for teens aged 15-17 and 4 percent for teens aged 18 and 19.

The study also shows unmarried childbearing reached a new record high in 2006. The total number of births to unmarried mothers rose nearly 8 percent to 1,641,700 in 2006. This represents a 20 percent increase from 2002, when the recent upswing in non-marital births began. The biggest jump was among unmarried women aged 25-29, among whom there was a 10 percent increase between 2005 and 2006.

In addition, the non-marital birth rate also rose sharply, from 47.5 births per 1,000 unmarried females in 2005 to 50.6 per 1,000 in 2006 - a 7 percent one-year increase and a 16 percent increase since 2002.

The study also revealed that the percentage of all U.S. births to unmarried mothers increased to 38.5 percent, up from 36.9 percent in 2005.

The report contains other significant findings:

The preliminary estimate of total births in the U.S. for 2006 was 4,265,996, a 3 percent increase -- or 127,647 more births -- than in 2005.

Birth rates increased for women in their twenties, thirties and early forties between 2005 and 2006, as well as to teenagers.

The Caesarean delivery rate rose again in 2006, to 31.1 percent of all births, a 3 percent increase from 2005 and a new record high. The percentage of all births delivered by cesarean has climbed 50 percent over the last decade.

The preterm birth rate rose slightly between 2005 and 2006, from 12.7 percent to 12.8 percent of all births. The percentage of births delivered before 37 weeks of gestation has risen 21 percent since 1990.

The low birthweight rate also rose slightly in 2006, from 8.2 percent in 2005 to 8.3 percent in 2006, a 19 percent jump since 1990.

As a result of the increases in the birth rates for women aged 15-44, the total fertility rate - an estimate of the average number of births that a group of women would have over their lifetimes - increased 2 percent in 2006 to 2,101 births per 1,000 women. This is the highest rate since 1971 and the first time since then that the rate was above replacement - the level at which a given generation can replace itself.

Basal Thermometers

Digital Basal Thermometersshould be used to take your temperature in the morning before you get out of bed. After you ovulate, your body temperature will rise and stay at an elevated level for the rest of your ovulation cycle. At the end of your cycle, it falls again. Use a glass basal thermometer or a digital thermometer so that you can get accuracy to the tenth of a degree. Keep the thermometer in your mouth for 5 minutes. Try not to move too much, as activity can raise your body temperature slightly. If your temperature is between two marks, record the lower number. Try to take your temperature at the same time every day, if possible.

Create a chart and write down your temperature everyday. If you look at a complete cycle, you will probably notice a point at which the temperatures become higher than they were in the first part of your cycle (0.2 degrees above the previous 6 days).

Temperature is a useful indicator of fertility. After monitoring several cycles, you may be able to see a predictable pattern and get a sense for your most fertile days. Fertile days are the days a woman is most likely to get pregnant.

When trying to conceive a baby, many couples plan intercourse around days 11 to 14 of the woman's 28-day cycle. However, it is often difficult to know exactly when ovulation is going to occur. Doctors recommend that couples who are trying to have a baby have intercourse between days 10 and day 20 of a woman's menstrual cycle. Studies have shown that having intercourse every other day works just as well as having intercourse every day in order to become pregnant.

If you have an irregular menstrual cycle and are no sure when or if you are ovulating, ovulation predictor kit can help. These kits, which can be bought at most drug stores or online.