About 82 000 single thirty something women a year have a baby without a partner on the scene, almost double the number of a decade ago. And many of them wouldn’t have it any other way.
“The typical single women who come to us,” says specialist fertility nurse Helen Kendrew, “are the women who have had [...]
Women over 35 are at greater risk for experiencing complications during their pregnancy, and for having children with birth defects, especially Down syndrome. Yet this statement is often misunderstood, because, there is not a huge jump in risk between the woman who is 34 and 35. Rather, as a woman ages, the body is less [...]
A woman gave birth to octuplets in California Monday after 30 weeks of pregnancy. The six boys and two girls ranged in weight from 1 pound, 8 ounces, to 3 pounds, 4 ounces. How many babies can fit inside a pregnant woman?
There’s no scientific limit, but the largest reported number of fetuses in one womb [...]
Evolutionary biologists don’t know much about how mothers might influence the gender of their babies, but they’ve got lots of ideas.
And increasingly, they’ve got studies. A recent paper titled “You are what your mother eats” found that women who ate lots of breakfast cereal, salt and potassium were more likely to give birth to baby [...]
What is the best age for a woman to have a baby, and how does her physical readiness vary from her emotional readiness? Learn how your age can affect your pregnancy, your health, and your child’s health.
One of the most important things an expecting mother can do for her unborn child is to quit smoking. Research has shown that smoking during pregnancy can have significant negative effects on the developing fetus. Cigarette tobacco contains approximately 2,500 chemicals that could harm an unborn baby, with nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide being the [...]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Baby-protecting folic acid is getting renewed attention: Not only does it fight spina bifida and some related abnormalities, new research shows it also may prevent premature birth and heart defects.
Now pregnancy specialists are asking if it is time for the government to boost the amount being added to certain foods to help [...]
The average weight gain during pregnancy is between 25 to 35 pounds. During the birth, new mothers shed about 12.5 to 14 pounds, leaving about 12 to 21 pounds of excess weight to be lost during the postpartum period. In addition, some new mothers may gain an extra 10-12 pounds during pregnancy, due to various [...]
It has been recently discovered, that if the woman eats a diet rich in fats during pregnancy or breastfeeding, the risk of early pubescence of her baby increases. This, in turn, can lead to obesity of the child. Moreover, early menstruation is one of the factors contributing to adolescent depression and developing breast cancer, when [...]
There are many pregnancy symptoms and signs which may indicate that you are pregnant. Some are fairly obvious, such as missing your period, but even this may be caused by some other underlying problem. There are also some pregnancy symptoms that are not as obvious, unless you are specifically looking out for them.
The benefits of breast feeding to babies whose mothers are able to nurse them are numerous. Babies receive essential nutrients as well as antibodies that have not been successfully reproduced in any formula from their mother’s breast milk. Babies also have the correct jaw development through the process of breast feeding, which benefits them throughout [...]
