Where will your baby come into the world (and into your arms)? Will it be in your own bed at home? In a high-tech hospital birthing room? In a family-focused birthing center? How will you be doing that birthing? In water? While squatting? On your hands and knees? How about the environment around you? Do …
Continue ReadingFetal Movement During Every Trimester
Feeling your baby twist, wriggle, punch, kick, and hiccup is simply one of pregnancy’s biggest thrills (and it sure beats heartburn, puffy feet, an aching back, and some of the other hallmarks of these nine months). There may be no better proof that a brand-new — and impressively energetic — life is developing within you. …
Continue Reading5 Misconceptions about Cord Blood Banking
When it comes to life-saving medical decisions, most people want to hear just the facts. And it’s no different when it comes to cord blood banking. Unfortunately, when you do a simple Google search on cord blood banking, you get a lot of information that may or may not be factual about the process and …
Continue ReadingPrenatal care should start before pregnancy.
Anyone thinking about pregnancy, should also be thinking about prenatal care. This care is important for the mother’s health and the health of the child. Whenever possible, it should begin prior to pregnancy. A visit with your health care provider prior to pregnancy to review your immunizations, start a prenatal vitamin with folic acid (which can …
Continue ReadingWhy store cord blood?
1) What is cord blood? Umbilical cord blood is the blood collected from the umbilical cord immediately following the birth of a child. This blood provided nourishment for the baby during pregnancy, but once the baby is delivered, umbilical cord blood is no longer necessary. Learn More 2) What are stem cells? Until recently, it was …
Continue ReadingHow a woman’s body changes during 9 months of pregnancy.
Spring is a time to celebrate the miracle of life and reflect on not just how mothers have impacted our lives, but how motherhood has impacted them. During the course of nine months of pregnancy, moms-to-be undergo common physical and emotional changes that lead to childbirth, from weight gain to mood swings. However, Healthline.com’s infographic …
Continue ReadingSleeping for two: Sleep changes during pregnancy
Being pregnant can be a tiring experience for a woman’s body. Both the physical discomforts of pregnancy as well as the emotional stress of this major life change can cause sleep problems and keep a mother-to-be awake at night. Feeling exhausted is a common complaint during the first and third trimesters. But women might be …
Continue ReadingBlood sugar and Pregnancy.
(CNN) – If you are a woman and you and your partner are planning a pregnancy, it’s important to have your blood sugar levels in control before conceiving. When a woman becomes pregnant, a glucose screening test is done. If those results reveal elevated blood glucose levels, a glucose tolerance test can help determine if …
Continue ReadingObesity in pregnancy puts child at diabetes risk.
Paris (AFP) – Women who are obese while pregnant may put their offspring at risk of childhood diabetes, a condition that requires lifelong insulin therapy, Swedish researchers said Tuesday. A study of more than 1.2 million children born in Sweden between 1992 and 2004 and monitored for several years, found a 33-percent higher risk for …
Continue ReadingOne of birth’s most common practices is about to change.
Since the 1950s, it has been standard practice to clamp the umbilical cord within seconds of a baby being born. It was always done this quickly to reduce the risk of the hormonal injection — given to the mother to stop hemorrhaging — on the infant. However, that drug has since been replaced with a …
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