What are the essential dietary restrictions, hormonal markers, and physical recovery strategies for a healthy pregnancy and postpartum transition?
During pregnancy, a woman’s body secretes a hormone called relaxin that helps the pelvis open during childbirth. Unfortunately, the hormone can cause a shift in the mother’s bone structure, particularly in the pelvis.
Read more →
Hormones, nerves, blood vessels and muscles work together to create penile erections. These occur throughout a male's life, even during childhood and adolescence. Nocturnal penile tumescence is the medical name for night-time erections among men.
Read more →
If your child's first birthday has come and gone but your baby belly has not, it's time to do something about it. Don't get frustrated, it takes a lot of mommas time to lose the pouch and get back to pre-baby shape. Rather than just dwelling on it, get up and do something about it.
Read more →
If you think that being confined to crutches for an injury will offset your weight loss program, think again. Just because you don't have full mobility in your legs doesn't mean you can't do exercises and watch your nutritional intake in a way that facilitates weight loss.
Read more →
A fetus passes through seven stages of development during the 42 weeks of a pregnancy. During those 42 weeks, the mother experiences the development, too, as her body changes. Many permanent features form during the first two weeks of the baby’s development after conception.
Read more →
The richly fragrant bark of the cinnamon tree has been used for centuries as a culinary seasoning and botanical medicine.
Read more →
Knowing how to determine your unborn baby's position can be quite valuable as you progress and grow closer to your delivery date. "The Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy" says that in the final weeks, most babies will be positioned head-down, with their faces angled toward your spine.
Read more →
Exposure to harmful substances in the earliest weeks of pregnancy -- often before a woman realizes she's pregnant -- can pose risks to human embryos.
Read more →
Dandruff, which consists of itching and flaking of the scalp, can be more common during pregnancy. This is because your hormones are producing extra oil, causing buildup and flakes on your scalp.
Read more →
Pregnancy changes a woman’s body to such a significant extent, it’s no wonder that some women experience unusual or unanticipated symptoms at one time or another during their nine months.
Read more →
Many women who are trying to conceive, or who’ve missed a period, examine each symptom they experience as a potential sign of pregnancy.
Read more →
With all the changes that take place during pregnancy, it’s easy for women to wonder whether what they’re feeling is normal or a sign that something is wrong—particularly when what they’re feeling is painful.
Read more →
Prosciutto is generally named on lists of foods that pregnant women should avoid. This meat, often served cold, poses a slight but serious risk to the woman and her unborn baby because it can cause a food-borne illness called listeria. According to "The Pregnancy Cookbook,"
Read more →
By 35 weeks pregnant, when a woman is carrying twins, the big day can arrive any time. A twin pregnancy is considered full term at the 37-week mark; however, many twins are born prior to that time. At 35 weeks pregnant, mom and babies are gearing up for the big day.
Read more →
Being15 weeks pregnant with twins may be exciting and terrifying all at once. Advances in reproductive technologies as well as the advancing age of women who become pregnant mean that twins are becoming more and more common.
Read more →
As an expectant mom, you have the tough job of balancing your own comfort with the health of your baby. This makes everything you put in or on your body a serious decision. Some pregnant women find the stretched skin on their bellies painful, discolored or riddled with stretch marks.
Read more →
A pregnant woman must be critical of everything she consumes during pregnancy, because her unborn baby can absorb harmful substances through her body. It can be difficult to determine the safety of many items, especially natural substances that may not have been the focus of any studies or evaluations.
Read more →
Early pregnancy is a time of major change for a woman’s body. Particularly if the pregnancy is her first, her body organs shift considerably to make room for a uterus that begins to expand surprisingly soon after conception.
Read more →
Heparin is an anticoagulant medication. It is often prescribed for people with heart disease and those who have suffered heart attacks to keep the blood from clotting. Since vitamin K helps the blood to clot, it essentially has the opposite effect of Heparin.
Read more →
Cloves are a fairly common spice often used in baked goods and desserts. While you're smart to use caution when building your pregnancy diet, cloves in spice form are safe during pregnancy, according to MedlinePlus. Clove oil and clove supplements aren't, however.
Read more →