According to Gemstone.org, “tourmalines are mixed crystals of aluminum boron silicate with a complex and changing composition.” Known as the “gemstone of the rainbow,” tourmaline comes in several colors. Healers claim that the stone has healing properties and electromagnetic abilities.

Human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG, is a hormone that appears in women during pregnancy. It helps guarantee a developing fetus’s nutrient supply by unleashing energy stored in excess fat cells in a mother’s body, according to the Discovery Health website.

As nice as it would be, nature doesn't include an abdominal window so you can see your baby's sex before birth.

A hernia during a pregnancy is a serious health issue. It occurs when part of the intestine bulges out through the abdominal muscle. Each hernia during pregnancy will create unique complications to the process of giving birth.

One of the most reassuring sounds a pregnant mother can hear is the steady thumping of her baby's heartbeat. Before 20 weeks of pregnancy, fetal heartbeats are typically monitored by doctors using a heart rate Doppler. While buying or renting an at-home Doppler is possible, it is often too expensive.

Abdominal pain and light bleeding occur frequently in pregnancy. As many as 20 to 30 percent of women bleed in early pregnancy, the American Pregnancy Association states.

Your baby will grow and gain weight throughout your entire pregnancy, but he will significantly increase in size only during the last trimester. Even during the last month of pregnancy, your baby will rapidly gain weight, according to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

The use of fetal monitors to monitor fetal rate began at Yale University in 1958. Today, most hospitals use fetal monitoring as a standard component of the labor and delivery process. Fetal monitoring can provide valuable information, such as detecting dips in your baby’s heart rate due to lack of oxygen.

When deciding whether to breastfeed their infants, many women focus on the research indicating the benefits of breast milk for babies. Nursing has been associated with higher IQ scores and a decrease in the risk of a child developing asthma or allergies.

Ultrasounds during pregnancy are used to determine fetal health, position and to find out the sex of the baby if the parents want to know. Some parents also choose to have additional ultrasounds performed in 3-D and 4-D to get a better idea of what the baby looks like before the little one arrives into the world.

Your third child isn't any less special than your first or second child, so you can go ahead and announce your third pregnancy with the same flair you gave to your first two pregnancies. Deciding how and when to announce your pregnancy is a very personal decision.

With so much focus on body care and post-delivery parenting, the effect of maternal stress on an unborn baby is still a topic in need of more research and attention.