Most pregnant women don't track their hCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin, levels unless they have undergone fertility treatment or are experiencing pregnancy complications. Produced by the growing placenta during pregnancy, hCG is the hormone that home pregnancy tests detect in the urine.

A pregnant woman often feels strong cravings for specific types of foods. Most commonly, these cravings will be for salty, sweet, sour and/or spicy items. Many expectant mothers have concerns about eating black and white pepper, and whether it affects the unborn baby.

Almost every woman with a visible baby bump has been asked whether she is having a girl or a boy. The gender of the baby is determined at conception, although differentiation of the sexual organs does not begin until the middle of the sixth week of gestation, according to the NOVA article, “How Is Sex Determined?

Many people, including pregnant women, wonder when exactly a fetus becomes a baby. By "baby," they frequently mean a full-fledged, if very young and small, human being or human person.

The 28th week marks the beginning of the third trimester of pregnancy. Physical and emotional aches and pains are normal and common. As weight gain approaches its peak, women may find it difficult to get comfortable, even while lying down.

From the time a woman learns she is pregnant, with both anxiety and exhilaration, she wonders how her baby is growing and developing and what to expect next. A pregnancy time line helps her keep track of the many changes taking place within her womb and in her own body.

Detection of a normal heartbeat in an unborn baby is one measure of the overall health of the pregnancy. An unborn baby has a heartbeat very early in the pregnancy, when the fetus is still in the embryonic stage.

The sixth month of a pregnancy marks the earliest period in which premature babies have a decent chance at survival.

According to "Yoga Journal," expectant mothers should participate in a gentle yoga practice, or none at all, during the first trimester. This trimester is when the fetus is still implanting itself into the uterus, and, therefore, strenuous yoga poses should be avoided to prevent miscarriage.

From conception to birth the development of a baby follows a predictable path. As cells divide and differentiate, the developing baby begins as a zygote, forms into a blastocyst, becomes an embryo and then transforms into a fetus, all in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Before babies are born, they sleep, practice breathing, swallow and even suck their thumbs--in other words, act like babies. During their time in the womb, babies receive many types of stimuli from the outside world, including tastes, sounds and they can even perceive light.

As an expectant mom, one of your early concerns during the first trimester will be, 'When can I hear my baby's heartbeat?' In previous decades, a stethoscope-like device was the only available tool, and only the doctor could actually hear the heartbeat.