We also offer information on the forty weeks of pregnancy and the labor process. We have articles on infants and newborns. We also have helpful tips on raising your kids, new moms, and many more situations that beginner or experienced parents will encounter.

- Teen pregnancy rates in the U.S. declined nearly one-third between 1991 and 2000, due to less sexual activity and more contraceptive use.

- A survey conducted at Iowa State College in 1969 suggests that a parent’s stress at the time on conception plays a major role in determining a baby’s gender.

- In a baby’s first year, diaper rash occurs more often after 8 months of age.

- Sexual activity among high school students declined 14% between 1991 and 2003.

- Week by Week Pregnancy Guide -

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Studies have shown that women who take folic acid up to four months prior to conceiving reduce the chance of birth defects more than the recommended dose. Some other benefits to taking folic acid are decreasing the risk of miscarriage, arm and leg defects, cleft lip and palate, and certain types of heart defects in their baby. Folic Acid is very important for the rapid cell growth that occurs during pregnancy because folic acid is needed for the production, repair, and functioning of DNA.

If your pregnancy is not planned, the U.S. Public Health Service recommends that all women of childbearing age get at least 400 mcg of folic acid each day. Once you get pregnant, you will want to increase your daily intake to at least 600 mcg. For most pregnant women, your body will flush out the excess folic acid if to much is consumed. If you are a vegetarian and don’t consume dairy products, you may have a B12 deficiency. If to much folic acid is consumed it will make the B12 deficiency hard to detect by physicians. If you think you may be at risk, consult to your doctor. Women who’ve had a child with a neural tube defect have an elevated risk of having a second baby with the same birth defect. Healthcare providers are now recommending these women take ten times as much folic acid (4,000 mcg or 4 milligrams) and continuing to take it until the end of the third month of pregnancy. See your doctor for a prescription if you have already had a baby with a neural tube defect.

There are many types food you can eat to add more folic acid to your diet. Enriched grain food sources such as breakfast cereals, bread, pasta, and rice contain at least 20 percent of the daily requirement, and some breakfast cereals contain 100% (400 mcg) or more. Some other sources include: cooked lentils, papayas, cooked frozen peas, asparagus, broccoli, boiled collard greens, canned chickpeas, strawberries and oranges.

Some of the signs of deficiency can be very faint. You may have diarrhea, a sore tongue, headaches, heart palpitations, decrease of appetite, weight loss, weakness, and irritability. If you know you are not getting enough folic acid in your diet, but you don’t have any of these symptoms, consult your doctor to see what you can do to add more to your diet to ensure you are getting the right amount you need for your baby’s early embryonic development.

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Infants are so tiny and fragile. There are lots of different emotions you feel after you give birth. Caring for your infant night and day, while you are recovering from labor and the birth process, can be exhausting. As you feed, diaper, and bond with your infant, you will feel more at ease. This is a wonderful time for you and your infant to get to know each other better.

Adjusting to your infants every need can be very tiring at first. Soon you will get into a routine and it will seem like a normal schedule again. It is hard to be a caring loving mother when you are exhausted. It is especially frustrating for first time new mothers.

You will have a wide range of emotions right now. You feel angry and sad when you do not seem to be able to accomplish everything your old schedule allowed. Keeping up with daily task, like the laundry and dishes can become a real chore. You need to realize that having these feelings are normal but it is how you deal with them that is important. You need to take some personal time for yourself. If you can, take a nap when your infant is sleeping. Remember you are losing a lot of sleep because of waking up several times in the middle of the night to care for your infant. You need to stay healthy for your infant’s sake.

It is so easy to want to catch up on chores or start dinner when the baby is asleep. But remember your health is very important. Simple adjustments can make a world of difference. For example, take out, or calling out for a pizza to be delivered a couple of nights a week, will make dinner preparation and clean up easier.

Post partum blues can set in immediately. Hormones are partly to blame but it is also all the lifestyle changes you are experiencing. Some factors in your feelings of sadness are less time with your partner, missing friends at work, and even concerns over how the family budget is changing. These feelings should subside after a week or two but remember give yourself some quiet, alone time.

Some parents are just beginning to relax and feel more comfortable about all the changes around six weeks. You might want to find a baby sitter and go out for a relaxing evening. You should accept help from friends and family members that are offering. You might even want to exchange babysitting with another mom. You should also look for support groups for new mothers. If you want you can exercise and eat right, if you want to make your body return to is pre-pregnancy form. You shouldn’t expect too much from yourself and take the chance to relax whenever you can. Most importantly enjoy your new family member.

Studies indicate that more than 80 percent of prenatal Down syndrome diagnoses end in abortion. Parents are often influenced by doctors, therapists, friends and family to see these children not as a gift, but rather a burden to be feared and eliminated. After abortion, the fallout from this loss places a tremendous strain on a couple as they struggle to come to terms with the shock and pain of their experience. For more information on this topic go to http://www.rachelsvineyard.org

Stage One: EARLY

In this first stage of labor you may dilate up to three centimeters, and you may be having contractions that last 30 seconds to a minute. The contractions will be coming every 15 to 20 minutes apart; when they start out. As your contractions continue they will become closer together and last longer. Throughout this early stage of labor you may have some lower back pain. Usually your contractions are mild and described as uncomfortable but not painful. Your amniotic sac may break. If the sac breaks then you may have s a small amount of bloody discharge. You should try and rest if possible during this stage. Later on you will be using lots of energy to birth the baby.

Stage Two: ACTIVE

In this stage you may dilate up to seven centimeters. Your contractions in this stage are about a minute long and usually come as close as two to three minutes apart. Your discharge will become more if your sac broke in the early stage of labor. If your sac has not broken and you are unable to have it break on its own then your doctor or midwife will do that for you. Most of the time he /she will use a hook like tool to break it. It is usually not painful but a little uncomfortable. In this stage you may still have lower back pain as well as other pain. As your contractions get stronger they will become more intense. This is necessary to complete dilation. You may have become tired during the active stage of labor. This is usually because this stage is so long for most women.

Stage Three: TRANSITION

In this stage you will dilate from eight to ten centimeters . Your contractions will become more intense and might last as long as 90 seconds. You are now in the stage to start Pushing out the baby. It is in this stage that the baby, usually, is turning to fit just right in the birth canal. The pain may become intense due to the baby’s head. Also due to the baby moving into the birth canal there may be pressure on your rectum. Because of the pressure you may want to push. You may also feel sleepy, irritable or even confused. All of these feelings are normal.

The Second Part of Transition

In this part of transition you are 10 centimeters dilated and entering into the “Pushing Stage”. The contractions are usually two to five minutes apart and can last up to 90 seconds. The “Pushing Stage” will have moved the baby’s head out and now the baby is turning to line up his or her shoulders with the birth canal. Once the shoulders are lined up with the canal the baby is a lot easier to push out. Most women just want to push with all they have to “Just get it over with”. With the pushing and the baby’s shoulder movement the pressure in your rectal area may increase. Also you may feel some burning, a sensation, while the baby’s head is moving outward.

The Third Part of Transition

“YES!” The baby is now out; you are now a mother of a beautiful baby boy/girl. BUT you are not done. You may be thinking “why not?” You must now give ‘birth’ to the placenta, which can take any where from 5 to 30 minutes. And yes you are still going to have contractions but they are less intense than those you were feeling to birth the baby. The placenta is going to detach and then you are going to push it out though the birth canal. After this is done you may still have contractions for a few hours, this is while the uterus is shrinking down to size. You will also have a heavy bloody discharge from your vagina; like a really heavy period. Congratulations on the birth of your baby.

IN ADDITION

Each pregnancy and birth experience is unique, it varies from woman to woman. You will also have many decisions to make while you are delivering your baby. There are many different pain medications that you can take, some are Epidural, Narcotic, Sterile water Block or Spinal Anesthetic, there are many others so ask your doctor which is best for you. There are also things that help that are not medication, some of those are walking, leaning on something or someone, Kneeling from knee to knee, sitting or using a labor ball. Feel free to be creative, do whatever it is that makes you feel better, or feels right to you.

Milk/Diary: 2 to 4 servings daily

1-cup milk
1-cup yogurt
1 ½ -2 oz. of cheese
½ cup of ice cream

Meat: 2 to 3 servings daily

2-3 oz. of cooked lean meat, lean chicken or fish
1 egg
2 tbsp. peanut butter
½ cup of cooked dried peas/beans

Veggies: 3 to 5 servings daily

½ cup raw vegetable (s)
1 medium potato
¾ cup of juice (V-8)

Fruit: 2-4 servings daily

¾ cup of (fruit) juice
¼ of a cantaloupe
1 medium sliced apple, banana, pear or orange

Grains: 6 to 11 servings daily

1 piece of bread
1 oz. ready-to-eat cereal
1 tortilla, roll, or muffin (without a great deal of sugars)

Other foods are fine to eat as long as they are eaten in moderation but they DO NOT have the needed nutrients or vitamins to take the place of a food or food group. These foods are ONLY snacks.

It is good to eat from all of the food groups throughout the day. Different people within the different stages of pregnancy need to eat more of one food group than another, ask your doctor what foods you need to eat more of for the necessary vitamins. If you are a vegetarian you may want to replace you meat intake with more nuts and other protein filled foods.

Also DO NOT forget to drink water! You should drink at least 24 to 32 oz of water daily. Also DO NOT chew or eat anything that is NOT food, this can be very harmful to you and your baby.

If you like working out in the garden and use pesticides to keep your garden growing, you will want to either avoid your garden, or find some way of getting rid of the chemicals or find something that won’t be harmful to you and your baby.

There are also problems that can occur after you deliver your baby. Postpartum hemorrhaging is very dangerous to women and you should be aware that if you start bleeding heavily, you should see your doctor immediately. Also, if you are over the age of 35 and are pregnant or trying to get pregnant, there are complications that could come up during pregnancy that could hurt you or your baby.

Although there are many things a pregnant woman needs to stay away from to have a healthy pregnancy, there are some things you need to have that you may not know of. Folic acid is very important to take starting about a month before you conceive until the end of your first trimester to prevent birth defects. Folic acid helps reduce the risk of spina bifida by up to 70 percent. If you have any questions, make sure you talk to your doctor. It is very important that you know what problems there are because every woman should want the best possible pregnancy.

2. Backaches

3. Constipation

4. Darkening of areola (breast nipple)

5. Excessive salivation

6. Exhaustion or feeling sleepy

7. Food cravings

8. Frequent urination

9. Headaches

10. Increased sense of smell

11. Lower abdominal cramps

12. Nausea and vomiting

13. Tender or swollen breasts