Whole books are written on what women should do and not do when they're pregnant. For women who want to have a healthy pregnancy but don't have time to read all the books, a few essential bits of information increase the odds of having a healthy...
Only 6 to 8 percent of pregnancies are considered high-risk, according to the UCSF Medical Center. Occasionally, these situations involve bed rest and other lifestyle modifications for the pregnant mother. However, with proper, highly specialized...
A expectant mother with high blood pressure can put herself and her baby at risk. According to MayoClinic.com, these risks can include limited blood flow to the placenta, the placenta pulling away from the uterus and the mother being at an...
The surging hormones of pregnancy cause many changes in a woman's body. Nausea and fatigue are the most common side effects of pregnancy, but itching is a real and uncomfortable symptom that bothers many mothers-to-be. Most itching is not serious,...
A fetal ultrasound, also known as a sonogram, is an imaging study that uses high-frequency sound waves to create a picture of the baby inside the uterus, according to MayoClinic.com. Physicians commonly perform an ultrasound in the first trimester...
When you are initially diagnosed with mild preeclampsia (also known as toxemia), your doctor will likely instruct you to slow down on your activities. That may include staying off your feet for a large part of the day and avoiding activities, like...
Pregnancy and its endpoint, labor, mark the start of parenthood, a new phase of life, for millions of women worldwide each year. During this exciting time, the baby develops from a fertilized egg into an infant ready to be born. After a gestation...
The signs that a teenage girl are pregnant are not really different than the signs of pregnancy in a grown woman. It is possible, although extremely rare, for a girl or woman to have a pregnancy with almost no symptoms at all. It is also possible...
Monitoring the fetal heart rate is essential to tracking your baby's growth and development during pregnancy. While in the womb, your baby's heart rate should be 120 and 160 beats per minute, according to MedlinePlus. The heart rate may rise when...
HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) is used to help those suffering with obesity to lose weight effectively. Combining a strict diet with daily injections, HCG is believed to speed up your natural metabolic function, causing you to burn calories...
