Distress for an unborn baby can mean several things, but most commonly it means a lack of oxygen. This can be caused by a maternal lack of oxygen, a problem with the placenta or umbilical cord, or a problem with the baby. Most women receive...
During your pregnancy, your doctor will likely use a doppler instrument to listen to your baby's heartbeat at each prenatal appointment. Should something sound different to him, he may order a non-stress test or a half-hour monitoring of your...
While a pregnancy is technically not post-term until 42 weeks, some obstetricians and midwives feel the need to induce labor before then. Possible reasons include low amniotic fluid, suspected fetal distress or large baby. If natural methods of...
For most women requesting pain relief during labor, epidural anesthesia is the preferred method. With this type of regional anesthesia, the laboring mother is conscious and awake, yet is numb in the lower extremities. This seems like the ideal...
A fetal heart rate monitor is exactly what it sounds like: a device that tracks your baby's heart rate during labor and birth. Changes in your baby's heart rate can indicate fetal distress, which can turn a basic labor and birth into a risky...
In the textbook, "NSCA's Essentials of Personal Training," R. Earle and T. Baechle indicated that participating in an exercise program while pregnant can provide a woman with a variety of benefits such as increased self-esteem, improved...
While most babies in the womb turn head-down during the last two months of pregnancy, a small percentage remain in some other position, a complication called breech. Breech babies can be identified on ultrasound or during a physical examination by...
A mother's normal instinct is to protect her child, including when he's in the womb. Learning about the stages of development during each trimester can help you know what to expect during each week or month of your pregnancy. Educating yourself...
A woman who smokes harms her own health as well as health of her unborn child. Smoking causes nicotine, carbon monoxide and other chemicals to be passed to the baby. When a woman inhales nicotine it is transmitted to the placenta. The placenta...
Cervidil (dinoprostone) is used vaginally to ripen the cervix in women who are pregnant so that labor can be induced. Cervidil contains a prostaglandin hormone called PGE2, which is secreted naturally in pregnancy by the placenta and fetal...
You've probably heard that it's important to pay attention to decreased fetal movement, but you may wonder if it's possible for your baby to move too much. When it comes to your comfort level during pregnancy, especially in the third trimester, a...
Cesarean sections (c-sections) comprise around 30 percent of births in the United States, the Nemours Foundation reports. All cesarean sections, like any other major surgery, are done under anesthesia. Anesthesia for cesareans falls into two...
There are many times when inducing labor is required to preserve the health of the fetus or the mom. Labor may also be induced for women who've already had a baby and live far from a hospital. In 2006, nearly one in five women were induced in the...
Pregnancy is a time of joyful anticipation for most prospective parents. For some, however, the pregnancy ends with the death of the baby while it is still in the womb. Death of the fetus before birth, called stillbirth, occurs once in about 200...
Pregnancy is an exciting time for parents-to-be. Some mothers find it difficult to quit smoking prior to or during their pregnancies. Cigarette smoke contains over 2,000 chemicals, with two of the most dangerous substances being nicotine and...
A typical pregnancy ends in labor between the 38th and 42nd week, according to FamilyDoctor.org. Any pregnancy that goes beyond 42 weeks is considered a post-term pregnancy. There are many reasons why a pregnancy goes beyond the typical due date....
A pregnancy is term between 37 and 42 weeks. In a healthy pregnancy, labor induction is generally to be avoided, as it is not without risk. Pregnant women may prefer natural induction methods, such as cohosh, to conventional induction methods,...
Throughout history, women have used black cohosh to bring on a late menstrual period, to induce labor, promote lactation, and soothe symptoms of menopause. Evidence for these uses has been largely anecdotal. Today, however, we have the advantage...
Babies can enter the world in one of several ways. Since babies don't have much say in the matter, the decision for which delivery option is best falls to his mother, or, more often, to his mother's medical practitioner. The type of delivery...
After nine months of pregnancy, the much-anticipated delivery of the baby arrives. A woman and her doctor choose the type of delivery, with things like beliefs about childbirth and the health of mother and baby taken into account. Many pregnant...
Preeclampsia and eclampsia are medical conditions that can occur in pregnancy. Though they are sometimes referred to as toxemias, there is no evidence that a toxin is involved in these conditions. Preeclampsia can result in too much protein in the...
If you're at the end of your pregnancy, you're likely more than ready to give birth. While your doctor can induce labor, there are a number of things to try at home that are healthy and safe for both you and the baby. Before heading to the...
Labor and delivery can be a painful experience. Fortunately, anesthesia is available to ease the pain of labor for women who have vaginal deliveries or cesarean sections. Anesthesia used in labor has to be safe for both mother and baby.There are...
A breech position or breech delivery is a medical term that describes the upside-down position of a baby just before delivery. Normally, babies are born head first, but in a breech delivery, the foot or the buttocks may present first. Medical...
Regular exercise during pregnancy has many benefits for the mother and her child. Exercise can provide relief from fatigue and mood fluctuations and help with weight gain, backaches, swelling, constipation and sleep. Exercise can help prevent the...
If you smoke while you are pregnant, you put both yourself and your unborn child at risk for significant health complications, according to the American Cancer Society. Your unborn baby relies upon you for necessary oxygen, nutrients and blood....
During the first trimester of pregnancy, you generally have free reign to be as active as you'd like. According to the "The Everything Pregnancy Fitness Book," women who are in the early stages of pregnancy may continue their usual fitness...
Women often stop their exercise routines once they become pregnant out of fear of a possible risk to their unborn baby. Unless you have complications in your pregnancy, most women are able to continue exercising. A doctor can help you modify...
There are a variety of herbal products that midwives and alternative health care practitioners commonly recommend during pregnancy. Some of these herbs are meant to decrease discomforts related to pregnancy, while others supposedly help to prepare...
A cesarean section is a surgical birthing procedure wherein the pregnant woman's uterus is cut open to deliver the baby, chosen when natural child birth is deemed dangerous. Get professional tips and advice on childbirth in this video.
