Mothers-to-be who follow a nutrient-rich diet reduce their risks for complications such as birth defects and less than optimal fetal growth and development. When carrying multiple fetuses, pregnant women require additional energy and nutrients.
Practicing yoga during pregnancy has physical and mental benefits. Prenatal yoga, as this form of yoga is called, incorporates movement, breathing and awareness. Physically, practicing yoga during pregnancy strengthens the mom-to-be's muscles and...
Nutrition is an important concern for pregnant women. Fructose is a simple sugar that occurs naturally in honey, fruit and some vegetables. Fructose is in many sweetened beverages and foods today, and it contributes to excess weight gain. This can...
Lipitor (atorvastatin) is prescribed for those with dangerous levels of cholesterol which could lead to heart disease. It helps control the risk of stroke, heart attack and levels of fat in the blood which can lead to either stroke or heart attack...
Few things are more exciting than following the development of your unborn baby when you have found out you're pregnant. Despite the advanced technology of the 21st century, your baby, beginning as just about the size of a tip on a pen, and...
Every baby is different, both before and after he is born, according to the American Pregnancy Association. By the seventh or eighth month of your pregnancy, you might notice routines in his behavior and preferences. "Normal" behavior varies from...
Although many pregnant women are extremely afraid that their own illnesses might harm their baby, fetuses are remarkably resilient. In most cases, a cough is harmless to a developing baby. The placenta provides fetuses with substantial protection...
According to MayoClinic.com, most people shed about 50 to 100 hairs a day. However, when the number of hairs shed exceeds the rate at which the strands of new hair grow, balding can occur. Heredity is one cause of baldness and can affect both the...
Human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG, is produced by the placenta of pregnant women. Obstetricians can measure the amounts of hCG by obtaining a specimen to make different determinations in regards to your pregnancy. The quantitative results...
Pregnancy is a time when consuming extra calories and vitamins and minerals is vital. Twin pregnancies are generally monitored to ensure proper nutrition for mother and fetuses, and discussing calories with your doctor is the best way to determine...
The androgen testosterone is a male hormone. It's responsible for the development of many physical and psychological male features. While individual men secrete different levels of testosterone, it's quite rare that a man secretes none at all....
Most fetal growth follows a prescribed pattern. But between 3 to 10 percent of fetuses develop intrauterine growth retardation, often referred to as IUGR, the University of California San Francisco reports. Babies with IUGR, who are smaller and...
Being pregnant is an exciting time in a woman's life. Although often marred by nausea and other unpleasant symptoms, pregnancy can be a beautiful experience as well as an opportunity for a woman to provide her fetus with the best possible...
Fetuses have different levels of activity; some move more than others. Fetal movements occur in periods of activity and rest throughout the day (and night.) According to the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, women feel at least 75...
Tobacco smoke damages cellular DNA to affect developing babies in the womb genetically. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), fetuses can be exposed to cigarette smoke in several ways, not only by contact with...
Iron deficiency anemia is a common nutritional deficiency that is seen in both developing and developed countries. Women of childbearing age, children, teenagers and the elderly can be at a higher risk of developing low iron levels and stores....
Technically, radiation encompasses a broad range of phenomena, many of which are not harmful to living organisms. Radio waves, microwaves and visible light are all forms of radiation but have no biological consequences of exposure. Some forms of...
Testosterone is an androgen, or male hormone. While it's produced by both sexes--albeit in much larger amounts by males than by females--its most visible and familiar effects show up in men. Male fetuses begin producing the hormone at just a few...
Vitamin C is not naturally manufactured by your body, but it is a vitamin your body needs. Vitamin C helps your tissues grow and stay healthy. It helps break down free radicals that enter your system, helps fetuses develop and protects against the...
While smoking is pleasurable or relaxing for some people, it is also unhealthy and unsafe. The economic and health impacts of smoking affect smokers and nonsmokers, including developing fetuses and children. These widespread consequences make the...
Phytoestrogens are plant hormones that have a chemical resemblance to human estrogen. Chemicals that have similar shapes can sometimes cause similar effects in cells, which has caused concern in some sectors that phytoestrogen-containing foods...
The reproductive organs of humans, while ostensibly quite different from males to females, actually share most of their developmental roots. Early fetuses have identical reproductive systems, despite the fact that a baby's gender is determined...
Soy contains phytoestrogens, plant hormones similar in chemical structure to human estrogen. Because of the chemical similarity, there's been some concern that soy consumption might increase risk of estrogen-related cancers or feminize male...
Heartburn affects many women during pregnancy due to hormone increases that slow the digestive system, as well as the pressure placed on the stomach by the growing baby and uterus. When the valve that keeps stomach contents where they belong is...
Secondhand smoke is a serious environmental hazard for both children and adults. There is no safe level of secondhand smoke, and infants are especially susceptible to its dangers. Parents who smoke should seek help to quit. If quitting is not...
The soft, thin hair that is sometimes found on the face, shoulders and back of newborns is called lanugo. All fetuses grow lanugo hair in utero. The hair generally vanishes between 36 and 40 weeks gestation. Thus, premature infants are more likely...
Every pregnancy has a risk that the fetus carries a serious genetic defect. Doctors have developed ways to calculate the risk of a serious chromosomal abnormality fairly early in pregnancy. In the first trimester, nuchal translucency, or the...
Alcohol abuse causes many long-term problems, including about 35,000 deaths annually in the United States from "chronic disease alcohol-attributable deaths," according to "Healthy People 2010," a report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human...
Hiccups are spasmodic contractions of the diaphragm that typically repeat several times per minute. They are quite common and generally disappear on their own. Learn about the different causes, symptoms, and treatments of hiccups in this video.
