There are few things as devastating as the death of a baby during pregnancy. Stillbirth is a nightmare for expectant parents. Fortunately, most practitioners now understand how vital compassion and support are for parents experiencing perinatal...
According to the University of Illinois Medical Center, a baby is considered stillborn if it dies before birth but after 20 gestational weeks. Stillbirth is still the term used for a baby that dies right up to labor and delivery according to...
Smoking cigarettes during the first few weeks of pregnancy and throughout the first trimester can lead to an array of complications. Not only can smoking affect the mother, it can also affect the unborn baby. Because the first trimester is...
According to the March of Dimes, fetal alcohol poisoning or fetal alcohol syndrome is one of the most common reasons for mental retardation. Between 1000 and 6000 babies are born each year with fetal alcohol syndrome, FAS. The March of Dimes notes...
Smoking is commonly known to be "bad for you." What is perhaps less known is that when a woman smokes during her pregnancy, she is increasing the risk for a variety of potentially tragic outcomes--both for herself and her unborn baby. According...
Chlorambucil is a chemotherapy treatment used to treat cancers of the ovaries, lymph (fluid that carries white blood cells) and blood (leukemia). It can also treat nephrotic syndrome (kidney disorder) and uterine fibroids. According to Drugs.com,...
Many pregnant women are not too concerned about their swollen or bleeding gums, but this condition can lead to serious repercussions. The National Women's Health Information Center states that one cause of death of a stillborn baby has been linked...
Using tobacco is dangerous and kills approximately 5 million people each year, which is more than tuberculosis and malaria combined, notes the World Health Organization. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Men,...
Getting and staying fit can add years to your life and make you feel younger and stronger. Unfortunately, being physically fit cannot reverse the effects of aging on your eggs. Getting pregnant becomes more difficult as you age. Even the most...
Pregnancy is a time of joy for many couples. When this happiness is shattered by the death of a fetus, the marital relationship can be strained. This death, when occurring 20 weeks or more into a pregnancy, is called stillbirth. The March of Dimes...
In the United States, smoking is responsible for almost one in five deaths, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). Furthermore, an approximate 8.6 million people suffer from smoking-related lung and heart diseases. The risk of developing...
A primary cause of preventable death in the United States, smoking is one of the most hazardous activities that people pursue. For example, smoking causes about 85 percent of the annual deaths due to lung cancer in the United States, according to...
You need to start making health decisions for two once you become pregnant. You may already know that drinking alcohol and smoking can harm your growing baby, but seemingly innocent habits may also be dangerous. For instance, if you typically...
Stillbirth as defined by the National Stillbirth Society is the death and delivery of a developing baby that takes place after the 20th week of pregnancy. After fetal death has occurred, the baby must still come out of the womb, according to the...
When a baby dies in the womb, this is either a stillbirth or miscarriage, depending on when the death takes place during the course of a woman's pregnancy. According to the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human...
High blood sugar during pregnancy is referred to as gestational diabetes. This condition affects 3 to 5 percent of American pregnant woman and is associated with hormonal changes that occur in the body during pregnancy, according to the Cleveland...
Cigarette advertising on television and radio has been illegal in the United States since 1971. Additional state and local regulations enacted since then have resulted in a virtual ban against smoking in most public places. Many entertainment and...
Smoking cigarettes gets blamed for many negative things, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, confirms that it is dangerous. It kills more people every year than illegal drug use, alcohol use, murders, suicides, car...
Cigarette smoking is linked to a myriad of illnesses. Smoking adversely affects almost every bodily organ. Thousands of deaths every year are caused by or linked to cigarette smoking. Despite these facts, which are now common knowledge, many...
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...
According to the American Council for Drug Education, tobacco use is responsible for more than 400,000 deaths in the United States each year. Tobacco in cigarettes, cigars, pipes and snuff, or smokeless tobacco, contains a highly addictive central...
As your pregnancy progresses, you might find sleeping more difficult. Your larger size makes it harder to get comfortable or you might wake up with unexplained twinges or spasms. Your sleeping position affects both you and your baby's health....
World hunger is a problem that has plagued humans since biblical times, yet it seems to get worse every year. From war-torn countries to cities rocked by earthquakes, people in the world are starving and facing the realities of malnutrition. When...
Iodine is essential to your health. The Linus Pauling Institute reports iodine deficiency as the most common cause of preventable brain damage in the world. Iodine deficiency causes a variety of medical conditions that range from mild thyroid...
Having a healthy diet during pregnancy is extremely important, both for the pregnant woman and the developing fetus. A healthy diet with increased calories sustains the mother throughout her pregnancy, helping her to fight off infections, giving...
Chickenpox is a type of herpes virus also known as varicella zoster. It usually affects children but can also strike adults. Victims can develop hundreds of red, itchy, liquid-filled spots on the skin. These symptoms are often preceded by...
Miscarriage can be a traumatizing event, whether it happens in early pregnancy or late pregnancy. Most miscarriages take place in early pregnancy, before the 12th week, and are often referred to as spontaneous abortions. Miscarriages that occur...
Spotting or vaginal bleeding during the ninth month may be alarming. It can be the result of normal pregnancy conditions, including labor, or it can be a sign of a pregnancy complication. Women who notice any bleeding this late in the pregnancy...
Experiencing fetal demise, or a death after 20 weeks gestation, is an acutely painful experience. Not only do you lose the baby, but you lose the hopes and dreams that you planned for upon finding out about your pregnancy. The five stages of...
