About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth

Twin Miracles!

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 07:49:33 +0000

Seven years ago I got the news - we were expecting twins. When I was pregnant with my twins, I thought for sure there ought to be some way to tell I was pregnant with two rather than one - without the use of medical technology. With multiple birth rates on the rise, you may wonder if maybe your bundle of joy isn't really bundles (plural). This quick and easy quiz can help you sort out fact from fiction in the great scheme of things and help you determine if you're possibly having twins!

Our identical twin girls turned seven today! Take a trip down memory lane with me and read about their birth, it was a wild ride!

Sunday, December 21 at 9pm ET/PT
"Identical twins are as close as nature gets to human cloning. They look alike, sound alike, and can often lead strikingly similar lives - with the same jobs, tastes, hobbies, love interests, and phobias. But "clones" they are not, as any parent would attest. Now, with the state-of-the-art 4D ultrasound, National Geographic Channel goes In the Womb to reveal the hidden - and surprisingly different - world of twin fetal development. In this fourth installment of NGC's critically acclaimed series, explore the fascinating findings that identical twins aren't a 100 percent genetic match. Then, we examine a puzzle: identical twins who share the same set of genes, yet look very different."

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_{Photo (c) Robin Elise Weiss}

Twin Miracles! originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Monday, December 21st, 2009 at 07:49:33.

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Pregnancy & Make Up

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 05:45:39 +0000

I remember walking into work when I was about 13 weeks pregnant with twins. I hadn't told my co-workers about the babies yet, but they knew something was up. Finally one of the nice ladies from the front office came back with a bowl of chicken noodle soup, "Honey, you look awful! Just drained, maybe you need to go home and rest awhile." The problem was that I actually felt better than I looked! I didn't go into work again without putting on some blush.

Beyond that my skin changed with each pregnancy. One pregnancy I'd be oily and full of acne like a teen and the next my skin was dry and itching. I couldn't win. So, what do you do about pregnancy and your skin care? Do you wear the same old make up? Or forget it all together? These tips and tricks for pregnancy make up might be helpful.

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_{Photo Courtesy of iStockPhoto}

Pregnancy & Make Up originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Sunday, December 20th, 2009 at 05:45:39.

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Deliver My Baby

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 08:30:26 +0000

Deliver My Baby is a new and interactive quiz found online. You answer about 20 quick questions and choose between a handful of statements. It took me about 2-3 minutes to read the questions and answer them. There are some questions that have additional information. For example, the quiz asks about your feelings about episiotomy and there is a link to more information, should you not know what an episiotomy is at that point.

When you're done it tells you what type of health care provider your answers matched with and how to find someone who meets your needs. There are many resources listed too, like The Birth Survey, Childbirth Connection or Got Mom. Even more importantly is the downloadable forms for questions to ask the provider that you've matched with per the quiz.

It's well worth the three minutes to sit down and play with this tool, even if you think you know what type of provider you'd be happy with for your birth. I thought some of the questions were frank and ones you don't hear often or even think about if you're a first time mom.

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Deliver My Baby originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Saturday, December 19th, 2009 at 08:30:26.

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Finding a Christmas Baby Name

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 08:38:33 +0000

Baby names are often chosen because of a special time of year or event. Christmas is no exception to that rule. There are plenty of Christmas names to go around for girls. Boys names were a bit harder to come up with, but I finally had some come up in a conversation at a prenatal class the other night. Which of these are your favorites?

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_{Photo (c) iStockPhoto}

Finding a Christmas Baby Name originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Friday, December 18th, 2009 at 08:38:33.

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An Inexpensive Push Present

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 05:00:19 +0000

Sometimes we think about what's in it for me when it comes to birth. There is a lot of talk about push presents of the several karat variety. I'd like to to stop and consider a push present of a different variety: the gift of a safe birth.

The Hunger Site has a store that includes gifts that cost little but mean a lot. It could be paying a nurse midwife's salary for a week in a third world country, or a clean birth kit to help prevent infection in newborns. This is also a great gift for you to give to the doctor, nurse, midwife or doula in your life. I just gave a clean childbirth kit to a nurse friend of mine and she was thrilled. It wouldn't clutter her house and yet it made the world a better place.

More Thrifty Thursday from About.com Parenting:

An Inexpensive Push Present originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at 05:00:19.

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Obese Women Should Gain No Weight?

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:47:05 +0000

This year the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the National Research Council (NRC) made the first revision to their pregnancy weight gain guidelines since 1990. Now the guidelines are revised so that women who are overweight at the start of their pregnancies should gain only 11 to 20 pounds. Previously, it was stated that overweight women should gain about 25 pounds in pregnancy. This effects about a quarter of all pregnant women.

While the guidelines are officially new, they have been in the works for awhile. Studies have been going on for the last few years as the number of obese and overweight women who are pregnant have grown. The latest study says that obese women might be fine gaining no weight at all. Zero. They say that weight gain should be limited to about a 3% of their starting weight gain. One study about pregnancy weight gain in women who are obese (BMI above 29), it is being said that not only do they not need to gain a lot of weight, but a neutral gain and even a loss may be perfectly acceptable for these patients. One of the studies talked about the benefits of weight loss in pregnancy, as far as preventing some diseases like pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH), gestational diabetes (GD) and it could even help lower the c-section rates.

The pregnancy weight gain that is recommended for women with a body mass index (BMI) under 30 has not changed:

BMI	Recommended Weight Gain
30+	11-20 lbs
25 - 29.9	15-25 lbs
18.6-24.9	25-35 lbs
18.5 and lower	28-40 lbs

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_Sources:

_{Gestational Weight Gain and Pregnancy Outcomes in Obese Women How Much Is Enough? Deborah W. Kiel. Obstetrics & Gynecology 2007;110:752-758}

_{Weight Gain During Pregnancy:

Reexamining the Guidelines. Kathleen M. Rasmussen and Ann L. Yaktine, Editors; Committee to Reexamine IOM Pregnancy Weight Guidelines; Institute of Medicine; National Research Council; 2009.}

Obese Women Should Gain No Weight? originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Wednesday, December 16th, 2009 at 01:47:05.

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Best and Worst Baby names of 2009

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:14:34 +0000

Over in the Baby Names Forum, we came up with lists of names for best and worst for boys and girls. Now comes the vote...

Best and Worst Baby names of 2009 originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Monday, December 14th, 2009 at 12:14:34.

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How long should you stay in the hospital after having a baby?

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 05:34:33 +0000

How long you stay in the hospital or birth center after having a baby is rarely up to your, your doctor or midwife, but mostly up to hospital policy and your insurance company. New information says that maybe how long you stay after giving birth should include your opinion and the opinions of your practitioner. If you had a choice about how long you could stay would you be someone who wanted to move into the hospital? Or would you be someone who got the heck out of dodge as soon as you could? What would influence your opinions?

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How long should you stay in the hospital after having a baby? originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Monday, December 14th, 2009 at 05:34:33.

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Contractions, contractions, contractions!

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 08:06:55 +0000

Contractions are a part of life and labor. You simply can't give birth vaginally without them. While mothers tend to worry about what contractions will do, they have a purpose - to open the cervix and help propel the baby out into the world. Contractions are also really good for babies. Contractions act as a massage for the baby stimulating it to be born ready for the world. So the big question in everyone's mind is usually: what do contractions feel like? There is even a free program to help you them called Contraction Master.

The answer to that question will vary from woman to woman and even from labor to labor. Some women describe menstrual like cramps, while others use words like rubber bands. How would you describe the contractions of labor?
What about Braxton Hicks Contractions, those pre-labor contractions that some women feel?

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_{Photo (c) Robin Elise Weiss}

Contractions, contractions, contractions! originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Sunday, December 13th, 2009 at 08:06:55.

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Pregnancy Jokes and Humor - What's in a name?

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 06:11:59 +0000

So I was reading our Humor Guide's list of aptonyms, names that are perfectly suitable for someone or their job, and couldn't help but be tickled by some of the names I've heard for obstetricians, midwives, lactation consultants and others in the pregnancy field. So I thought it might be fun to share with you some I've heard and see what you can add to the list just be sure to tell us the name and profession.

Dr. Hyman (Obstetrician)
Dr. Pain (Obstetrician)
Dr. Beaver (Obstetrician)

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Pregnancy Jokes and Humor - What's in a name? originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Saturday, December 12th, 2009 at 06:11:59.

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