If you want to have a healthy pregnancy, refrain from drinking too much coffee. Well, you probably know that caffeine is not good for pregnant women; however, a new study highlights this fact even more. Pregnant women who consume 200 milligrams of caffeine or 2 cups or more of coffee are more exposed to the danger of miscarriage. This finding is based on the study done by Dr. De-Kun Li of Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. In order to have a clearer connection between the caffeine and miscarriage, they closely studied 1,063 pregnant women who did not change their caffeine intake during the pregnancy. The link is with caffeine itself because the same miscarriage risk was seen in the intake of sodas, teas and chocolates that contain caffeine.

Exercise is advised to women even in pregnancy. However, it should only be done in moderation because more than the prescribed can be very harmful, even to the point of causing miscarriage. Those who are still on their first trimester in particular are being warned against exercising too much. The exercises pointed out in a certain study that increases the risk of miscarriage are jogging, playing racket and ball games. When I read the news about this I couldn’t help thinking are there really pregnant women out there who still engage in these activities? I’d have thought they already take things slow… But this study should serve as a warning for those who still do them.

If you are a pregnant woman or are intending to conceive make sure that your blood sugar level is not above the normal as this puts yourself and your baby’s life at risk. A study involving 23,000 pregnant women found that there is a high connection between pregnant women’s blood sugar levels and the statistics of big babies that have to be brought into the world through Caesarian section. The study also found out that the babies born by mothers with high blood sugar have a greater chance of having low blood sugar but high insulin levels, which can end up in obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure when the babies get older.

Preeclampsia is a disorder that can be experienced by pregnant women during the second half of the pregnancy. This state is usually characterized by high blood pressure, kidney problems and other symptoms. This can be very dangerous for both the mother and the baby, so this recent finding of a certain study suggests that taking aspirin during pregnancy reduces the possibility of acquiring preeclampsia could be a welcome relief. In the study done by researchers from the University of Sidney aspirin can help prevent preeclampsia by smoothing an imbalance in the mother’s hormones that regulate the blood flow.

Would-be parents are of different minds – some couples want to know at the soonest possible time what sex their baby is going to be while there are also some who leave knowing that aspect at the very last moment. Some even just want it as a surprise and just wait until delivery. So for would-be parents out there, how would you feel about a kit that can tell your baby’s gender in just six weeks upon conception? Yes there is already such a test available in the Internet for £189 made by DNA Worldwide. This test does not involve any invasive procedure because it only requires a drop of blood from the mom.

One of the causes for concerns in pregnant women is preeclampsia – a condition that involves high blood pressure and fluid retention. The occurrence of this disorder can be a cause of maternal and infant illness and health. Preeclampsia usually occurs in the late or 2nd trimester of pregnancy making it even more dangerous for the mother and the baby. Being a potentially fatal condition, this condition must be diagnosed and managed at its early stage. However there is now a urine test that can be very helpful in detecting preeclampsia.

Did you know that if you want to have a healthy baby the best time to have one is somewhere between 25 until before you get to 40? Bearing a child at a very young age, like in the teenage years, or when you’re in you’re already in your 40’s brings more chances of having underweight babies. This kind of thing should not be taken lightly because being underweight makes the baby at risk of dying young or having some developmental problems. Children born to older moms are more likely to suffer from low IQ, poor cognitive performance as well as learning disabilities.

Have you been hankering after a baby for a long time now? Well here is some good news for you … eat ice cream! I’m sure as you are reading this you’re wondering what the connection is between ice cream and having a baby. There doesn’t seem to be a common ground between these two. But a recent study showed that eating ice cream and drinking whole fat milk would be a great way in order to help women conceive. It’s been found out as well that those women who are into low-fat dairy diet are more prone to an ovulatory infertility. This means that the woman have difficulty ovulating, a process which is very important in order for a woman to conceive.

There’s great news for pregnant women out there and also to would-be mommies. Many women dream to have normal, cute, beautiful and not to mention, smart kids right? Well these qualities can’t be dictated upon; however when it comes to intelligence, a recent research says that if an expectant mother eats fish it is likely that her offspring will be a smart one. In the observations done in the research it is said that kids whose moms ate more fish and other seafood have better developmental skills than kids whose moms did not.

They say that nothing can match the feeling of holding your very own baby in your arms right after birth. To most women this is the ultimate fulfillment of being a woman. So the idea that a woman cannot possibly conceive a child can be a source great frustration. There are various situations that prevent women from bearing a child, for example if she suffers from some form of infertility or one has undergone hysterectomy or removal of the uterus.

However, some hope is dawning for these women because New York doctors are set to perform the first uterus transplant. This transplant project is being initiated by a cancer specialist named Del Priore as well as gynecological surgeon Dr. Jeanetta Stega from the New York Downtown Hospital. Prior to this attempt, a six-month experiment wherein the doctors in the said hospital used all their powers of persuasion in order to have some uteruses donated to be used in the transplant. As of now there are eight uteruses at hand for the said project.

It has been long known that babies born by caesarean delivery or c-section have higher rate of post-delivery death; however those deaths were believed to have been caused by complications that led to the necessity of c-section delivery.

Generally speaking though, caesarean delivery has become increasingly safer over the past decades; hence, more and more women nowadays choose to have c-section instead of normal delivery even when there is no medical need for such method of childbirth. Delivery by caesarean section on request of the mother is called elective caesarean section.

Researchers from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, however would like to inform mothers, clinicians and as well as policymakers that babies born by elective caesarean are almost three times more likely to die in the first month than those born naturally. This finding was based on a study on more than 5.7 million births in the US.

We already know that Vitamin D is very important for the correct growth of the human bones, and now a new research suggests that giving pregnant women vitamin D could mean their babies grow stronger bones in later life.
Babies who were in their mommies tummy during the research, were tested nine years later to see what exactly has happened with their bones.
The children of those mommies who lacked vitamin D had weaker bones, while mommies who took supplements or were exposed to more sunlight had children with greater bone densities.
The strange thing is no one has ever looked at the mother's vitamin D levels before, and this should be one of the important tests during pregnancy.

Women planning pregnancy should make sure to eat plenty of foods full of Folic Acid or take a supplement to prevent birth defects, because this Acid in particular regulates embryo and fetal development.
And if you aren’t pregnant, you should also have good quantities of Folic Acid in your diet.
Why? Here’s why ...