Should pregnant women gain weight? Yes, they should and always do. But what about obese pregnant women? Should chubby women also gain pregnancy weight? How can even more weight gain affect their and their baby’s health? Find out the answer in this article. Full story

According to researchers from the University of Texas, if a pregnant woman suffers from obesity, the results of fetal ultrasound examinations may be impaired. In the first place, it elevates the risk of overlooking major fetal abnormalities. Full story

Breast milk test can be a quick and simple way to detect early breast cancer, according to scientists from the University of Massachusetts. They found methylated genes in breast milk, the genes that indicate high risk of cancer development. Full story

Expectant mothers recover longer after delivery and they bond harder with their newly born children, according to researchers from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland who surveyed 130 women to discover the impact of alcohol on the health of a mother rather than a child. Full story

One of the most vulnerable body parts during pregnancy is back. It starts aching when you remain in sitting, standing and even lying position for a long time. Let alone the fact women have to do household routines. What could an expectant mother do to ease pregnancy back pain? Find out some simple tips below. Full story

Breastfeeding is commonly welcomed. It is considered that prolonged and exclusive breastfeeding (for six months) is equally healthy for mother and baby. Yet, it is curious to know what official statistics and scientists say about it. Researches at University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, studied 154 Mexican women and their babies. The study was aimed at discovering the real health effects of breastfeeding on infants under six months. Full story

Most women, even those who dream of having children, are afraid of childbirth. It hurts much, you never know how long it will last and if there will appear complications. My nephew’s birth lasted about 7 hours, my sister-in-law, his mother, says, it was complicated, exhausting and very painful. This is why anything (that, of course, doesn’t harm the baby) that could help ease the pain and make childbirth faster is a dream of every pregnant woman. Here’s something that does help. Brazilian scientists found out that taking water aerobics, or aqua aerobics, classes during pregnancy help significantly ease the childbirth pain as well as speed up the overall process. Full story

It turned out that our body weight is directly linked to the reproductive power. “Failure” of genetic mechanism responsible for appetite and weight “turns” fertility off. The discovery was made by American biologists. Their study has been published in Nature Medicine Journal. Authors of the article, scientists from Salk Institute for Biological Studies, were studying appetite regulation involving the gene known as TORC1. Full story

Last year, the actress Milla Jovovich had a girl. Pregnant Jovovich put surprising 66 pounds on. “I got so huge! - complained the actress in her blog. - It happened unbelievably fast. All I did was to eat three plain croissants with butter for breakfast, a few doughnuts, jelly and cream. And here I’m weighing nearly 200 pounds!” Last photos, however, show Milla Jovovich regained her slim figure. She stayed away from fatty food and sweets and became a frequenter of the gym. Full story

Celebrity moms seem to differ so much from ordinary women, although they can also suffer from swellings, toxicosis, when pregnant, and fall into postpartum depression, as well as many of us do. And, surely, similar to ordinary moms, most of them do have excess “pregnancy” weight after childbirth. The difference is that often enough they lose their pregnancy weight much faster. You already know some postpartum weight loss secrets of Heidi Klum and Katie Holmes. Today you’ll find out how Uma Thurman was getting slim after pregnancy. Full story

German supermodel Heidi Klum is a happy mother of three children. Having a million dollars worth contract for presenting Victoria's Secret line of underwear, she had a girl in September and as early as December Heidi appeared on the stage semi-naked. It would take half a year or a year for a regular mom to lose pregnancy weight. Heidi had to shed it for a few months. Full story

There is something really incredible about how celebrity moms are able to look as if nothing happened just in a few months after the childbirth. “Some people have all the luck!” - unlucky mothers groan looking through the tabloids. Don't be envious. All too often celebrities are pushed to shed their pregnancy weight as quick as possible. First, tough contracts bind most of them to show up at a film set just a few weeks after the childbirth. And second, they are being closely watched for extra pounds through the paparazzi's cameras around the clock. Any ride to the supermarket can end up with a tabloid cover trumpeting, "She looks like a fat pig!" Full story

Like their unborn babies, pregnant women should listen to lullabies. Sweet melodies and nature sounds before bed can reduce stress, depression and anxiety related to pregnancy. This has been shown by the study of Taiwanese scientists. They studied two groups of women aged 30, who were between 18 and 34 weeks pregnant. One group was asked to listen to CDs featuring lullabies, classical music, nature sounds, and Chinese nursery rhymes and songs for 30 minutes every day. Full story

It has become really easy to find out, if you are pregnant or not – and you don’t even need to visit a doctor. Regular pregnancy tests you could earlier find in drugstores are no more actual, as there’s something much more interesting, something hi-tech – USB pregnancy test kit. Just do the same procedures as you do with the regular pregnancy test, but with an exception: the stick goes into a USB port. Sounds like somebody’s fantasy? No, it’s reality! Full story

It's the third postpartum trimester. Your toddler has already achieved a feeling of independence in moving. Now it is impossible to leave the baby alone for even a moment. It would seem easy to place the child for a long term with relatives and start taking care of yourself at least occasionally. But something still prevents you from shedding post-pregnancy weight. Full story

Your baby grew noticeably bigger, weighing twice as much as at the childbirth. Now that the digestion is working well, your baby is a calm sleeper and the most drastic change – the baby becomes inquisitive about the world. As for moms, they their psyche becomes increasingly vulnerable during the second postpartum trimester. Statistics shows, the second trimester is linked to an increased risk of postpartum depression. Half a year after the childbirth, many women start pondering on their looks and slimming diet opportunities. Full story

You already know that women may gain up to 30 lb or even more during the nine months of pregnancy. And then, when your baby is born, it’s often a huge problem to get rid of the excess pregnancy weight. But you should still stay positive and work hard in striving for “the slim yourself” all the nine months after pregnancy. Here’s what prevents you from losing excess weight and what to start with during the first postpartum trimester. Full story

“Well, it's time to change your wardrobe! You can't fit into your old clothes after having a baby”, - your friends are giving you a teasing advice. Here is how you can make fun of them after just half a year. Now that you checked out of maternity hospital and made your baby comfortable at home, you could finally take a breath. You looked at yourself in a mirror closely and winced! “My body will never be the same!” - a common fear among young mothers. So let's get this straight. Yes, you will never be the same. But you can get your slim body back! Full story

Parents’ diet may play a role in whether they will have a boy or a girl. Studies show that the parents of boys had a lot of natrium and potassium in their diet while the parents of girls preferred foods rich in calcium and magnesium. Scientists have come up with two different diets including specific foods for those who want to plan their baby’s sex. Full story

The cosmetics a pregnant woman is using may cause sterility in her future baby, scientists at the University of Edinburgh say. They tried some chemical components used in cosmetics industry on pregnant rats. The experiment showed that many components disrupt female hormone profile, which ... Full story