A conventional baby shower might not be for you, and that’s totally fine. One of the sweetest—and most spiritual—ways to shower a mom-to-be with affection before baby arrives is by having a mother’s blessing, and it’s pretty easy to plan. Instead of having the complexities of a shower (think: coming up with games to play and sitting down to open dozens and dozens of gifts), a mother’s blessing simply celebrates mom....
Parlodel (aka bromocriptine) is a medication used to treat high levels of prolactin, a hormone released by the pituitary gland. If you have elevated prolactin levels, you may experience irregular or absent periods, and have fertility problems. To find out if prolactin is to blame for any trouble getting pregnant, your doctor can perform a simple blood test. She may also have you undergo an MRI of your pituitary gland to make sure everything looks healthy....
Everyone’s path to parenthood is unique. Whether you’re part of a same sex couple, a single parent by choice or in a heterosexual relationship, your family-building journey may benefit from the use of donor eggs or donor sperm. While some intended parents are able to work with a known donor (usually a family member or friend), you may need to use an anonymous donor identified through a donor bank. But this process can be a lot more difficult if you’re looking for sperm or eggs from someone of a specific ethnicity or race....
Despite the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine, face masks will likely continue to be a part of daily public life. Due to the Delta variant, cases are once again surging, and, while the vaccine is available to everyone over the age of 12, young children are not yet able to get vaccinated. Experts are still recommending that everyone—including kids who are 2 and older—wear a face mask when out in public to help curb the spread of coronavirus....
It may seem like common sense, but a new study from Duke University gives us proof that a child’s home environment can significantly reduce his chances of becoming obese. According to the Center for Disease control, childhood obesity has more then doubled in children and more than tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years, with more than one third of children and adolescents overweight or obese in 2010. With the incidence of childhood obesity so sharply on the rise, any information that can help curb that trend is pertinent....
If you’ve never breastfed before, you might think it’ll come naturally to you and your newborn. Baby is hungry, you offer up your nipple, baby latches on and sucks sweetly until he’s full. Easy, right? But what’s natural isn’t necessarily always intuitive (at least at first)—for either mom or baby. We talked to breastfeeding experts and moms who’ve experienced nursing challenges to round up the best breastfeeding tips to help set you and baby up for success....
Don’t be alarmed when you see a nurse don a sterile hat, mask and gloves—all it means is that you’re getting close to delivery and it’s time to set up the doctor’s table. But some of the standard labor tools might not look so familiar to you. To help you mentally prepare, here’s a breakdown of the medical tools you might spot being set up. There’s a lot you can’t control during birth, but hey, at least you can know what’s being used and why....
We’re giving credit where credit’s due — it turns out babies can understand complex social interactions, like how people are expected to behave, and what people know and don’t know. So babies can figure out dramatic irony? Not quite — it’s more like they understand consequences. A new University of Missouri study turned up the drama for a group of 13-month-olds, showing a puppet show in which one character witnessed another misbehaving....
You know how in the movies or on TV, no sooner is the cord cut than the newborn baby is immediately brought to nuzzle on mom’s breast? There’s a really good chance that’s not going to happen to you. And that’s OK: It’s just that because the vast majority of twins (and almost all triplets) don’t go the full 40-week term, they’re often swept away to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to make sure breathing, heart rate, and all the other vitals are going A-OK....
Your sleep-starved mom friends might think you’re crazy for worrying about baby oversleeping, but it’s common for new parents to be surprised by just how much their newborn babies snooze. Here’s the deal: It’s totally normal for a newborn to sleep a lot. After all, growing is tiring work! But sometimes all that napping can get in the way of baby’s healthy growth. Read on to learn how many hours of shut-eye infants typically get, and when you may need to wake baby for a feeding....
My most visceral bout of abdominal pain in pregnancy woke me in the middle of the night. I was 3,000 miles from home on vacation, six months pregnant with my first child and unable to go back to sleep after two excruciating stabs of pain hit my right side. It felt like something inside was ripping, although it only lasted for a second or two. I caught my breath—my husband was snoring beside me—and sat there expectantly, waiting for more....
You’ve probably been told at one point or another to “listen to your body”—and the advice applies to instances beyond just intense workouts. Your body offers all sorts of clues about what’s going on inside, including whether or not you’re ovulating. Changes in your cervical mucus can be a useful indicator to keep track of if you’re trying to get pregnant (or just prefer natural birth control). So what are the types of cervical mucus, what do they signal about where you are in your cycle and how can you check your mucus?...
What is deep vein thrombosis (DVT) during pregnancy? Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) happens when a clot forms in a vein — you’re more prone to it during pregnancy. What are the signs of DVT during pregnancy? You’ll probably have swelling and pain, especially in one leg, where the clots are most common. Are there any tests for DVT during pregnancy? An ultrasound (of the leg, not your belly!) can usually confirm or rule out DVT....
Introducing a new baby to an older child is always tricky; no matter what you do to prepare him, he’ll never be completely ready to share his parents’ attention with a new sibling. Don’t expect the transition to go completely smoothly — bouts of crankiness are inevitable. What you can do, though, is read him fun books about bringing home a new sibling, like The Berenstain Bears’ New Baby by Stan and Jan Berenstain or Babies Don’t Eat Pizza by Dianne Danzig....
It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you’re putting together a nursery. Baby boutiques will have you ooh-ing and aah-ing over scores of items—all of which seem absolutely crucial to your tot’s future happiness and well being, including that pink couch fashioned out of 100 percent organic cotton by some artisan in Brooklyn. But the truth is, babies are simple folk. Only a few things are genuinely important, and everything else is merely nice to have....
The Bump presents #MomBoss, a series dedicated to showing off all-star moms. We catch up with mompreneurs behind products we love, influencers who get real about motherhood and SAHMs who can multitask in their sleep. Growing up, Ozi Okaro had a seriously warped perception of beauty, and it all stemmed from the dolls she played with. As an adorable black girl, her playtime pals looked nothing like her. When she became a mother, she refused to let her kids’ self-esteem suffer the same blow....
Miscarriage is more common than you might think. According to experts, about 10 to 25 percent of pregnancies will result in a miscarriage. Still, many couples find it difficult to talk about pregnancy loss, and instead face their grief and frustration alone. Ultimately, this means less awareness around the topic, which can make it even more scary and confusing for those going through the experience. It’s not particularly light or uplifting, but some basic education around the often taboo topic of miscarriage can help you navigate this tricky terrain....
Just one more story. I want a cup of water. I’m not tired. I’m scared. It’s too dark. It’s not dark enough. Putting baby to bed was hard enough, but the needs, demands and fears of a toddler can draw bedtime out for hours, frustrating parents and caregivers and cutting into that precious block of toddler sleep that your little needs oh-so-badly. “Adequate sleep is essential for your child’s healthy development and behavior,” says Eboni Hollier, MD, a Houston-based pediatrician and assistant professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine....
You feel shocked by the turn of events. “I just assumed everything would go well because I’m a very healthy person — I thought I’d deliver like a workhorse,” says Bumpie EmmaD312, of giving birth to her son, Augustus. But after a 26-hour labor, it was clear that Amalie wasn’t progressing, so she was given Pitocin and things intensified. “My contractions became very strong and before I knew it, the baby’s heartbeat was dropping....
It’s no secret that pregnancy comes with a long to-do list. There are the obvious tasks (setting up a nursery and babyproofing your home), and the less so (applying for baby’s social security card and buying life insurance). You’ll also be faced with a host of legal and financial decisions, like writing or revising your will. But with a little bit of planning, you can get a head start on these crucial to-dos to save you time (and stress) once baby arrives....
