Unless your practitioner gives you specific restrictions or instructions, you should keep active during pregnancy. This may be as simple as walking every day to get your heart rate moving, or it may be a complete fitness program designed to be safe during pregnancy. But you also need to do so safely.

The foundation of fitness for a mom is her abdominal area. To moms a flat stomach is wonderful; a strong abdominal core is critical. The cool thing is, you can get both at the same time with side planks.

If you are pregnant, there are things you should know about pregnancy and tanning booths. Tanning beds safety while pregnant has become very questionable. A better choice might be to use the sunless tanning spray booth equipment to keep your golden tan.

There are so many changes the body undergoes during pregnancy that it becomes easy to ignore the changes in the feet. During pregnancy the body releases hormones that allow the ligaments to relax in the birth canal. The ligaments in the feet also relax, causing the foot to lengthen and widen. Many will complain of a shoe size increase by one or two sizes. In most circumstances, this flattening and widening of the foot is benign and no problems result.

Obese and morbidly obese women are more likely to have pregnancy complications and caesarean sections than women of average weight, according to a study published in the April 2004 American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The controlled study is one of the largest ever to look at obesity in pregnancy, following more than 16,000 pregnant women at 14 medical centers across the country.

When a couple is unable to conceive a child, it is the couple's problem, and not the "fault" of one partner or the other. Female issues are the most common reasons cited, but some studies suggest that up to 40% of infertility is caused by one or more reasons originating with the male partner.

Have you considered hiring a doula for added support during labor? Wouldn't it be easier for a mother to have someone nurturing, guiding, suggesting and comforting throughout the entire childbirth process? Doulas have your best interest at heart because they work for you not the hospital.
WHAT ARE DOULAS?
? Specially trained women helping women through childbirth.
? Offer a continual presence vs. the hospital staff coming and going.

Every woman gains weight while she is pregnant. This is the way how it is and always has been. And it is as it is: It is also perfectly normal for a woman wanting to lose weight after a pregnancy. There is absolutely nothing wrong with aspiring to get yourself back into shape right after having giving birth to a baby. In fact - weight loss to a certain degree is certainly encouraged. Overweight just causes different health issues in the mid to long term.

I coached as my wife was delivering our third child. She was at the final phase of delivery where the last few pushes would result in the birth of our second daughter. As the crown of our daughter's head protruded slightly from the very end of the birth canal, my wife's obstetrician yelled, "Stop! Don't push..."