There are numerous studies showing that children notch up mothers’ stress level because of the need for unyielding attention, nursing and care. But a new study finds that on the whole parents who have children register lower blood pressure than those who chose to remain childless. Full story

Russian singer/composer Oksana Grigorieva, 39, Mel Gibson’s latest flame and mother of his eighth child, looks stunning. It’s not three months yet after she gave birth to Lucia on October 30, but she goes about slim and charming as ever. Full story

Hormonal changes during pregnancy bring on plenty of psychological changes, apart from the much-talked-of mood fluctuations. A new study by British scientists published in the Hormones and Behavior reveals that pregnancy heightens women’s ability to read the expressions on people’s faces. Full story

Strange as it seems, but some moms experience kind of euphoria when they see their baby crying. Other women get negative feelings, and even disgust. A study looking at reasons for maternal neglect found that such opposite behavior patterns have their root in different brain chemical responses which could be explained how mums themselves were treated as children. Full story

More and more women are postponing pregnancy or wanting fewer babies. The recession has hit at much more than people’s wallets. According to Dr. Laura Lindberg from the Guttmacher Institute, women, especially those struggling financially, are trying more than ever to avoid getting pregnant. And many of them can’t even afford to buy their contraceptives. Lindberg and her colleagues interviewed about 1,000 sexually active women aged between 18 and 39 years old with their annual income less than $75,000. Full story

New fetal heart monitor can help to save the lives of fetuses in complicated pregnancies. The report about this device was published in International Journal of Engineering Systems Modelling and Simulation. In cases of complicated pregnancies that result in premature birth, miscarriage, fetal growth cessation and stillbirth, problems do not usually happen suddenly but develop over a certain period of time. Regular ultrasound monitoring of fetal growth can help identify some problems, but too frequent ultrasound monitoring of a mother and her fetus involves its own health risks. Full story

Physicians warn that pregnant women are in the risk group for developing severe health problems during the flu season. So in this year marked by swine flu threat, they have to be even more on the alert. Dr. Keith Reeves from Methodist Hospital in Houston says that physicians don't want pregnant women to be panicked by this virus, but they do want women to be more responsible for taking precautions typical for the flu season. In particular, women should be vaccinated. Full story

A recent study published in the Pediatrics magazine reports that over one-third of pictures in women's magazines portray babies sleeping in dangerous positions. Moreover, two thirds of photos show babies in dangerous sleep environments. The study was supervised by Rachel Moon and Joyner - SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) researchers from the Children's National Medical Center, USA. Full story

Pregnant women can safely travel by air at any point during their pregnancy if it is uncomplicated, according to Committee Opinion issued by non-commercial organization American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The revised guidelines will be published in the October issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology. William Barth, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston claims that a series of studies conducted since 2001 showed that air travel was safe for women with uncomplicated pregnancies. Full story

One of the leading causes of death are cardiovascular diseases and thus it is very important that those diseases are identified at early stages. It is known that women with gestational diabetes tend to have higher risk of having problems with heart and blood vessels than those who did not have this condition during pregnancy. Canadian scientists have recently discovered that if a pregnant woman has even the smallest glucose intolerance, it can be automatically associated with cardiovascular problems. Full story

35-year-old British woman, Rachel Denton, managed to get pregnant naturally after losing weight in order to have in vitro fertilization (IVF). She spent years trying to get pregnant, but had no success because of her weight. Doctors claimed, she was too fat for IVF. She used to weigh 264 lb (120 kg). Full story

A recent study in Sleep reveals the interrelations between the size of a child’s body and his or her sleep efficiency. It appears that the smaller the child, the greater the risk of sleep disorders developing in future. Birth size, the study says, is in direct dependence on the development of the nervous system. A smaller child was discovered to be more prone to having breath difficulties during sleep which will lead to disturbed sleep and maybe nightmares in later life. Full story

Notwithstanding the fact that man’s body is not equipped for bearing a child, his mind can be quite amenable to the idea. So don’t be surprised if, when you are pregnant, your husband will begin to evince pregnancy symptoms out of the blue. It is a well-known phenomenon called sympathetic pregnancy, and although it is a purely psychosomatic condition, your husband will be experiencing very real sensations. Full story

OnePoll, a British company reports, their recent survey has shown that both first-time expecting mothers and fathers gain weight during the pregnancy period. On average, fathers-to-be gain 14 pounds (6.5 kg) and put on approximately 2 in (5 cm) in waist. For the most part they gain weight due to the increased consumption of high-calorie foods such as chips, pizza, sweets, and beer. OnePoll reports, that every fourth expecting dad has to completely change his wardrobe by the time the baby is born. Full story

Breastfeeding was discovered to be a strong factor that can prevent malignant cancer growths in the breast. While it doesn’t work for women who have no family cancer history, the difference it creates for high-risk women with a positive family history is quite a considerable one. A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine gives an impressive figure: women who have breast cancer handed down in their family can lower the possibility of developing cancer growth in the breast by 59 percent through nursing their babies. Full story

There is one premature delivery per ten births and a minor number of women may give birth as early as after 32 weeks of pregnancy. This increases the risk that a child maybe handicapped and many very preterm babies do not survive. Researchers at the Imperial College in London say premature birth disables a baby not only because underdevelopment but also because the process, triggering premature delivery, influences the fetus directly. They are sure that prevention of premature birth can significantly lower the risk of having a handicapped baby. Full story

According to Dr. David Walsh, associate professor in midwifery at Nottingham University, England, the labor pain is beneficial for both mother's and child's health. He stresses that painkillers, such as epidural anesthesia, disturb the natural process of psychological connection between mother and child. Full story

Mother-to-daughter and father-to-son links in a study of child obesity are discovered by medical scientists, BBC reports. Researchers say that genetics is unlikely to be playing a role in the issue. Instead, they insist on psychological factors. Scientists from Plymouth Medical School, U.S. have put forward this conclusion as a result of their study of 226 families, where it was discovered that obese mothers were 10 times more likely to have obese daughters, and for fathers and sons, there was a six-fold rise. Full story

The twins born by 67-year-old María del Carmen Bousada de Lara from Spain are now left orphans, although they have not turned three yet. Christian and Pau were born in Barcelona in December 2006, just a day before their mom celebrated her 67th anniversary. And last Saturday 69-year-old Maria Carmen lost her fight with cancer and died in her house in south-west Spain. The disease was diagnosed months after having the children. Relatives and friends unanimously talked the pensioner against the pregnancy because of the costly treatment of the woman whose menopause had been 18-year-long by the time. Full story

Is it when your odds to conceive are at the strongest, or is it when you’ve matured enough to be able to take a proper care of your baby? And while it's up to a person to choose, there are statistics and science nobody could rebuff of. Full story

These days, more and more older women decide to have a baby. The reason behind this could be getting married late, making a career and others. Some women are simply not ready for becoming a mom earlier and finally decide to get pregnant after they cross the age 35. But getting pregnant at this age can be problematic due to particular reasons. Most gynecologists agree on the fact that the older the woman, the more difficult it is for her to conceive, bear and give birth to a healthy baby. Pretty often conception problems and pregnancy complications occur. Here are some useful tips for women over 35 wanting to conceive. Full story

It turns out that the desire to shed the weight gained during pregnancy fast can have negative effects on the mother's health as well as the baby's. According to a recent study, women should avoid extreme weigh loss plans immediately after giving birth. Why? Full story

For many women sexual relationships after pregnancy are more of a psychological than physiological issue. After delivery – whether it was vaginal or cesarean birth – doctors encourage women to abstain from sex during follow-up six weeks. Your body needs this break to recover as pregnancy and giving birth impose the greatest stress. Full story

Pregnancy often induces a variety of sleep problems, like nausea, leg cramps, swellings, heartburn, and snoring. These annoyances are usually inevitable and are worsened by uncomfortable sleeping habits you may have adapted prior to being pregnant. So if you want to have a good night’s sleep during pregnancy, then follow these tips. The following information will also help those suffering from insomnia outside pregnancy. Full story

There are many men who experience problems when engaging in pregnancy sex. It’s hardly ever determined by the man’s race, religion or any other statistics. It’s simply a matter of whether he can do it or not. Many pregnant women complain that their partners are either not interested to have pregnancy sex, or can’t do it. These women reason that they are not attractive enough to arouse their man, especially in the later stages. However, there are lots of men who would claim that their pregnant partner is in fact a heavenly beauty. So what is the deal? What are actual problems that some men face with pregnancy sex, specifically late stage pregnancy? Full story