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The Pros and Cons of Testing Often

One of the big questions that comes up when we talk about home pregnancy tests is when you should test and how often. While it is a personal decision, there are both pros and cons to testing early and often. Here are a few: Pros: 1. If you test early and often you are more likely to catch a pregnancy in its very early stages. This makes determining your due date accurately much easier. It is also better if you are high risk. 2. Catching a pregnancy early on gives you more time to plan. You have more time to … Continue reading →

Pregnancy Test Rules

Home pregnancy tests are always a fun topic to discuss. They are the kick off show to every pregnancy, and there is a lot of debate over things like whether there is such a thing as a false positive and whether the dollar tests are accurate. Here is an overview of the basic rules of home testing: 1. Use your first morning urine. I know it’s hard to wait until the next morning when you just bought a pack of tests the afternoon before, but it will be worth the wait. Your hormone levels are highest in the morning, so … Continue reading →

The Miracle of Pregnancy and the Struggle of Waiting

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Earlier this week I talked about the pain and confusion associated with experiencing an unwanted pregnancy. Equally distressing is the agony of trying to get pregnant, dreaming of a child, and month after month staring at countless negative home pregnancy tests. Some would say this pain is much worse than facing an unwanted pregnancy. When my husband and I decided to get married, we set a date and a time, and that is when we got married. But when we decided to start a family, we quickly realized we were operating under a completely different set of rules. Even if … Continue reading →

Have You Googled Yourself Into Thinking That You Are Pregnant?

Most of us can remember a time when we had a pregnancy scare. Although being pregnant is a wonderful thing much of the time, there are certain times when the thought of becoming pregnant is not very appealing and sometimes quite scary. Perhaps you were in a new relationship, or a relationship that you were beginning to feel would not work out after all. Maybe you were young and not ready for a baby yet. Perhaps you already had one or more children and did not want to increase your family size again. Whatever the situation was, you were just … Continue reading →

My Last Baby

My husband and I thought that we were done having children after the birth of our two girls. We were using protection and had been discussing permanent options for quite awhile. Then, last March, a surprise came, or perhaps more to the point, it didn’t come. It took me quite a few days after I took the pregnancy test before I could even tell my husband, and when I did, it didn’t go well. But, the facts were the facts, and we were having another baby, whether we had planned on it or not. Throughout the whole pregnancy, I sort … Continue reading →

Top Tips for Creating a Birth Plan

Today’s blog topic comes from Elizabeth Stein, a women’s health expert and certified nurse midwife of 25 years. She is also a patient advocate of patient empowerment, so she has put together a list of tips on how to create a birth plan to ensure a positive emotional experience for the mother-to-be, and to give her as much control over her birthing experience as possible. When Ms. Stein’s publicist contacted me to share this list, I just knew I had to share it with you. A birth plan can be a very valuable tool. To learn more about Elizabeth Stein, … Continue reading →

Unpaid Leave Restricted in Ohio

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Some people are very upset after a recent Ohio Supreme Court ruling that allows employers to reserve unpaid leave for workers who have been employed for a minimum of twelve months. The law covers pregnant women as well. This ruling follows a case in which a woman sued her employer for firing her after she gave birth and did not promptly return to work. At the time of her delivery, she had only been employed for 8 months. The nursing home where she worked had a policy in place that required employees to work for twelve months before they could … Continue reading →

Pesticides in the Placenta

The dangers of exposure to chemicals and pesticides have been debated for years and most people understand that we are exposed to an alarming number of chemicals every day. Some of these chemicals accumulate in the body, often stored in fatty tissue. It turns out our exposure may start in the womb. A recent study at the University of Granada studied the placentas of pregnant women for the presence of pesticides. The results were astonishing, 100% of the placentas tested positive for pesticides. The study tested for 17 known pesticides. While all the mothers tested positive for at least one … Continue reading →

Swayze’s Controversial Smoking Photo

By now you know that actor Patrick Swayze is battling pancreatic cancer. As such the paparazzi has made him their latest target. Photographers have been trying to hunt down the “Dirty Dancing” star in hopes of getting their “money shot.” Since Swayze is undergoing chemotherapy I’m sure paps are aiming for a shot of him looking gaunt, bald, disheveled or generally appearing sickly. Well, it looks as though they got their wish… and then some. On Friday several tabloids ran a picture of Swayze looking pale and puffing on a cigarette. The photo was accompanied by captions that said: “Ghost … Continue reading →

Choosing Goals for Your Baby’s Birth

In the first part of this blog, I discussed setting goals for labor. Those goals focused on your perfect labor and how goals can help you achieve it. The same is true for the actual birth and the time immediately following the birth. Clear goals and expectations can help you have the best possible experience. Your birth plan should reflect your goals for the birth of your baby. Many of the issues that will need to be addressed involve medical interventions. Philosophically speaking, how do you feel about the interventions commonly used in child birth? Is your basic belief that … Continue reading →