Chocolate, wine, caffeine; it seems like every couple of days a new report on the benefits of one of these substances comes out. Unfortunately, a lot of those pro-wine and pro-caffeine arguments go out the window when you're pregnant. But I have good news; if you're pregnant, you may want to consider eating more chocolate. A number of research studies have shown that chocolate, especially dark chocolate, benefits pregnancy. A study in 2008 found that theobromine (a key chemical in chocolate) concentrations in the umbilical cord were inversely associated with preeclampsia.1 A study in 2010 found that pregnant women with [...]

With the increased weight of the baby bump pulling your center of gravity off and the increased stress as you try to prepare for your baby, it's no wonder mothers so often complain of back pain. But it's not just the baby's weight or your tense muscles contributing to back pains -- it's your hormones, too. The hormones that physically prepare you for giving birth affect joints and ligaments throughout your body, leaving you more prone to injury -- and back aches. This pain may be localized in the lower back, or it may radiate down through the buttocks and [...]

Everyone's heard the phrase "eating for two." Many women enjoy their ability to eat however much they want while pregnant, no longer having to worry about developing a belly. But a pregnant woman should not be eating for two, at least not if she wants to stay healthy and have the safest pregnancy. In fact, during the first trimester, there should be virtually no increase in caloric intake, and only a very small weight gain. Being underweight or overweight during pregnancy can increase the risk of of complications including preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, preterm delivery, miscarriage, and more. Gaining more weight [...]

The dietary supplement industry made headline news last February, and it wasn't good news. Unfortunately, the story was part of a much larger problem. Let me explain. The State of Dietary Supplements Dietary supplements sold within the United States are not evaluated by the FDA before sale. Examples of products that fall under the dietary supplement umbrella include: capsules of a powdered botanical, multivitamin gummies, bottles of fish oil, over-the-counter weight loss pills, and more. If you're wondering if a product is classified as a dietary supplement or not, check the label. Dietary supplements are required to use the "Supplemental [...]

You may have heard (or read) about your baby's mental and especially auditory development. If you haven't asked specifically about the baby's development in the womb, you may only have heard about hearing milestones after birth. Language -- not just the ability to talk, but the ability to recognize speech patterns and try to join in -- is one of the developmental milestones that people care the most about, but we don't tend to see significant signs of it till months after birth. The thing is, this development begins before birth. Your baby's inner ear becomes fully developed somewhere around [...]

If you've received a positive on a pregnancy test, congratulations! False positives are incredibly rare, though many people still mistake a negative with a positive on an analog home pregnancy test. Always make sure you read the instructions on your pregnancy test carefully! Pregnancy tests, whether taken at home or at the doctor's office, test for a hormone called hCG in the blood or urine. HCG is a very good indicator of pregnancy; the chemical is released by placental tissues as part of placental implantation, and remains critical throughout pregnancy. That means that, for the most part, if you get [...]

According to the CDC, gestational diabetes is a problem for approximately 9% of pregnancies. This condition can have serious and lasting side effects for both mother and baby, but many women do not know what it is. A pregnant woman is said to have gestaitonal diabetes if she has high blood sugar levels during pregnancy, but did not have diabetes before. That means gestational diabetes is a problem for women who may never had to think about diabetes and blood sugar levels before! Unfortunately, hormones released during pregnancy can raise insulin resistance and cause temporary problems with blood sugar levels. [...]

Many women believe that exercising while pregnant is too dangerous -- and then there are women who take the other extreme. One woman proudly told me about how she had kept up her habit of high-exertion hiking throughout her pregnancy, even doing a ten-mile hike the weekend before she gave birth! As is usually the case, neither extreme is correct. Exercise may, in fact, be quite beneficial to both you and your baby during pregnancy. However, discussing your exercise routine with your doctor is especially important when you are pregnant. Some exercises can be quite dangerous, especially nearing the end [...]

A lot of women ask when they should start taking prenatal vitamins. Our answer? Immediately. If you're a woman of child bearing age, it's especially important that you get enough folic acid. Folic acid is required for proper development of the neural tube of a baby in the first few weeks after conception. That means that your baby may suffer from the effects of folic acid deficiency before you even know you're pregnant. Neural tube defects may be mild, like in the case of spina bifida occulta, or may be fatal, as is often the case with anencephaly. 400 mcg [...]

Yesterday, the FDA took yet another step toward updating their fish consumption advice for pregnant women. They are closing their draft update to comments to begin further review. Last year, the FDA came out with a draft update to their advice regarding fish consumption. The proposed new advice comes following an FDA analysis that found very low levels of fish consumption in pregnant women in the United States: 75% of surveyed women consumed less than half of the USDA's recommended minimum for seafood consumption, while 20% had reported no seafood consumption at all in the last month. The current official [...]