Babies Health

Gastroschisis is a rare complication of pregnancy in which the fetus has a hole in his abdomen. The condition requires surgery, and prognoses differ from case to case.

Pregnant women are at higher risk of suffering from influenza-related complications than other healthy women their age. It is important to know the effects that influenza can have on a woman's...

Fetal ultrasound is a substantiative test performed to evaluate the status of the fetus in the placental sac. The fetal ultrasound technique utilizes sound waves of varied frequency range to...

One of the most corroborative tests that can be performed to obtain the exact status of a fetus's health at any stage of pregnancy is the fetal ultrasound. Sound waves produced in the procedure of...

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the body during darkness, primarily by the pineal gland in the center of the brain. Melatonin dietary supplements are commonly administered as a sleep aid....

Consisting of the skin and all its dermal layers, sebaceous and sudoriferous glands, hair, nails, and nerve receptors, the integumentary system is our body's largest organ system. The development...

Whether you are embarking on your first pregnancy or you are a mother who has been through it before, few things compare to the sight and sound of your baby's heartbeat. Using an ultrasound...

A nuchal fold translucency screening is performed during the first trimester to determine if the fetus is at risk for developing Down Syndrome or another chromosomal abnormality like Trisomy 13 or 18.

If you are pregnant, chances are you will be getting a prenatal ultrasound, a test that uses high-frequency sound waves to produce video or photographic imagery of your baby. The benefits and...

It is possible for women to get pregnant while on birth control pills, though it is a rare occurrence. The hormones in birth control pills are not believed to have any major effects on the fetus.

The development of a baby from conception to birth can be divided into three stages: germinal, embryonic and fetal. The germinal stage of fetal development lasts about two weeks. It occurs from...

The first trimester of pregnancy is active with the drastic development of your new baby's vital organs and bone structure. It's an important time to take extra care of yourself and maintain a...

Caffeine is a naturally occurring substance found in a large number of plants, beans and seeds that we eat every day. It acts as a stimulant to the central nervous system and in large doses can...

Your baby should develop and grow at a certain rate. Your healthcare professional, such as your midwife or doctor will keep track of fetal growth by measuring your abdomen, your weight and...

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the increased number of multiple births is a result of more women conceiving with the help of fertility treatments and becoming...

Each week, your baby is growing and developing more and more, and you are closer to holding your precious baby in your arms. There are a lot of exciting things happening at 30 weeks of...

Three and four dimensional ultrasound technology provides an expectant mother with the first visual photograph of her child. Ultrasounds involve the use of high-frequency sound waves to create...

The development of a fetus from conception to birth is an extremely intricate biological process often described as, quite simply, miraculous. During this 40-week period, a fertilized egg called a...

Slow fetal growth may also be referred to as "interuterine growth restriction." In severe cases the only way to improve fetal growth is to deliver the baby early. Less severe cases will be...

The cause of clubfoot has long been debated by the medical community. According to the Journal of Children's Orthopaedics, this condition has been studied since the 1800s, with some scientific...

A fetus breathes inside its mother by forming an umbilical cord, a lifeline that starts as thin as a hair but grows as thick as an adult finger and up to 2 feet long by the end of pregnancy.

Over the past several decades, medical scientists have learned a great deal about what happens during pregnancy. Pregnancy now is divided into three separate stages, called trimesters, based on...

In obstetrics, an ultrasound is a medical procedure that is used by doctors foremost to determine the health of a baby. During an ultrasound, a device called transducer sends out high frequency...

Fetal growth retardation, also known as intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), occurs when a fetus weighs less than normal for the number of weeks into a pregnancy. The condition is diagnosed...

Anesthesia, especially epidural anesthesia, is becoming more common during childbirth. There are benefits and risks of the anesthesia and the most pressing concern is how it affects the fetus. In...

The fetus begins to develop brain tissue during the fourth week of pregnancy. At first, the neural tube grows from the ectoderm or outside layer of the embryo and by week 6, the neural tube closes...

Development during pregnancy is divided into multiple stages. The second stage, which begins in week eight of pregnancy, is the fetal stage. In this stage of growth, the fetus is more protected...

To smoke, or not to smoke? That's an important question when you're pregnant. According to Dr. Robert Welch of Providence Hospital, maternal smoking is the primary cause of delivering unhealthy...

Umbilical cords are made up of several different components, one of which is a jelly that is found nowhere else in the human body. While umbilical cords are perfectly suited to shuttle nutrients...

Fetal distress is a rather poorly defined medical term that refers to what happens when an unborn baby starts to have problems while the mother is in labor. In most cases, fetal distress involves...

Anencephaly is a fatal birth defect involving the formation of a baby's neural tube during pregnancy. During the third and fourth weeks of pregnancy, the fetus' neural tube usually closes to...