Family Health

How to Tell if You're Pregnant While on Birth Control. To tell if you're pregnant on birth control is often easy if you know the pregnancy symptoms of your own body, on or off birth control. ...

Pregnancy can be an exciting and overwhelming time! This article describes how to make the next nine months go smoother by choosing the right Midwife or Obstetrician for your maternity care.

A birth plan describes the kind of appraoch to labor and delivery a woman would like to have. It is important to create a birth plan and discuss it with your doctor or midwife. This will let...

Many women these days are choosing to have a homebirth instead of giving birth in a hospital setting. Studies have actually shown that for healthy women with normal pregnancies, homebirth is...

If you are considering having your first child and find yourself frozen out of fear of childbirth, you are not alone. Several women find themselves in this position, including experienced mothers....

Saving a newborn’s cord blood is often seen as part of the stem cell research debate, but the benefits to the family can be numerous. The stem cells found in the umbilical cord would simply be...

Depo-Provera is a hormonal birth control injection given every three months. The primary purpose is to prevent pregnancy. However, just as any other birth control, Depo-Provera is not entirely...

When one is trying to conceive, the process of getting pregnant can become frustrating and emotional. There is no one hormone that is responsible for pregnancy, but several that release on a...

Deciding whether to have a natural childbirth is a relatively new phenomenon. Until the 20th century, women always had natural childbirths and local women called midwives attended them or women...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is sometimes called polycystitis, although that term is general and could refer to other types of polycystic disorders. PCOS is a health condition that can affect...

When coming off of birth control, your fertility may not be restored immediately. It can take some time for hormones to reestablish a healthy pattern. A woman's menstrual cycle is punctuated by...

Many women continue to take birth control pills during the first few months of pregnancy, not aware that they are pregnant. Once you realize you are pregnant, you should not keep taking them, but...

Gastroschisis, which causes the intestines to protrude outside the belly, results from a weakness in the abdominal wall and must be repaired surgically. Gastroschisis is not normal. Although a...

During pregnancy, ultrasounds are routinely performed to assess the growth of the baby and diagnose potential problems in development. Many moms-to-be are concerned about the safety of frequent...

When selecting a birth control option, post-pregnant women have additional factors to consider, especially if they are breast-feeding. As the most popular form of reversible birth control, the...

There are many reasons to plan a water birth. Giving birth in the water reduces pain and enhances relaxation. It may even speed labor. Women who give birth in the water are less likely to...

Each birth control method has its own set of benefits. When you know more about the different aspects of each method, you can determine which one fits your lifestyle.

Birth control pills and depo provera shots contain hormones that suppress ovulation and prevent pregnancy. These hormones may linger in a woman's system for a while after stopping the drugs. Also,...

Many women use birth control as a way to prevent an unplanned pregnancy. One of the concerns about birth control is whether or not it will hurt the unborn child if it is taken during a pregnancy.

Live or vaginal childbirth is a beautiful and miraculous thing to behold. A baby travels down past bones and muscle to finally leave its watery home and enter the arms of its mother. Live birth...

Successful pregnancy is possible after using birth control. Most birth control methods allow quick adjustment of the reproductive cycle once stopped. However, being informed about getting pregnant...

Finding the best way to prevent unwanted pregnancy can be a challenging process. It is important to know all of your options when selecting a method of birth control. The Pill (oral contraceptive)...

Smoking during pregnancy can cause premature birth, when the infant is born before 37 weeks gestation. Prematurity can cause serious health problems, long stays in the hospital and even death....

Birth can be an overwhelming experience. If you have difficulty pushing your baby's head out, your doctor may choose to assist your birth by using a vacuum. However, the assisted birth does come...

In early history, couples have resorted to coincidence, luck, traditional practices and prayers for family planning. Many couples wanted fewer children or to put longer gaps between pregnancies,...

How to choose an appropriate method of birth control.

With all of the birth control options available to today’s modern woman, it can sometimes seem impossible to understand them all, let alone make a decision! Read on to learn how to compare birth...

Birth control pills are designed to prevent pregnancy by suppressing ovulation. If a woman doesn't ovulate, she cannot become pregnant. While they are effective at pregnancy prevention, they can...

Late menopause is a time when most women don't expect to be--expecting. As unusual as it may be, it can happen. There are several things the menopausal mother, or mother to be, needs to know about...

You just found out that you are pregnant---congratulations! Now is the time to be thinking about how the things you do can affect the baby growing inside of you. There are many ways to keep...

Nonbarrier methods of birth control include methods that don't present a physical barrier when having sex. Male and female condoms, diaphragms and the cervical cap are all examples of barrier...

The relationship between birth control pills and stroke has been studied for decades. Most women can use oral contraceptives safely, but certain conditions increase the risk of serious side...

Whether you are on Yaz, Yasmin, Ortho Evra, Nuva Ring, Seasonale, Seasonique, or Depo Provera, chances are that you have experienced uncomfortable and often frustrating birth control side effects....

Birth control has been used for centuries to prevent pregnancy. With different methods available, including birth control pills and condoms, the risks of unwanted pregnancies are continuing to...

Cystitis is irritation of the bladder, according to the Mayo Clinic. Sometimes the source of the irritation is a bacterial infection, called a urinary tract infection or UTI. Cystitis has many...

Yoga is not recommended for any woman in a high risk pregnancy. Failure to abide by this can result in bleeding and fetal death. Your doctor will determine your risk level and will inform you...

Deciding to come off the pill is a big step. Suddenly you are working toward the very thing you had been avoiding for years. So imagine the disappointment of thousands of women when they don't get...

Cord blood, which is rich in blood-forming stem cells, is collected after a baby's birth and stored in a cord blood banking facility for future use by family members or the general public to treat...

Whether you are looking forward to or dreading the idea of labor, it is a good idea to have your body in top shape for the process of giving birth. Toning your muscles and concentrating on the...

YAZ, a brand of low-dose oral contraceptive pills, are taken every day. A pink pill containing a low dose of the hormones estrogen and progestin is taken every day during the first 24 days of your...

Acne can be very detrimental to your confidence level. It isn't attractive, and it isn't fun. Here are some tips on keeping your face and body acne free. Say goodbye to those yucky zits!

How to Get Birth Control Without a Prescription, or how to get birth control over the counter, without your parents knowing, if you are underage.

Kyphosis is characterized by spine curvature that results in a bowing of the back, causing a slouching posture or hunchback. It can be caused by developmental, degenerative or traumatic...

Seizures in a baby less than 28 days old can have many different causes, but several similarities exist. Seizures can often be short in duration and subtle in their appearance, making it difficult...

Pregnancy is divided into three trimesters for a total of about 40 weeks. The first trimester lasts from week one to week 12. During the first trimester, your baby begins to develop a heart, brain...

Combining smoking with any method of birth control that uses the hormones estrogen and progesterone increases the risk of blood clots, heart attack and stroke. This risk exists for younger women...

When a woman takes birth control pills, she typically takes a number of active pills--often 21--each month, followed by several inactive pills--usually seven. Most women experience vaginal...

When a doctor induces labor, she will administer the drug Pitocin intravenously. If your labor will be induced, you typically have a time and a date for the induction scheduled with your doctor...

When always taken correctly, birth control pills are highly effective at preventing pregnancy. It's still possible, however, to become pregnant while on birth control pills, even if you always...

Emergency contraception is used after having unprotected sex or when the regular form of birth control fails. It can be used if a woman has forgotten to take oral contraceptives.