Part of getting through labor is understanding exactly what to expect. Labor is divided into four specific stages. These stages aren’t hard and fast, and many women may not realize when they’re transitioning from one stage to another. And, because every woman and every pregnancy is different, you may not spend very much time in [...]

Labor is painful. It’s a simple fact of life. Even if you have a tremendously high pain tolerance, the fact of the matter is that you’re not going to feel good. There’s nothing wrong with feeling like you need some pain relief during labor. Today, it’s often assumed, however, that you’re going to want medical [...]

Your body goes through a tremendous number of changes when you’re pregnant. While some body changes, such as sore breasts, morning sickness or the growing belly are more noticeable, others aren’t quite as obvious. Still, when you do notice one of those more minor changes, chances are you’re not sure right away whether it’s a [...]

A changing body is a necessary part of pregnancy. While some women relish the experience, many women may see a change in their body image during pregnancy. In some cases, that changing image may not be entirely positive. There are some things you need to keep in mind if you want to maintain a healthy [...]

One of the most common (and most annoying) symptoms of pregnancy can be hemorrhoids. While not every woman will have hemorrhoids during pregnancy, many do. In fact, many women who’ve never experienced hemorrhoids before will suffer from them significantly when they’re expecting. Understanding what causes them and what you can do to treat them, however, [...]

One of the more common ailments that women who are pregnant experience is constipation. Constipation is essentially defined by infrequent and difficult bowel movements. About half of pregnant women will have some degree or another of constipation during pregnancy. Understanding what causes constipation during pregnancy can help you to take some steps to prevent and [...]

There are a number of different ways in which pregnancy affects your body. There are the obvious temporary changes, of course, such as increased breast size and the ever-growing belly. There are also more long-term changes that you’ll notice after pregnancy. One of the areas that you’ll see changes in both the short term and [...]