This is sad. Did you get any maternity leave through your employer?

By now you’re probably familiar with the recommendation that pregnant women get their flu shots—but a recent study in the American Journal of Public Health found that in addition to offering protection from the flu, the vaccine may also lower the risk of premature births, underweight babies and stillbirths, reports the Vancouver Sun.

One of the many tough things about postpartum depression is that moms don’t realize they have it until they bring the baby home. This might change in the near future, though, thanks to findings from scientists at Warwick Medical School that link genetic variants to postpartum depression (PPD).

If you’re experiencing sore breasts, back pain, or heightened sense of smell, you could be pregnant. Here are some other early signs of pregnancy.

I get a lot of emails from readers who’ve suffered from infertility in some form or another. Some of these readers are women I’ve known at one point in my life (camp, grade school, high school, college, etc.), but most of the emails are from women I’ve never met. It’s made me realize even more what a private disease this is; not everyone feels comfortable talking about infertility (or blogging about it) with the people they’re closest to—sometimes it’s easier being open with someone you don’t know very well. It’s an unbiased ear. Read full post

9monthsbeyond:

(by texturejunky)

Sore breasts, back pain, heightened sense of smell, and more early signs of pregnancy. Plus, discover the weird pregnancy symptoms your doctor may not mention!

Yay!! Parenting’s pregnancy app Can I Eat It? won the MIN award for Best Smartphone App (Paid)!  Click the image to download. 

Parenting.com’s Can I Eat It?

Can I eat cheese while pregnant? What about cold cuts, sushi, peanut butter and coffee? Parenting.com’s Can I Eat It? app answers all of your food safety questions for what you can—and can’t—eat during pregnancy.

Want in on the energy-boosting, placenta-eating trend like Mad Men star January Jones but don’t have a fresh placenta of your own? One company has taken placenta smoothies mainstream. Find out where you can pick up one today… Read full post

To all the mamas-to-be who are sexy and know it, check out this LMFAO parody, “Pregnant and I Know It,” starring an incredibly agile, super pregnant mom-to-be, Angela Profitt. The lyrics are awesome, but Profitt’s moves late in her third trimester have put us to shame—although, er, we guess we did have ‘the waddle’ down. 

(Source: youtube.com)

You could win $5,000 by sharing your cute sonogram photo with Brain Strong! Follow the link to enter.

A study released this past February may cause antsy moms-to-be to think twice before scheduling induced labor for non-medical reasons, a now-common practice for pregnant women seeking convenience, or simply an end to the seemingly-endless third trimester. The report, which was compiled by Australian researchers and tracked the labors and deliveries of 28,000 women—some of whom went into spontaneous labor, while others were induced for either medical or non-medical reasons—documents a significant percentage increase in both C-section deliveries (67% increased risk—that’s big), and NICU care (64% increased risk), for women and their babies who undergo non-medically necessitated inductions. Read full post

This is so cool!

(Source: hannaschrage, via greenfee)