NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Pregnant women who have a cesarean delivery appear to be more likely to suffer a stroke during the following year than women who give birth normally, researchers in Taiwan have shown.

As reported today in an article by Gardiner Harris in the New York Times, "about 77 percent of new mothers breast-feed their infants at least briefly, the highest rate seen in the United States in more than a decade, according to a government survey released on Wednesday."

According to the New York Times, the Canadian government moved on Friday, April 18, 2008, to ban polycarbonate infant bottles, the most popular variety on the market, after it officially declared one of their chemical ingredients toxic.

Funny drawings showing you the right and wrong way to take care of baby.

If you have considered an out-of-hospital birth center, you may want to learn more about them.

Babies should move at least 10 times every 12 hours. Most babies move much more often than that. Some even move hundreds of times each day. 

Almost any kind of sexual activity is all right in pregnancy if there are no problems and the mother-to-be (that's you) wants to have it.

First, it is important to know that your "due date" should really be thought of as a "due month."

Pre-eclampsia or toxemia is a condition that only occurs during pregnancy, with signs and symptoms that may include high blood pressure, protein in the urine, and significant swelling in the hands and the face. (This is why these things are checked at each prenatal visit close to your due date.) 

"Stripping" or "sweeping" the membranes is the separation of 2-3 cm of the membranes (bag around the baby) from the underlying cervix or lower part of the uterus. It is done during a vaginal examination with the finger of the examiner. There is some evidence from research studies, and many practitioners believe, that stripping the membranes may help to start labor in women who are past their due date (from 41-42 weeks of gestation). Unfortunately, if the cervix is closed, it is not possible to strip the membranes, and it is the woman with a closed cervix who has the greatest chance of not going into labor on her own. The procedure of stripping the membranes is no more uncomfortable than the usual vaginal exam (never very comfortable!) and has not been shown to cause complications such as infection or bleeding.