Health & Baby News & Features
- Circumcision Decision: Weighing the Risks and Benefits
Male circumcision reduces HIV, cervical cancer, syphilis, and chlamydia. Does that mean you should have your son circumcised? This review of the risks and benefits will help you make that circumcision decision.
- Top Pregnancy Health Stories of 2007: Readers' Choice
A list of the top pregnancy health stories of 2007, as chosen by WebMD's viewers.
- Calming Your Labor and Delivery Fears
Experts provide the calming and reassuring advice you need for a successful labor and delivery day.
- An Expectant Dad's Guide to Pregnancy
You got her pregnant, but are you ready for the nine month roller coaster? Consider this your expectant father’s survival guide.
- Pregnancy Skin Care: Get That Glow!
Experts give tips to help treat pregnancy skin problems -- from acne to 'pregnancy mask.'
- Pregnancy Violations: Don’t Be a Victim
Scary labor stories, probing questions, unsolicited belly-rubbing: How can a mom-to-be handle these pregnancy etiquette violations gracefully?
- The Essential Pregnancy Gear List for Expectant Moms
A trimester-by-trimester list and explanation of the essential gear you'll need during your pregnancy.
- Pregnancy Gear 101: Guide to Essential Pregnancy Gear
Everyone’s pregnancy experience is unique, but certain types of pregnancy gear can help smooth the way no matter what type of pregnancy you have. Here's WebMD trimester-by-trimester guide to essential pregnancy gear.
- Toxins and Pregnancy
When you're expecting a baby, how vigilant do you need to be about possible toxins?
- Top Tips for Pregnancy Nutrition
Which vitamins and nutrients are key to your baby's health?
- 'Silent Birth' Now a Noisy Controversy
The pregnancy of actress Katie Holmes -- partner of actor Tom Cruise -- has put a media spotlight on "silent birth."
- Getting Pregnant: Avoiding Brews and Bad Habits
When you decide to get pregnant, it's time to make some healthy lifestyle changes. Learn more in this article.
- Assessing Your Need for Umbilical Cord Blood
Should you store your newborn's umbilical cord blood? Take stock of your family's medical history, then assess your child's ethnic background and other factors.
- Centering Yourself for a Healthy Pregnancy
Frustrated by short prenatal visits that leave you with more questions than answers? You might be a candidate for the latest trend in prenatal care.
- Coping With Pregnancy Food Cravings
Not all food cravings during pregnancy are bad, but they can get you into trouble with too many calories and not enough nutrients. Here's how to handle cravings.
- Pregnancy Cravings: When You Gotta Have It!
What's behind pregnancy food cravings, and can they ever be harmful?
- Mother, May I? Late Motherhood Emerges
The number of women getting pregnant in their middle years is rising. But is later really better than never?
- Santa Claus: Naughty or Nice?
Telling your kids that Santa Claus is real is a lie, but does it actually hurt them?
- Prenatal Portraits: Darling or Dangerous?
Many businesses offer ultrasound pictures and videos of unborn babies for entertainment purposes, but some experts say these fun pictures could be harmful.
- Protect Your Pregnancy Before You Conceive
Thinking about getting pregnant? Here’s what to do in the weeks and months before you conceive to protect your baby-to-be.
- Actress Pregnant at 48: What Are the Risks?
Description: Oscar-winning actress Geena Davis is pregnant with twins at 48 years old, according to her publicist. While Davis is reportedly doing well, the majority of midlife moms may not have such an easy time.
- The Vivid Dreams of Pregnant Women
From dreams about journeys to nightmares about delivery, experts tell WebMD how pregnant women can decipher the secrets of their sleep.
- Pregnant Passions: Keep Intimacy Alive
If pregnancy has caused you and your partner to lose that lovin' feeling, don't despair; reviving intimacy may be easier than you think.
- Pregnant This Summer? Beat the Heat
Hot, humid -- and heavy with child. Pregnancy can make the summer seem hotter. But following a few simple guidelines can keep you cool.
- Ensure a Happy Summer Camper
It's not just the 6 million American kids heading to summer camp who may have trouble adjusting. It's also their parents.
- Rip Current No. 1 Beach Danger
More than eight out of 10 beach drownings and lifeguard rescues are due to rip currents.
- Facing Depression During Pregnancy
An important tool in fighting depression during pregnancy, antidepressants can help an expectant mother -- without hurting her unborn baby.
- New First Aid Kit for Today's World
Today's disaster kit contains all the traditional elements of a first aid kit and expands it to include survival items that could make the difference between life and death in the case of emergency.
- Helping Your Late-Talking Children
If your child seems to be a late talker, when is the time to seek help? What's normal?
- Choosing the Sex of Your Child
Several options are available for choosing the sex of your child, but none are guaranteed.
- Choosing Child Care Service
Choosing child care service requires doing your homework, whether you are looking for a day care center or at-home care.
- Pregnancy's Ups and Downs
The problems that come with pregnancy -- such as changes in lifestyle, day care, income, career, and sibling adjustment -- are common, according to mental health experts.
- Baby's Coming -- But When?
Folk wisdoms for inducing labor have been passed through generations, but do any of them really work?
- Bonding With Baby Before Birth
Making a connection with your unborn child can strengthen the bond you share, make you feel closer, and enrich you and your baby's lives.
- What to Expect if You Have a Cesarean Delivery
Find out what a cesarean birth is really like.
- Morning Sickness Misery
Whether it's in the morning or all day long, pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting can be debilitating. Here are some ways to muddle through the misery.
- Eating for 2 -- but Not Too Much
You should gain weight while pregnant, but there's a way to do it so that you and your baby are healthy.
- Breaking the Thumb-Sucking Habit
It's OK for infants and toddlers to soothe themselves by sucking a thumb or finger, experts say. But if that child enters kindergarten with his hand in his mouth -- it's time for mom and dad to intervene. Here's how to handle this common problem.
- Rite of Passage or Cry for Help?
Teen shoplifting is rarely habitual, but children should know there are consequences to their actions.
- Having a Baby? Think Yoga
'Strength, flexibility, relaxation' -- what some say yoga can bring to your pregnancy.
- Sleep Soundly During Pregnancy
When you're pregnant, a host of discomforts conspire to rob you of sleep. From heartburn to leg cramps to endless bathroom trips, catching those much-needed ZZZs can be a big challenge. Here's help.
- Girls Just Wanna Be Mean
Kids call it 'outcasting.' Using gossip, innuendo, and other unsavory techniques to alienate and shun a peer. And it's a growing, potentially dangerous problem in our schools -- whether your child is on the receiving end or the one doing the bullying.
- Doulas: Easing Birth
Doulas traditionally are women who offer support and encouragement to pregnant women during labor and delivery.
- Staying Safe in the Surf
Here are 10 things you'll need for a safe time at the beach.
- Family-Sized New Year's Resolutions.
New Years Resolutions: The usual time of the year when you say you are going to trim down on both the junk food and where it ends up on the waistline.
- Beat the Heat When You're Expecting
Sweating for two? Here's how to stay healthy, safe, and cool when temperatures soar.
- The Changing Face of Fatherhood.
Today, parents' roles are anything but typical. With divorce, custody battles, and changes in the workplace, dads are treading uncharted terrority.
- Planning a Family
Despite medical advances -- from new contraceptive options to high-tech fertility treatments -- having the family you want, when you want it, seems more complicated than ever.
- How to Pick a Summer Camp
There are more than 8,000 summer camps in the U.S., offering everything from canoeing to computers. Take some time with your kids to decide which summer camp is right for them and how long they should be away from home.
- Mothers Share Their Sept. 11 Stories
In time for Mother's Day, these amazing moms explain how they're coping with loss and loneliness, and getting on with life, in the wake of the terrorist tragedy.