If you are pregnant and making an adoption plan, one thing that you may need to prepare for is how you plan to leave the hospital. You want to give these things some thought now as you may be pretty emotional when you are discharged from the hospital, especially if your baby is going directly home with his/her adoptive parents.

Also, you’re baby doesn’t have to leave the hospital immediately with the adoptive parents if you need more time to think through your decision or you want to try parenting, then you can of course take your baby home with you. If your baby will... more

You may have noticed yourself feeling extra moody during your pregnancy. One minute you might be feeling fine and then the next minute you are crying at a Hallmark commercial on television!

A pregnant friend recently called me telling me that she thought she was going crazy because one minute she’d be laughing and then the next minute she’d be crying. Perhaps you are experiencing this too? Don’t worry; you are not going crazy, it’s normal. Almost every pregnant woman on the planet has to deal with mood swings during pregnancy due to the increase of hormones. Plus, the... more

Teen pregnancy seems to have been in the news a lot lately with the unplanned pregnancy announcement of sixteen year old Nickelodeon star, Jamie Lynn Spears and all the talk about the film Juno which is about a teen who experiences an unplanned pregnancy and then places her baby for adoption. Now, the ABC soap opera, One Life to Live, will be featuring their own teenage unplanned pregnancy storyline. According to a producer from One Life to Live they were already working on the unplanned pregnancy... more

Are you close to the end of your pregnancy? By the end of a pregnancy, most women are so ready to have their babies. Towards your due date, you are probably feeling huge and uncomfortable. You are getting anxious and may be looking forward to your pregnancy being over and meeting the little person you have been carrying around for nine months face to face. However, if you are actively making an adoption plan, you may be dreading the end of your pregnancy at the same time.

I honestly was dreading the end of my pregnancy with Charlie. I was filled with mixed emotions of... more

An interesting survey conducted in Australia by Marie Stopes International recently was featured in Australian newspapers.

The survey revealed that nearly half of Australian women who became unexpectedly pregnant were either take the birth control pill or using condoms at the time of conception. If you look at the results further, it goes on to say that forty three percent of the women surveyed were on the pill during conception while twenty... more

The recently released results of a new study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology show that there is a correlation between the amount of caffeine a pregnant woman consumes and miscarriage.

Most doctors warn pregnant women to cut back on their caffeine intake, but this study is saying that pregnant women should avoid caffeine in any form (coffee, tea, soft drinks, etc) because pregnant women who consume caffeine (even in small amounts) are at a higher risk of miscarriage than those who do not. This study involved more than 1,000 pregnant women... more

An expectant mother considering adoption recently asked myself and a group of birthmothers about doctor’s appointments. She’s young and her upcoming appointment will be her visit to a gynecologist and she is pretty nervous about it, wondering what the appointment will be like.

I do recall being nervous before my first appointment when I was pregnant with Noah. With Charlie, I wasn’t quite as nervous because I had an idea as to what to expect but I still did have a few butterflies in my stomach.

Below is a list of what may happen at your first doctor’s appointment. Some procedures... more

I’ve mentioned many times before that you should make the most of your pregnancy because you never know if you will have more pregnancies. I often see pregnant women wearing really cute t-shirts that have a cute saying regarding their pregnancy, such as “It’s All About the Belly!” I love them! They weren’t popular when I was pregnant with Noah and I don’t recall seeing them that much when I was pregnant with Charlie.

Although, your pregnancy may not have come about because of the best of circumstances, still enjoy it and celebrate it. So, why not sport a cute and fun... more

As the weather begins to get cooler, it also brings about cold season. Dealing with a cold is never any fun but is especially not fun during pregnancy when you may already not being feeling your best and when you are limited as to what medications you can take to ease cold symptoms.

Symptoms of a cold during pregnancy don’t differ from the normal symptoms of a cold, although you may feel the symptoms stronger. I can recall from pregnancy that my colds were stronger and lasted longer during pregnancy than normally. Cold symptoms include cough, congestion, sore throat, watery eyes,... more

I recently ran across an interesting article about positive affirmations during pregnancy. At first, as I was reading and thinking about what I was reading, I thought it was a little on the kooky side but as I continued to think about it, it began to make sense to me.

Think about it – how many times in pregnancy have you said or thought something negative? I think that a lot of women in unplanned pregnancies probably have low self esteem during the pregnancy and negative statements and thoughts... more