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    Belly Friendly

    Belly Friendly

  • Birth Centers – an Excellent Blend of Home and Hospital Birth

    By Tori Kropp, R.N. As you know, I am pretty outspoken about my concerns regarding homebirth. There is, however, an excellent blend of the comforts of homebirth with the safety of a hospital - a birth center. Although, the choice to have a more natural, nurse-midwife attended birth is frequently available in a hospital, it is a core principal in a birth center. What is a birth center? A birth center is a facility that provides prenatal and childbirth care in an atmosphere that is typically relaxed and homelike. It can be free-standing or located within a hospital complex. ...

  • Hypnobirthing. What is it?

    Hypnobirthing. Giving birth while under hypnosis? That doesn't sound right. So what is it?

  • Your Fertile Window

    By EarthyMe, Barefoot & Pregnant As I think of pregnancy & just how to do it, I consider the many options out there for me to start charting my fertility.

  • Why I Love My Childbirth Class

    By MamaSandoval, Barefoot & Pregnant One thing that I knew for sure before my husband and I even conceived was that a baby would change our relationship forever. When people learn that we're having our first child, the reaction we get is either a look of pity, along with a comment along the lines

  • The Surprises of Pregnancy

    By MamaSandoval, Barefoot & Pregnant As I enter my 6th month of pregnancy, I've realized that there have been quite a few surprises. Some of them have come completely out of blue, others I had heard stories of or read about, but all of them have taken me by surprise in one way or another.

  • A Woman's Perspective on Husband Coached Childbirth

    By Mary Boston, Barefoot & Pregnant As a young girl, I became accustomed to hearing all about labor. How long it took, how "Johnny was stubborn from the get-go", and most importantly, how painful the experience can be. I also witnessed countless knowing looks exchanged from mother to mother as they

  • My Story So Far - Adoption Heartbreak

    By Nicky, Barefoot & Pregnant My husband and I decided we were going to adopt, thanks to my pcos. Pcos doesn't mean I can't have babies. It just means I need really good insurance or a lot of money to try. So a year ago we decided we were going to go through the county for adoptions. We did our Sat

  • What is Your Maternity Medical Coverage?

    By Topri Kropp, R.N., Barefoot & Pregnant With all the talk of the new health care plan, I started thinking about the maternity medical coverage items you'll want to investigate with your insurance company. Does your plan cover prenatal and maternity care? Federal law requires that an employer wit

  • Your In-home Full Body Massage for the Third Trimester!

    By Spa Mama, Barefoot & Pregnant When you can't make it to the spa for your much-needed pampering, it's quite possible to replicate the entire experience in the comfort of your own home, especially if you have an able (and willing) volunteer.

  • Swaddling Dilemma

    By Doula Giuditta, Barefoot & Pregnant Most parents say that swaddling helps their babies get to sleep, stay asleep, and get comforted quickly, especially when they are newborns. My problem with this is that the focus is on getting the baby to shut up, settle, be quiet in his/her crib, on his own.

  • 3 Beauty Treatments to Skip During Pregnancy

    By KARENG, Barefoot & Pregnant As we learned years ago (possibly from watching MTV) every rose has its thorn. But when it comes to beauty products and treatments that could harm you or your baby, nothing's worth the sting. So here are three beauty treatments you're better off avoiding if you're a s

  • Kiss Me, I'm Pregnant Mocktail by Glow Mama

    By Glow Mama, Barefoot & Pregnant If you're expecting, celebrate St. Patty's with this tempting mocktail!

  • Did I Cause My Baby's Separation Anxiety?

    By Elizabeth Pantley, Barefoot & Pregnant Did I cause my baby's separation anxiety?

  • Eating for Two, Again

    By Fit Mama, Barefoot & Pregnant New mom nutrition for your new mom lifestyle

  • The Short Guide to Pregnant Lady Holiday Eating

    By TROBERTS, Barefoot & Pregnant Within the first hour I arrived at my sister's house for Thanksgiving I had been assaulted on the pregnancy-diet front from both sides. First, my sister offered me a champagne cocktail when I walked through the door with my almost seven month pregnant belly leading

  • Preggo Gift Giving Tips: A Guide for Maintaining Happy Holiday Moods

    By TROBERTS, Barefoot & Pregnant

  • It's in His Kiss

    By DivineCaroline, Barefoot & Pregnant Playful, platonic, passionate, or parental, kisses transmit a surprising amount of information. In fact, they even play an evolutionary role in fertility. In spite of the old song, it turns out that a kiss is almost never "just a kiss."

  • Kick Counts

    By March of Dimes, Barefoot & Pregnant Popcorn popping. A little fish swimming. Bubbles. Butterflies. Tickles. These are common words used by women to describe their baby's first movements. Also known as "quickening", it's a reassuring sign that your baby is OK and growing. This much anticipated mi

  • Remembering Scarlet

    By Mama Michele, Barefoot & PregnantI was doing some much needed cleaning in my home office today. I had stacks of paper and stuff everywhere and it was really getting out of hand. Somewhere between the dozens of recipes I've printed out but never tried and the numerous To Do lists, I came across so

  • Is a Doula for Me?

    Courtesy of the American Pregnancy Association, Barefoot & Pregnant