Why Women Don’t Lick Their Babies Clean After Childbirth

Pierre Van Zylparenting, Pregnancy

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Many animal mothers instinctively lick their newborns to clean them. This act of grooming is important for several reasons. One, it removes amniotic fluid, which conducts heat away from the body and warms the baby. Plus, it stimulates the newborn and b…

Crunch Time

Pierre Van ZylCOVID, Kicks, Pregnancy, pregnancy timing

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Sitting in my rocking chair taking a few deep breaths.We hadn’t shared it on the blog yet but we are expecting Baby #2 any day now. I can tell you that the pandemic is about 8.5 months along because I took the pregnancy test the week we started shuttin…

Photographer Gives Birth to Twins, One Dark-Skinned and the Other Albino, and They Are a Sight For Sore Eyes

Pierre Van Zylparenting, Pregnancy

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When Judith Nwokocha, a Nigerian-Canadian photographer first saw her albino twins, she thought the nurses had handed her the wrong baby. [1] The 38-year-old photographer based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada had been trying to conceive for eight years with her husband who is also African. They were finally blessed with the most adorable set of…

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Women Feel Phantom Baby Movements Years After Being Pregnant

Pierre Van ZylPregnancy

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Women’s health conditions are generally studied less than men’s, and postnatal health gets more attention than postpartum health, which makes this survey the first of its kind. Is it possible for formerly pregnant women to feel fetus-like kicks? According to this new study, absolutely! Women can feel these phantom kicks up to 28 years after…

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Graphic Pictures Show The Reality Of Endometriosis

Pierre Van ZylPregnancy, Women’s Health

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When thirty-four-year-old Andrea Baines was asked to design a special effects shoot as a part of her course at a makeup academy, she decided to use it as an opportunity to explain to others the pain that she and millions of other women go through on a monthly basis.  Baines, who suffers from endometriosis, used…

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A Baby was Born ‘Pregnant” and an Emergency C-Section was Performed to Remove Her Own Sibling

Pierre Van ZylPregnancy

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For some women, finding out that they are pregnant can come as a huge surprise. For Monica Vega of Barranquilla, Columbia, the shock came much later when she found out that she wasn’t the only one who was pregnant – her baby was, too. Vega’s baby girl, Itzmara, was born at seven months by cesarean…

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Some women are using marijuana to cope with pregnancy symptoms like nausea even though the FDA warns against it

Pierre Van ZylHeal, Pregnancy, Women’s Health

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Marijuana, also known as pot or weed, is derived from the dried portion of the Cannabis sativa plant. Many studies have been discovering its medical uses, but the drug is still illegal for recreational use in many states. Recently, it was found that pregnant women use weed to alleviate nausea and other pregnancy symptoms, which…

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Doctor Suspended After Baby is Born Without Face

Pierre Van Zylparenting, Pregnancy

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Marlene and David were overjoyed when they found out they were expecting. For the next nine months, they attended the necessary doctor and ultrasound appointments and were reassured that the baby would be healthy. It seemed like smooth sailing for the …

Pregnant Woman Who Endured Chemo for Breast Cancer Gives Birth to Healthy Baby

Pierre Van Zylparenting, Pregnancy, Women’s Health

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For 36-year-old Jade Devis of Rancho Cucamonga, California, her story of becoming a mother and her story of battling breast cancer are inextricable. Devis found out she was expecting in December of 2018, but shortly afterward, she began to experience intense breast pain. By February, she noticed a hard, painful lump above her breast. She…

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My Doctor Gave Me a Husband Stitch and I’ll Never Forgive Him

Pierre Van ZylHeal, Pregnancy, Women’s Health

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It would be absurd if your optometrist decided to give you botox during an eye exam without asking your permission. It would be preposterous if your dermatologist pierced your ears during a routine checkup without asking you. Heck, it’s upsetting enough when your hairdresser trims more than the two and a half inches you’ve asked…

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Just 10 Months After Giving Birth, This Athlete Breaks One of Usain Bolt’s Records

Pierre Van ZylLearn, News + Discoveries, Pregnancy

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A champion is defined as a person who has defeated all rivals in a competition. Allyson Felix fits this description threefold.  First, she won gold in her 12th World Championship relay race, beating out Usain Bolt for having the most gold medals. Two, she came out on top in a wage battle against Nike. Three,…

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Just One Day Before Baby Aiden Past from Microcephaly, Photographer Captures These Beautiful Moments

Pierre Van Zylparenting, Pregnancy

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Photographer Jennifer Ryals received a phone call requesting a lifestyle newborn photoshoot for a 8-week-old baby who had just been released from the hospital. Ryals hesitated.  “I don’t know where to start this honestly,” she said in an essay on Love What Matters. “I don’t photograph newborns. Not my thing.”  However, she did love lifestyle…

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“My baby was pooping pools of blood!”

Pierre Van Zylparenting, Pregnancy

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When Nicole Siew, mother of 9-month-old Nathan, noticed her baby boy tossing and turning and crying, she picked him up to calm him down. What usually helps — swaying him back and forth — wasn’t seeming to work this time around. So, she prepared some milk in hopes that it was just hunger pangs keeping…

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6 Benefits of Seeing an Acupuncturist While Pregnant

Pierre Van ZylPregnancy

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Although pregnancy is a natural process, and not an illness that needs ongoing treatment, it often comes with a variety of uncomfortable symptoms that can be challenging to address. From backaches and heartburn to muscle cramps and extreme fatigue, many women find themselves facing a whole of discomforts during their pregnancy.  But, how do you…

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Rainbow Babies: Children Who Heal Their Families of the Most Inconceivable Pain

Pierre Van Zylparenting, Pregnancy

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In 2005, when my little brother died two days after his birth, we watched our lives crumble right before our eyes. My mother had still been in the hospital, recovering from her C-section. The pain we felt was physical, our hearts were literally broken into pieces, and we never thought we’d recover from it. After…

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A 2019 Baby Boom is Taking Place in a Maine Hospital

Pierre Van ZylLearn, News + Discoveries, Pregnancy

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There’s a baby boom happening at the Maine Medical Center in Portland. This hospital is welcoming an abundance of new babies – from its nurses! Nine nurses in the same labor unit have announced their pregnancies, one after another. This team shared their baby boom on Social Media on March 25th, 2019. These nurses are…

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Staying At Home with Kids Is Harder Than Going to Work

Pierre Van ZylHome + Garden, parenting, Pregnancy

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We love our kids. No doubt about that. They are bundles of joy given to us by the universe to set our lives on a path of unbridled love, affection, and happiness. At least, that’s what many of us think. However, this doesn’t change the fact that they drive us nuts sometimes. Staying at home…

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Truths About C-Section Moms

Pierre Van ZylLearn, News + Discoveries, parenting, Pregnancy

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As more and more birth stories sweep their way across blogs and social media, let’s take a moment to appreciate the unsung heroes. Here’s to the moms who didn’t get to choose their story, and for those that carefully chose what was right for them. All birth is beautiful and neither method of bringing a…

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You’re Allowed to Have a Baby After 35

Pierre Van ZylPregnancy, Women’s Health

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Women who conceive after the age of 35 are often known and referred to as an “advanced maternal age”. If you haven’t heard this medical term before, you’ve likely heard that “waiting too long to have a baby is risky.” However, in this day and age, it may actually be more realistic for women to…

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