4 Myths About Pregnancy and the Flu Shot

vrijdag 27 september 2013

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AppId is over the quota
by Adriana Velez 10 hours ago

The question comes up every fall: Should pregnant women get the flu shot? On one hand, a flu shot could save your unborn baby's life. On the other hand, a lot of us feel squeamish about flu vaccines in general, even more so during pregnancy. What's in that thing, and should we really be getting vaccinated while we're pregnant? In fact, while vaccinations are up for most people, expecting moms are still very resistant. Only about half of pregnant women get the flu shot. So now doctors are working to get the word out: The flu shot is perfectly safe during pregnancy. Here's why.

It doesn't cause miscarriage. According to a study of pregnant women tracked between 2009 and 2011, women who were vaccinated for the H1N1 virus were no more likely to suffer a miscarriage than women who were not vaccinated.

It doesn't cause birth defects or affect birth weight. In another study of 4,191 pregnant women, vaccinated women were no more likely to deliver a baby with birth defects than unvaccinated women.

It doesn't cause premature birth. In one study, vaccinated women on average delivered their babies three days earlier than non-vaccinated women, but doctors are not concerned about this small difference. In another study, vaccinated women actually delivered later than unvaccinated women.

It doesn't cause complications. Yet another study shows that the flu vaccine is not tied to pregnancy complications like high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, or urinary tract infections.

Of course, you should still talk with your doctor before getting vaccinated. You may have some special concerns that make you an exception. But in study after study, doctors are not finding a risk for getting vaccinated during pregnancy.

Are you worried about getting vaccinated against the flu while pregnant?

Image via U.S. Army/Flickr

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Adriana Velez

is a staff writer who dabbles in food, parenting, news, entertainment, molecular biology, and anything else that that pops into her head. She lives with her elementary school-aged son in Brooklyn, land of urban farms and artisan everything.  

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Jenelle Evans Is Crazy to Think She Can Prevent Teen Pregnancy

woensdag 25 september 2013

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AppId is over the quota
by Maressa Brown 11 hours ago

For her relationship/custody/drug drama and more, Jenelle Evans is, in a word, infamous. But the Teen Mom 2 star apparently still believes she can be a role model for teens. She tweeted yesterday, "Wow! I got a lot of school appearances booked already! Can't wait to talk about Teen Pregnancy Prevention!"

Hrmmm, really? Jenelle Evans is going to school young, impressionable minds about steering clear of the path she took? Which lead her to MTV fame (or infamy, to be more specific, but still, I'm sure lots o' kids these days don't really care about the differentiation)? That said, I'm not seeing how any Teen Mom reality star -- or anyone who has become a "star" by having a teen pregnancy -- is the best person to get through to teens. But of all of 'em, Jenelle seems like the least likely.

Sure, everyone makes mistakes, but let's look at the facts: Jenelle doesn't have custody of her son, her mother Barbara does. She's battled drug addiction, has gone to jail and rehab, and has an estranged husband named Courtland but is currently in a relationship with New Guy Nathan. As far as we can tell, she hasn't had some huge turnaround and started living a completely upstanding, clean, mature adult existence just yet. So what makes her a good candidate to counsel teens on ... anything? Let alone the fact that it kiiiinda looks hypocritical, or at least nonsensical, for her or anyone in her position to tell them to not get pregnant when getting pregnant was what helped make her a celebrity.

Despite all of this, I appreciate that she's attempting to use her notoriety to accomplish something positive -- hopefully encouraging teens to use various forms of birth control, including but not limited to abstinence. Because if her "teen pregnancy prevention" talk is actually a completely unrealistic, moralistic scientifically proven-ineffective spiel on just saying "no" to sex, then it's an even bigger joke than it sounds.

How do you feel about Jenelle Evans preachin' to teens about teen pregnancy prevention?

Image via Jenelle Evans/Instagram

Click "Like" for the latest on the Teen Moms. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Maressa Brown

has enjoyed reporting and writing for a variety of entertainment and women's magazines and websites. More often than not, you'll find her blogging, hitting the gym, reading, researching something on her iPhone, laughing, chatting at an above-"normal" volume, or getting her caffeine fix.

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The Reason Behind 'Teen Mom' Mackenzie Douthit's Second Pregnancy Is Hard to Believe

vrijdag 13 september 2013

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AppId is over the quota
by Jeanne Sager 16 hours ago

Ever since news leaked that Mackenzie Douthit is pregnant with baby number two, the Teen Mom 3 star has been fielding a lot of criticism. She isn't even 19! And her second pregnancy came before she and Josh McKee even got married!

Why would a girl who fought a hard fight with her mom to get herself on birth control to prevent a second pregnancy make a move so many are calling dumb? She's finally given the world an answer ... and, well, it's interesting.

Challenged on Twitter about baby number two, Mackenzie challenged her critics right back:

If a doctor told you your body would no longer be able to have babies after the age 21. And your married and 19. What would you do?

Well, when you put it that way ...

I can't say that the doctor's order to Mackenzie really makes that much sense to me. Generally practitioners don't begin putting an age limit on procreation until women are much older than the Teen Mom. She's 19, not 39.

More From The Stir: 'Teen Mom' Star Gets Engaged -- Thank Goodness!

But Mackenzie does have health problems, including type one diabetes, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that her doctor might have told her that she may have limitations on childbearing. It happens to women all the time.

The question is what would you do? If a doctor did tell you that you didn't have that much time left to have a baby, and you really wanted one?

Would you start going at it like rabbits just to make it happen, just to make sure that the opportunity doesn't pass you by?

Fellow Teen Mom 3 star Briana DeJesus joked that Mackenzie should "have sex til ur vagina explodes."

And, well, I get it. I'm a one and done mom here, and I feel so strongly that one is right for my family that I can understand how a woman might feel that she NEEDS two or three or whatever number seems "right" for her family. Sometimes you just "know" deep down what is right for you, and you do what you have to do to make it happen.

What do you think of Mackenzie's explanation? What would you do in her shoes?

Image via Instagram

Click "Like" for the latest on the Teen Moms. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jeanne Sager

writes articles for The Stir by day, slays closet monsters and bounds through bedtime stories with her elementary schooler by night. The Phineas and Ferb soundtrack reverberates through her brain.

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A Drink a Day Before First Pregnancy Strongly Linked to Breast Cancer in Major New Study

dinsdag 3 september 2013

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AppId is over the quota
by Kiri Blakeley 2 hours ago

I wish that all of these studies linking cancer and alcohol consumption had come out when I was in college. Not that I necessarily would have put down my wine cooler and read them. But, one can always imagine, right? Still, it seems like every time you turn around now, someone is telling you how bad drinking is for you. Can't we go back to that time when wine was supposed to make you live forever? What happened to that? That was fun, right? But anyway, we're in the downer years for booze -- when pretty much any drop of the stuff is going to send you into a premature grave. A new major study links alcohol consumption to breast cancer.

According to the study, drinking just one alcoholic drink a day -- one glass of wine after work; one beer with dinner; one shot of tequila before you get into bed (we all do that, right?) -- can increase your chances of getting breast cancer. Delayed childbearing can also increase your breast cancer risk. So you ladies who opted out of childrearing to party -- here's your comeuppance! I kid, I kid, but these studies are like after us, eh?!

Anyhoo, this research is the first study to concentrate on those drinking years between first menstruation and first pregnancy -- probably the time when most women drank the most. Except for those moms who began drinking like fish to ease the stress of motherhood. But don't worry, your bummer study will come at some later date.

These years are, of course, the drinking years for a lot of us -- high school and college. Your risk increased 11 percent for every six drinks per week. Which seems like a lot of breast cancer!

Researchers seem to think that breast tissue is more susceptible to environmental risk factors like alcohol before pregnancy -- because pregnancy causes cellular changes that make breast tissue less susceptible to cancer.

Scarily, a woman's lifetime risk of getting breast cancer is one in eight. That's a pretty big chance! Which apparently increases if you were a big drinker in your non-pregnancy years. Or even a moderate drinker. I mean, most women I knew in my teens and 20s didn't drink one drink a day -- but they certainly made up for it on the weekends!

The study concludes that women who haven't yet had their first pregnancy should limit their alcohol consumption to less than one drink a day.

Could the "healthy" beer a day habit my grandmother had for decades have contributed to her breast cancer? Hmmm. Hey, let's go back to that time when one drink a day was just fiiiiiine. 'Memba that?

Are you feeling as doomed as I am?

Image via Steampunk Family the von Hedwigs/Flickr

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Kourtney Kardashian Pregnancy Rumors Fly After Scott Disick Posts Pic of Bare Belly (PHOTO)

dinsdag 27 augustus 2013

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AppId is over the quota
by Mary Fischer 3 hours ago

You know those rumors that are floating around about Kourtney Kardashian being pregnant with baby number three? Yeah, well, they're heating up even more now that Scott Disick posted a photo of Kourtney's bare belly to Instagram with the caption, "Looks like an angel."

Um, take a good, close look at the pic. Apparently some people are seeing a baby bump on Kourt -- but all I see is a ridiculously flat stomach that most moms would kill to have, especially after having two babies.

Hell, if that's what being pregnant looks like, then I wanna be pregnant too. Actually, scratch that -- if Kourtney appears to be expecting based on this shot, then I'm fairly certain I always look about six months pregnant to everyone around me.

I guess there is a chance that Kourt has another bun in the oven, but at this point, I don't think we should read too much into this photo, especially considering how pregnancy rumors seem to run rampant among the Hollywood crowd these days. Gah. Can't a girl enjoy a good meal without everyone assuming she's knocked up? (Choosing to savor a pizza in La-La land must be a real buzz kill when it results in a food baby.)

And if for some reason you are seeing a tummy bulge on Kourtney in this photo, take another look at the angle she's standing at. She's kind of hunched over with her back arched a little bit, which makes her stomach protrude forward. I suppose that can be easily confused with a baby bump (though her mid-section still looks flat as hell to me).

This one could really go either way, but for now, I'm going to go ahead and predict that Kourt is NOT preggo. She just happens to have a boyfriend who can't resist sharing photos of her bangin' bod.

Ok, your turn to weigh in -- do you think Kourtney is expecting?

Image via Instagram

Click the "Like" button below if you're Krazy for the Kardashians! ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mary Fischer

is the writer behind The Mommyologist, and the mom of a future famous comedian. Her current loves include cosmopolitans, reality TV, and shoes that don't pinch her feet.

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Kailyn Lowry Bares Her Beautiful Belly in Lovely Pregnancy Photos

maandag 19 augustus 2013

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by Sasha Brown-Worsham 2 hours ago

Teen Mom Kailyn Lowry has come a long, long way since her days on the MTV show. She is now married to Javi Marroquin, mother to an active 3-year-old, and expecting baby number two. To celebrate her pregnancy, Kailyn took a series of nude and nearly nude pregnancy photos that were shared on several sites. They are lovely (see them here). 

I am sure that some people will judge her for taking this photo, but as a fellow pregger, I say you go girl! First of all, she looks fantastic. At 21, she still has perfect legs and everything is where it supposed to be, so good on her. But more than that, pregnancy is really a beautiful time.

Oh sure, I know, we all feel disgusting and overweight and not ourselves. I know I do now, in fact. But I also have the perspective of two prior pregnancies and I know that I will look back on this and think I was beautiful. Now, I wish I had photos of my babies in my belly.

Too often, during pregnancy, we lose perspective. Kailyn is smart in that she knows she will want to remember what she looks like right now. She knows it will matter to her.

It is also a sexy time. Oh we might not FEEL that way at the time, but the reality is, it is a time where we are ripening, blossoming, and moving into a new phase of life. It should be recorded.

Kailyn's photos went public and I am sure some will judge that, but I say it's a great thing. Why shouldn't we have more examples of pregnant women who are proud of their form and proud of the changes happening within them.

Pregnancy might feel like forever when you are in the midst of it, but in the long run, it is a blip, an instant, a small moment in your life. It is worth recording and sharing and being proud.

There is nothing fiercer than pregnancy. Kailyn looks great and she is proud of it. Good for her for showing it off.

Would you ever do nude pregnancy shots?

Image via Twitter

Click "Like" for the latest on the Teen Moms. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sasha Brown-Worsham

can't decide whether she is a mother, writer, or runner, but is usually all three at some point each day. She has written for dozens of print magazines, newspapers, and websites. She rarely ever writes on bathroom walls.

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8 Natural Ways to Treat Heartburn During Pregnancy

donderdag 15 augustus 2013

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AppId is over the quota

During both of my pregnancies, I was relatively lucky when it came to symptoms for the most part. I didn't have huge amounts of morning sickness, hemorrhoids (thank God!), or many of the other things I dreaded. The one thing I did have though, I had bad -- heartburn.

Before I was pregnant, I honestly had no idea what heartburn really was. Oh, I'd heard of it, but I'd never experienced it. It was baptism by fire -- serious fire. I turned to antacids when I really needed to, but I wanted to keep my pregnancy as drug-free as possible, so instead I sought out natural remedies, many of which worked as well if not better. Since then I've come across many more that I wish I knew about then. Here are eight natural ways to treat heartburn that are worth a try.

1. Fresh Pineapple

Though citrus can cause heartburn in some cases, people swear by this remedy. Apparently pineapple contains bromelain and enzymes that help minimize inflammation.

2. Coconut Water

It's delicious, and it contains natural acid neutralizers.

3. Ginger

Whether freshly grated on food or in ginger ale, many women find this plant to be helpful for nausea as well as heartburn.

4. Almonds

Try eating a handful when you first feel heartburn coming on. The large amounts of oil in the nuts may help combat the acid.

5. Gum

There have been several studies that show how well chewing gum works to prevent heartburn, as it helps force fluids back into the stomach. Bonus -- good breath.

6. Elevate your head while sleeping

Whether you do so with a special pillow or just by putting blocks underneath the legs of your bed, keeping your head slightly elevated while you sleep can help keep acid down in your stomach.

7. Pay Attention to What You Eat

Common foods that cause heartburn include caffeine, chocolate, and fatty dishes, but it can be different for every woman. Pay attention to when the heartburn hits and you can try to eliminate those foods that trigger it.

8. Eat Small, Frequent Meals

A too-full or too-empty stomach can both make heartburn hit hard. Five or six small meals a day are ideal.

What natural remedies for treating heartburn have you found that work?

Image via Tatsuo Yamashita/Flickr

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Mom Takes On Stupid Pregnancy 'Rules' and Tells It Like It Really Is

woensdag 14 augustus 2013

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AppId is over the quota
by Jacqueline Burt 2 hours ago

What's safe during pregnancy? What's not? It's a debate that will continue to rage on, I suspect, for as long as babies are born, but the answers change -- often. Or maybe I should say opinions? And those opinions do tend to stir up some serious controversy, as is the case with those contained in the new book Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong -- and What You Really Need to Know by Emily Oster. As you might have guessed from the name, Oster's take on what's okay/not okay during pregnancy is slightly different from what's currently considered conventional wisdom: Caffeine and alcohol -- in moderation, of course -- aren't necessarily mortal sins for mothers-to-be. Now, Oster isn't a doctor, but she is an economist. And when -- while pregnant with her first child -- she applied her expertise with numbers to relevant studies, what she found was, in her words, "surprising."

In search of real answers, I combed through hundreds of studies -- the ones that the recommendations were based on -- to get to the good data. This is where another part of my training as an economist came in: I knew enough to read the numbers correctly ... the key problem lies in separating correlation from causation. The claim that you should stop having coffee while pregnant, for instance, is based on causal reasoning: If you change nothing else, you'll be less likely to have a miscarriage if you drink less coffee. But what we see in the data is only a correlation -- the women who drink coffee are more likely to miscarry. There are also many other differences between women who drink coffee and those who don't, differences that could themselves be responsible for the differences in miscarriage rates.

This makes a lot of sense to me. My first pregnancy was something of a surprise, so I was already eight weeks along when I saw those double lines on the test stick. And let me tell ya: Insta-panic!! Those first ignorant eight weeks were filled with all sorts of activity not generally considered to be appropriate during pregnancy. Naturally I quit smoking, drinking, and guzzling Starbucks right away, but I still worried ... thankfully, my daughter was born perfectly healthy (and too smart for her own good).

Still, not surprisingly, lots of people are absolutely going insane over Oster's ideas, accusing the mom and author of being "irresponsible" and even a "danger to pregnant women and their families." Is that fair? When my grandmother was pregnant with my father, her ob/gyn encouraged her to smoke cigarettes to keep her weight down -- he even prescribed Dexedrine! My mom, on the other hand, was told by her ob/gyn to eat "as much as she wanted," weight gain be damned! Maybe it's safe to say none of us has all the answers? For me, it all goes back to the common sense thing: A glass of wine is probably fine, a bottle is probably less fine. But that's just me.

Do you think drinking coffee and/or alcohol during pregnancy in moderation is okay?

Image via star5112/Flickr

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jacqueline Burt

has written for numerous magazines, newspapers, and websites. She is easily bored and often tired, so she requires constant entertainment to keep her awake. Dance, Monkey! Dance! 

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Mom Has World’s Most Epic Reaction to Kids’ Surprise Pregnancy News (VIDEO)

dinsdag 6 augustus 2013

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AppId is over the quota
by Nicole Fabian-Weber 5 hours ago

It seems like pretty much every pregnancy announcement under the sun has been done. Search "pregnancy announcement" on YouTube and a list of videos that could ostensibly fill the Empire State Building twice comes up. They're all adorable; they all elicit adorable reactions from the surprisee; but they all kind of make you think, "Man. It really all has been done."

I'm here to tell you it hasn't all been done. You too can come up with a never-before-seen pregnancy announcement! It just takes a little creativity. Take this couple, for instance. They thought of a super cute way to surprise their mom with news of their impending bundle. It was super simple. Super inexpensive. All they needed was a piece of bread.

Check it out. Because you're hard-pressed to ever see a reaction to a pregnancy this enthusiastic. Sheer awesomeness ahead.

What a cute idea, right? And so simple. Doesn't get much easier than literally placing a bun in the oven and having someone find it! And what a positively awesome reaction from mom. Man, she was excited. A-plus all around.

Now. Are you thinking about how to announce your pregnancy? (You totally are, I know it.)

Did you announce your pregnancy in a fun way?

Image via AvenueEntertainment1/YouTube

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7 Ways the Third Pregnancy Is Nothing Like the First 2 Times

zaterdag 3 augustus 2013

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AppId is over the quota
by Sasha Brown-Worsham 20 hours ago

For the past three years, I have been debating, deciding, and mulling over the possibility of a third baby. By the time my husband and I decided to try, it felt like we had been discussing it for an eternity. Two weeks later, surprise! We were pregnant. With a girl.

We are thrilled, elated, and over the moon to be adding a third child to our family, but with a 5-year-old boy and 6-year-old girl, this pregnancy hasn't been anything like the first two.

There are constantly things to do, places to be, and boo-boos that need kissing. I look up sometimes and yet another week has passed. The third pregnancy is really different, indeed. Here are 7 ways:

1.) I relish every second: This is probably my last pregnancy. With the other two, I fretted over every last thing, but this time, seven years after the first, I feel so lucky just to be doing it. Feeling the baby move is a total miracle and I can't believe I get to experience it again.

2.) I don't fret the weight gain as much: The first two times, I gained 50 pounds. I also lost all 50 of them by month 5. Sure, I worked at it, but it wasn't that hard. This time, I seem to be headed in that same general direction. And you know what? It's fine. I will be back to my size 4's in no time. In the meantime, I am going to enjoy it.

3.) So much LOVE: The first time I was pregnant, obviously there was a lot of love. It was so exciting to be expecting with my husband for the first time and my whole family was thrilled. The second time, just nine months after the first was born, was met with equal enthusiasm, but my daughter was too young to get it. NOW? Holy wow. These kids could NOT be more excited. They kiss my belly so much, they leave white streaks from their sunscreen all over my clothes. And I don't mind a bit.

4.) Time is flying: The truth is, I can get very busy between working at home, taking care of the kiddos, planning birthday parties, and every other little thing that goes into being a working mama. It's very easy to forget I am expecting and let a whole week pass. It's hard to believe I am already through the first trimester. The first and second time, every week was an eternity. Not this time!

5.) People act like you are a pro: The first time, everyone and their mother has tons of advice. This time, first-time moms are asking ME for advice!

6.) Less time to connect: With my first two pregnancies, I was a pro about going to prenatal yoga at least three times a week. It was a great time to think only about myself and the baby and really connect. This time around, I am 15 weeks and I have gone once. Oops. I am going to try to go more, but there is just so little time.

7.) I ignore a lot of things: The first time, I stopped running (something I adore) on the off-chance that it could hurt the baby. The second time, I ran, but cautiously. This time, I run. I keep up with my routine the way I did before and so far, so good. I also ignore a lot of comments from people who tell me what I can and can't do. It's between me and my midwife. The end.

Was your third pregnancy different from your first two?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sasha Brown-Worsham

can't decide whether she is a mother, writer, or runner, but is usually all three at some point each day. She has written for dozens of print magazines, newspapers, and websites. She rarely ever writes on bathroom walls.

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