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Some of the most common early pregnancy symptoms are a missed period, nausea, and tender breasts. But all those things can have lots of other causes too, and a lot of women don't feel those things. So you can never tell whether or not you're pregnant just based on the presence or absence of any symptoms or combination of symptoms.


More and more women are choosing non-traditional births (like home births and water births). If mother and baby are both healthy enough to not need too much medical intervention during the birth, then a non-traditional birth can be a wonderful thing. Most women report feeling much more spiritually or emotionally involved, whereas many women who do a traditional hospital birth report feeling rushed, disconnected, and like things are just being done to them. But it really depends on personal preference and the health of the mother and baby.


Most women experience a great deal of pain during delivery. Tearing is very common, so a lot of women go home with stitches. The mother can choose to have pain meds or no pain meds during a vaginal delivery. Any pain meds that she gets during delivery will be transferred to the baby, so going with no meds is the best if the mother can endure it. The average delivery is said to be about 12-18 hours for the first baby.


Babies who are born too early may not survive. Or they may survive only by staying in intensive care for a while. That's because their organs might not be as fully developed as a full term baby. Being born late isn't as bad though. It's good for the baby to be in there getting stronger and more developed, although a bigger baby may mean a more difficult delivery for mom.


When a woman has a c-section she's awake but the area is numbed. C-sections are supposed to be primarily for when there is a complication during delivery and the baby needs to get out quickly. It's more risky than vaginal delivery, but in some cases it may save the baby's life, the mother's life, or both. Sadly, some women are electing to have c-sections so that they can have their baby at a certain time. And some doctors are performing c-sections just to hurry things along so that they can get on to the next patient. That's actually one reason that many women are opting for home births - they don't want someone trying to push an unnecessary c-section on them while they're trying to deliver. Babies born by c-section may have breathing problems. Women who have c-sections lose more blood, take longer to recover, have a greater risk of infection, and have a greater risk of complications with future pregnancies. So it's really not something that should be casually elected just to make the birth more convenient.


Pregnant women should avoid cigarettes, illegal drugs, and alcohol. Some prescription and over the counter drugs are not safe to take while pregnant, so a woman needs to talk to her doctor about anything she takes, ideally before she even gets pregnant. Pregnant women also need to be careful with fish and cheese. Some types of fish are too high in mercury to be safe (or to be safe in certain amounts) during pregnancy, and some types of cheeses can have a bacteria that's not safe during pregnancy. Most types of activity are safe for most women during pregnancy, but a woman should talk to her doctor about any exercises she does to make sure they're all right, and she should avoid cleaning litter boxes if possible.


Most women can have sex during pregnancy, but some can't. So that's another thing a woman needs to check with her doctor about. Women should get a checkup six weeks after delivery. The doctor will make sure everything is healing all right. It's recommended that women hold off on any vaginal penetration until the doctor gives the ok at that checkup because it could cause problems if something is inserted before everything is healed down there.


A woman should gain between 15 and 40 pounds during pregnancy, depending on what she weighed before pregnancy. Women who were overweight before getting pregnant should gain closer to 15, women who were underweight before pregnancy should gain closer to 40, and women of average weight should be right around the middle. Some women get their pre-pregnancy belly back immediately, but most don't. Many women still look pregnant even after the baby is out. This is partly because of swelling and the fact that the uterus doesn't go back to pre-pregnancy size right away. Things should start to settle down again after about a month. But many women have trouble losing all of their extra pregnancy weight.


The mother's age can have a huge impact on the health of her baby and herself. Women under 20 and over 40 are much more likely to have difficult pregnancies, difficult deliveries, and babies with health problems, learning disabilities, and emotional issues. So getting pregnant before 20 or after 40 is not recommended by most doctors. The best time to get pregnant (in terms of mother's health, baby's health, finances, and maturity) is about 25-35. For years people thought that the father's age didn't matter at all, but some studies are now finding that it might.


Stretch marks are very common during pregnancy. Keeping the skin well moisturized may help. Stretch marks may also fade with time.


When a woman gets pregnant, her partner's body doesn't actually change. But he may feel pregnancy symptoms. We don't exactly know why yet, but it's probably an unconscious psychological reaction or stress based.