birth

If you suffer from gestational diabetes both you and your baby are at risk for certain complications during and after pregnancy. However, once effective treatment procedures are followed you can significantly reduce your risksfor these conditions. Mother’s Health Risks: Difficult delivery Increased risk of type 2 diabetes post-pregnancy or in later life C-section delivery Pre-eclampsia […]

You may not be the one who is pregnant, but the next 9 months are going to be an incredible experience for you too. For that reason, we decided we would offer you a helping hand so that you can be involved in the entire pregnancy and avoid being in the line of fire when […]

Cortisol, also known as hydrocortisone, is a glucocorticoid or adrenal hormone which has an integral role in your pregnancy. Cortisol, like ACTH, is a stress hormone your body produces in reaction to none other than stress. Cortisol is always present in your body and steadily increases throughout your pregnancy as it is a process that […]

Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), also called corticotropin, is a pregnancy hormone secreted by the pituitary gland, like most of your other pregnancy hormones. It is usually produced as a reaction to stress and if we’re being honest pregnancy can be a bit stressful for your body, but it’s worth it! During pregnancy, ACTH serves two core […]

Vasopressin is a hormone that is very similar in both structure and function to oxytocin. It is released from the pituitary gland and does not increase until your third trimester of pregnancy. Vasopressin is an important hormone in the regulation of your contractions during labour and birth. As your labour progresses, your contractions will become […]

The linea nigra is that dark, vertical line that extends from your belly button to your pubic area (though some do extend to your rib cage). It usually appears in the twenty-third week of pregnancy, is about 1 cm thick and sometimes first appears as a faint white line. The linea nigra, which is the […]

Vernix caseosa is the white, wax-like substance that covers the fetus in-utero and usually at birth. However, premature and overdue babies are not usually born covered in vernex caseosa, because premature babies would not yet have developed it and overdue babies would have already fully shed it. Vernix caseosa is primarily composed of sebum (skin […]

An ECV or external cephalic version is one method used avoid a breech birth by turning the baby into the vertex position. It has a 58% success rate of doing so and is only performed after week 37 of pregnancy when the likelihood of your baby moving himself into the breech position drastically decreases. An […]

Breech births are births in which your baby is born in the breech or bottom-down position, that means her bottom or feet will come out first instead of her head. About 25% of all babies will be in the breech position when their mother is 32 weeks pregnant, by week 40 of pregnancy only 3% […]