Infertility is an extremely frustrating and upsetting thing to have to deal with, especially if you have been planning on having a baby in the near future and are suddenly told that it’ll be a little while longer. The good news is that most cases of infertility are temporary and can be sorted out with the correct course of treatment, but because so few couples find out information on it, it can sound really scary.

There are numerous known causes of infertility these days because more people are experiencing it than ever before, at least to the knowledge of the medical profession. It can be difficult to access information dealing with both female and male causes and preventatives of infertility in the same place though purely and simply because there is so much information around that it can and will boggle your mind. The quick guides below should give you an idea of what you’re dealing with and how the problem can be solved.

Read the full article on infertility.

Having a baby can be a wonderful experience but it does have the potential to change any new parent into a nervous wreck for a while. For example, any new mum or dad may experience a little paranoia during the first few week’s of baby’s life and purposely look for signs of illness that aren’t necessarily there. However, it can be extremely worrying if your baby keeps crying over a period of a few days. This could actually be an indicator of colic.

Colic is a fairly common problem for babies because around 20% of newborns have it at some stage. It is literally when your baby keeps crying uncontrollably over a period of a few days. The bad news is that there’s no known cause so any baby can have it, but the good news is that it is completely harmless, even if it drives you to the edge of madness! It can be really distressing so I’ve put together a little fact sheet below to give you a little more information and put your mind at rest.

Read more about colic and your baby.

Every new mum is determined to do what’s best for her newborn baby and has a few decisions to make within just hours of the birth as to the best possible way to start baby’s life. Now one of these decisions is incredibly difficult for some mums – whether to breast feed or bottle feed.

Midwives and nurses are renowned for putting pressure on new mums to try to breast feed their newborns so it’s definitely worth thinking about and making up your mind what you want to do in advance. Always remember that it’s your decision. Both breast feeding and bottle feeding have their own merits and their own disadvantages, all of which are below for ease of reference.

Read more about breast and bottle feeding here.

If you are pregnant or are trying to get pregnant then naming your baby is probably one of the things that you are looking forward to above everything else. However, it isn’t always as fun as most people think it will be! Agreeing on a name is one of the mot frustrating experiences of the nine months preceding parenthood because it’s very rare that two prospective parents will agree on the same name the very first time it’s mentioned. In fact, the final name is more likely to be borne out of compromise and maybe a little bribery!

Read more about how to choose a baby name.

If you want to prepare yourself for giving birth, and going through labour in particular, then you might want to find out a little bit about the stages of labour. Although it won’t help relieve your pain at the time or make your labour any shorter, finding out about the process will certainly give you a little knowledge of what to expect.

Giving birth will be one of the most profound and wonderful experiences of your life. You will never go through anything else like it, not even if you go on to have a second or third baby because every delivery is different. However, no matter what happens during the birth, there are three distinct labour stages.

Read the full article on labour and giving birth.

After nine months of pregnancy and a final few weeks of discomfort, no doubt you’ll be counting down the days until you finally give birth. Many women can’t wait to have their baby, or babies as the case may be sometimes, but they fully understand that they have to go through a few hours of labour first! Those that have been through labour once before might no look forward to it, but new mums will positively dread it.

Read more about pregnancy and labour here.

Although most women wouldn’t know the complete range of pregnancy signs, there is sure to be one that that they’d recognise and probably dread – morning sickness, or the nausea and vomiting that are common in the early weeks of pregnancy. As with every pregnancy, every woman’s experience of morning sickness is different. Some women may suffer with it throughout their pregnancy whereas other women might not have it at all.

Read the full article on morning sickness here.

If you are part of a couple that is considering having a baby in the near future then you are undoubtedly on the verge of making one of the biggest decisions of your live. Having a baby will revolutionize your life and set you on a completely different path. As such, it’s not a decision to be taken lightly but once you have made the decision to try and get pregnant then the hard work starts straight away!

Learn more about getting pregnant.

If you’re trying to get pregnant then you’re probably longing for the day when you can get a pregnancy test and give your partner the great news that you both want. Many women that suspect they’re pregnant head out to the chemist and buy a home pregnancy test, but that isn’t your only option. Believe it or not, there are several types of pregnancy test that you could take to confirm or deny your suspicions.

Read more about pregnancy tests and testing.

Preparing for pregnancy effectively consists of many things if you want to be prepared when the time comes. Finding out all you can about it and reading plenty of material might scare you half to death but it will certainly help to prepare you for what’s to come. A key part of that is finding about the stages of pregnancy so you know exactly what to expect and when whilst pregnant!

You can divide any pregnancy into three sections, which are also known as trimesters because each one lasts three months. The development of the baby and of the pregnancy is nice and easy to follow as a result because each trimester is exactly the same in length. However, the developments that take place in each of the stages of pregnancy are very different. To get you started, there is a little in depth information below that outlines what will happen during each one.

Read more about pregnancy and trimesters.