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The doula  is a professional trained in childbirth who provides emotional, physical, and educational support to a mother who is expecting, is experiencing labor, or has recently given birth. Their purpose is to help women have a safe, memorable, and empowering birthing experience.

Braxton Hicks are also known as false labor. They help prepare the body for true labor, but they do not indicate labor has begun. These are contractions of the uterus that start as an uncomfortable but painless tightening begining at the top of your uterine muscles. They cause your abdomen to become very hard and strangely contorted (almost pointy). The contractions are infrequent and irregular in intensity – usually lasting about 15-30 seconds.

A woman generally ovulates halfway through her menstrual cycle, which is around day 14 of the average 28-day cycle, counting from the first day of one period to the first day of the next.

Ovulation usually occurs halfway through your menstrual cycle, around day 14 of the average 28-day cycle counting from the first day of one period to the first day of the next.

Vaginal bleeding is the most common sign of miscarriage. This can vary from light spotting to a heavy bleed depending on how many weeks pregnant your are. Other symptoms may include abdominal cramping, lower back pain and passage of fluid or tissue from your vagina. Call your doctor if you’re experiencing these signs.

The mucus plus is usually clear, slightly pink or blood-tinged in color. It can be stringy mucous or sticky discharge. Some women might not notice the loss of their mucus plug since there is already an increase in vaginal discharge during pregnancy.

The most common cause of miscarriage is chromosomal abnormality – meaning something is wrong with the baby’s chromosomes and it’s not developing normally. Most chromosomal abnormalities are the cause of a damaged egg or sperm cell or are due to a problem at the time that the zygote went through the division process. The reasons for miscarriage are varied, and most often cannot be identified.

Implantation bleeding is generally light and short, between a couple of hours to three full days.

Implantation bleeding occurs when the embryo implants in the lining of the uterus, usually around 7 to 10 days after fertilization. This bleeding could happen near the time you would expect your menstruation cycle. Learn how implantation bleeding differs from period bleeding.

Implantation bleeding looks different from your period. Implantation bleeding is more of of a “spotting” rather than a full “flow” like your period. It’s typically a lighter pink rather than blood red and doesn’t have clots. It can happen about the time you’re expecting your period so it’s very easy to confuse the two.

The best time to take a pregnancy test is 7 days after a missed period, and first thing in the moring with your first urine of the day. Learn why if you take a pregnancy test sooner than 7 days you may get a false negative.

Preeclampsia is a condition that occurs only during pregnancy. Symptoms may include high blood pressure and protein in the urine, usually occurring after week 20 of pregnancy.

Ovulation is when a mature egg is released from the ovary, pushed down the fallopian tube, and is made available to be fertilized.

Are you experiencing pregnancy symptoms that having you asking “Am I pregnant?” A missed period is the key pregnancy symptom. Our free due date calculator will help pinpoint your conception and due dates.

When do you ovulate? You ovulate about about halfway through your menstruation cycle. That’s day 14 on an average 28-day cycle. Our free ovulation calculator will help you determine when you ovulate next.