CNN.com - Health - Pregnancy Fertility

What doctors don't tell you about C-sections

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:40:59 GMT

I was six months pregnant when a smiling stranger on a bus asked where I was delivering. Within minutes, this woman was sharing intimate details of her own birthing experience -- the water breaking, the contractions that failed to get closer together, and the way her doctor deftly sewed up the four-inch incision from her Caesarean section. "I'm telling you, this guy was good," she said. "Next time, I'm just scheduling my C-section. None of this pushing stuff."

New help for moms with postpartum depression

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:42:41 GMT

Shortly before last Mother's Day, 28-year-old Lauren Meehan-Machos broke down in front of her startled husband. "This is more than I can handle," she sobbed.

Pregnant mother, pregnant daughter battle H1N1

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:40:24 GMT

Nancy Brizendine's slow-paced life in California's Antelope Valley has become something of a slick race track.

Pregnant with cancer -- One woman's choice to put treatment on hold

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:52:56 GMT

My son is not a hugger. He's almost 2 years old, and I can count on one hand the times he's squeezed his chubby arms around my neck (they all involve my husband running the vacuum). I'm okay with this because on the rare occasion when I do get a hug, I get very emotional. I imagine most moms experience these my-heart-might-burst moments when a seconds-long embrace makes them feel like the luckiest person in the world. But for me, it's a little different. A little sweeter. And I am a lot luckier. See, I wasn't supposed to have a baby. I'm a cancer patient. Seven years ago I was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), a slow-moving form of blood cancer. I'm in remission, thanks to a medication I take every day that states right smack on the bottle: Do not get pregnant while taking this drug. But I did. Then I stopped my lifesaving medication and endured nine long months of what-ifs: What if the brief exposure to the drug affects the baby? What if my cancer comes back? What if I leave my child motherless? I took a big risk, but it paid off even bigger. Now I want to do it again.

Study: Childhood cancer survivors less likely to marry

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 20:34:18 GMT

Three years ago, Anne Willis mentioned to the man she was dating that she didn't know about her fertility, since she had undergone cancer treatment as a teenager. His response --"Oh, so you don't know if you're going be able to have kids?" -- was off-putting.

Mom won't be forced to have C-section

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:30:41 GMT

Jeff Szabo was by his wife's side when she gave birth to their son Gabriel seven years ago, and he was right there holding Joy's hand when their younger sons Michael and Daniel were born, too.

To vaccinate or not? Some wary on H1N1 choice

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:18:43 GMT

Mary Peterson of Des Moines, Washington, doesn't believe the vaccine for the novel H1N1 flu has been studied enough to get it for herself and her daughters, who are 1 and 3 years old.

Antidepressant use in pregnancy can affect newborn

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:23:57 GMT

More than one in 10 women develops depression during pregnancy. Now, a new study suggests that women who are treated with antidepressants are more likely to give birth early or to have newborns that need to spend time in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Your most embarrassing health confessions

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:51:40 GMT

AWOL tampons, gas, losing your breakfast on the doc? To prove that you are so not alone when it comes to mortifying health mishaps, Health readers shared some of their stories with us. And our own medical editor, Roshini Rajapaksa, MD, weighs in on when you really do need to talk to your doctor about an embarrassing episode or symptom.

Mom, babies benefit from treating pregnancy-related diabetes

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:51:36 GMT

Women who develop a mild case of gestational diabetes during pregnancy tend to have fewer complications and healthier babies if the diabetes is treated, according to the first large-scale randomized trial in the U.S. to address whether such treatment leads to health benefits for mother and child.