Pregnancy Timeline and To Do List (Tips Collected from Parents for You!)

First Trimester

You may not look or even feel very pregnant in the first few weeks. However, a healthy first trimester is crucial to baby’s development. The brain, spinal cord, and other major organs are beginning to form, and they are at peak susceptibility to alcohol, medications, chemicals, and toxins in the environment. At just six weeks pregnant, your baby’s tiny heart is beating and pumping blood, and by eight weeks, nerve cells in the brain are forming primitive pathways.

At around six weeks, the same hCG hormone (human chorionic gonadotropin) that triggered your positive pregnancy test can also make you feel queasy. The good news is that morning sickness is often considered a positive sign of an established pregnancy, although this may not offer much comfort as you pay frequent homage to your bathroom fixtures. Seventy-five percent of all pregnant women experience some type of nausea, while half experience nausea and vomiting.¹ Many women also report a heightened sense of taste and smell, which can bring on strange cravings and sensations. Don’t be surprised if coffee, your must-have morning drink, suddenly becomes repulsive, and bland crackers turn into your favorite breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Just remember that the first trimester (aside from minimizing exposure to toxins and medications) is about surviving, de-stressing, and getting plenty of rest. Frankly, you have never had a better reason to take a nap. The longer you sleep, the faster your second trimester will get here!

Weeks 1-8

Medical tips

• Estimate your due date with an online calculator, or if you’re good at math, add seven days to the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP) and subtract three months. Note: 40 weeks is the gestation period calculated from day one of your LMP to your expected due date. The 40-week calculation includes the first two weeks of pregnancy that happened before a woman conceived. A full term baby is born nine and a half months from conception or 10 months (40 weeks) from the start of mom’s last period.
• Check your health insurance coverage for pregnancy and childbirth.
• Find an obstetrician (OB or OB/GYN), certified nurse-midwife (CNM), certified professional-midwife (CPM), or family practice doctor for your prenatal care. Make sure the practice accepts your insurance and check to see if your doctor or midwife can deliver at the hospital or birthing facility of your choice. If you desire a natural childbirth, find a practitioner who will support your choices.
• Schedule your first prenatal checkup, usually between six and 10 weeks. Some high-demand obstetricians may not see you until 10-12 weeks. Note: This can be an excruciatingly long wait for first time parents. Just know that OBs are in high demand and short supply for good reason. They have a difficult lifestyle, round the clock demands, and one of the highest premiums for malpractice insurance among physicians. This comes after a minimum of 12 years of school (and probably debt) required for training as a surgeon.
• If you have had a previous miscarriage(s) or other health issues such as diabetes, tell your doctor, and you may get an appointment sooner.
• Strive for a partner or spouse to attend critical OB/midwife appointments, such as the first appointment, the 20-week ultrasound, and any visits due to complications. However, requiring 100% attendance may be out of the question in light of today’s work demands. If you are without a supportive partner, bring a friend or family member with you to the first prenatal visit.
• Expect doctor visits every four weeks, until approximately 28 weeks pregnant.
• Purchase or borrow a week-by-week pregnancy guide and make sure that it’s up to date (i.e., not What to Expect copyright 1984 but the What To Expect When You’re Expecting latest edition.) I consider this a “must have” for pregnancy.

Financial tips

• Calculate how a planned maternity leave will affect your finances.
• Consider increasing your current life insurance coverage, or purchase life insurance.
• Make sure that you and your spouse have short and long-term disability, if eligible.
• Research maternity options at work before telling your boss or co-workers. Investigate how maternity leave is really perceived at your firm. Friends and I have noticed that some companies boast generous maternity policies during the recruiting process; however, if a woman actually takes her full paid maternity leave, she may return to a tacitly altered career track, fewer advancement opportunities, and stolen clients. Hopefully, this is not the case for you but reveal your news carefully.
• Be courageous. With good performance, consider asking for a salary raise before you present your maternity plan. The higher pay will help offset a longer maternity leave or reduced work schedule later, if desired.

Nutrition, health, and well-being tips

• If you are single and expecting, know that you are not alone. 40% of children in the U.S. are born to single mothers, while 53% of births to mothers under age 30 are to single mothers. If a partner or spouse is not in your life, seek support from family and friends.²
• Try not to worry excessively about miscarriage. The majority of pregnancies result in healthy babies. Miscarriage risk lies somewhere between 10 and 25% of known pregnancies (about 15% for women under age 35 and higher for over 35), and roughly 80% of those occur during the first trimester. Once a care provider detects a heartbeat, it is estimated that miscarriage risk drops to 5-10%.³
• Begin eating as healthy a diet as possible (Pregnancy: What to Eat) and head to bed early.
• Keep hydrated with eight to 12 ounce glasses of water per day. Take a reusable water bottle to work and fill it regularly.
• Take a daily prenatal multivitamin with 27 milligrams iron and 600 micrograms of folic acid, as recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).⁴ Most women do not get all the folic acid they need from food alone, yet it can prevent major birth defects of the brain and spine. Some researchers think that folic acid may also play a role in heart health and preventing cell changes that lead to cancer.⁵
• Get a prescription-level prenatal vitamin at your first doctor’s visit. An over-the-counter (OTC) prenatal vitamin is better than nothing. However, there are no FDA requirements for what constitutes a prenatal supplement, and most OTC prenatal offerings are inferior to prescription ingredients.
• If you are nauseated, eat small meals throughout the day, since low blood sugar and stomach acid build-up can make nausea worse (Morning Sickness and Nausea).

Fun tips

• Share the early news with at least one other trusted family member or friend, in addition to your partner, for support. You might want to wait with telling everyone else until the risk of miscarriage decreases, around 12-14 weeks.
• Sign up for weekly pregnancy emails from Baby Center or the Bump.com, if you want to keep track of your baby’s development and size. These are the fruit comparison emails that take baby from the size of a tiny seed to a plump watermelon.
• Start pregnancy photos to journal your experience. Use the app CineMama to document your belly bump through pictures. At the end, the app compiles the photos and makes a movie set to a soundtrack of your choice. For cool, photo announcements or week-by-week collages, try Pic Monkey or Pic Collage.
• Be discerning when purchasing pregnancy mobile apps—47% of mobile users with one or more health apps are using a pregnancy app. This creates a market ripe for scams. I have purchased some real duds exploring app recommendations for this book.
• Take a deep breath. This is a lot of information to absorb, but knowledge is power. It can help reduce your stress and anxiety and make you more confident as a new parent.

Practical Tips from Real Parents: Conception after Fertility Treatments

• If you had assistance conceiving with IVF, expect a roller coaster of emotions throughout pregnancy, especially in the first trimester.
• All of the money spent and the pain endured from the ART process, in addition to previous miscarriages, can create a deeply seeded fear of losing your pregnancy.
• I had major anxiety throughout my pregnancy after years struggling with fertility.
• If you had IVF, the difference between your fantasies about being pregnant and the actual experience can cause added stress. My husband was always reminding me not to complain, but I really just needed him to listen and acknowledge my discomfort.

Weeks 8-14

Medical tips

• Write down any questions that you may have prior to your doctor’s visits. Many OBs will whisk in and out of the examining room faster than you can say, “Next patient,” so be prepared. 
• Seek to understand the purpose of various first and second trimester prenatal tests (See: Is It Safe: Prenatal Testing).
• If you are over age 35, expect to be designated Advanced Maternal Age (AMA). Though the term may seem similar in context to “old maid,” age 35 is a statistical cutoff when chances for having a chromosomal abnormality are slightly higher than the risk of miscarrying from a diagnostic test, such as amniocentesis. It is also an insurance indicator, since some tests may be covered after age 35, but not before.
• Check hospital schedules for childbirth preparation and breastfeeding classes ahead of time, especially if you live in a densely populated area.

Financial tips

• Start buying maternity clothes, or better yet, borrow them. To extend your non-maternity wardrobe, loop a thick rubber band or hair tie through the buttonhole of your pants and cover with a long stretchy tank.
• Once you have exhausted your friends, garage sales, and consignment shops, try some favorite maternity brands: A Pea in the Pod, Top Shop, Motherhood, Target, Gap, Ann Taylor Loft, and Old Navy. Note: Maternity return policies are strict. Most stores require returns within 10 days with a receipt and tags for store credit. No cash refunds.
• For trendier maternity collections, try StellaMaternity.com, PinkBlushMaternity.com, Asos.com, OlianMaternity.com, Seraphine.com, and IsabellaOliver.com.
• For a special occasion, rent a designer maternity dress for up to 75% less at Renttherunway.com.
• Buy or borrow a few new bras, or extend your current ones with a $2-3 bra clip extender. Many women increase a full cup size during the first few weeks of pregnancy.

Nutrition, health, and well-being tips

• Stock up on natural moisturizers to pamper your skin and soothe an itchy, growing belly.
• Talk to your doctor about an exercise routine. Exercise modification may be required for women who have undergone fertility treatments or who have pregnancy complications.
• Suspend your gym membership for a few months, if you are unable to use it.
• Expect any of the following pregnancy-related body changes and nuisance issues.^{1, 6, 7}
• Congestion/sniffles. Hormones cause the mucus membrane lining in your nose to swell. For relief, try saline nose drops and a humidifier.
• Constipation. Two major issues contribute to increased constipation during pregnancy. First, hormones relax the smooth muscles in your stomach and intestines, slowing food passage through your system. Secondly, you may not be drinking enough fluids to keep up with your increased blood flow, causing you to be dehydrated. For relief, drink plenty of water and eat plenty of fiber. Drink a cup of hot water or prune juice, if you need to get things moving. 
• Heartburn. Increased levels of progesterone cause your muscles and muscle sphincters to relax. Therefore stomach acid is more likely to come up, especially as your growing uterus compresses your stomach. Food is also pushed through the digestive system more slowly, allowing for a backup of gastric contents. For relief, avoid spicy, greasy, and acidic foods, and try not to eat and lie down, a surefire way for anyone to get heartburn.
• Headaches. To minimize pregnancy headaches, control your blood sugar with frequent small meals, drink plenty of water, and try to rest. For drug-free pain relief, try a head, neck, and face massage or apply a hot or cold compress. Do not take aspirin or ibuprofen while pregnant.
• Varicose veins (or spider veins): Increased blood volume and pressure from a growing uterus, especially on the large vein on the right side of your body, causes weakened veins in your legs to bulge and twist. For relief, elevate your legs often and wear support hose if you are getting varicose veins in your legs and feet.
• Hemorrhoids. Hemorrhoids are varicose veins on your bottom. Increased blood volume, pressure from the uterus, and straining from constipation (and childbirth) can cause these veins to bulge. Sit in a warm tub or sitz bath for relief.
• Vaginal discharge. A thin, milky white discharge is okay. If the discharge is yellow, green, bloody, or foul-smelling, talk to your doctor.
• Incontinence or peeing in your pants. We’re back to relaxed muscles and increased pressure from the uterus. Panty liners can save the day after a good belly laugh or sneeze.
• Acne/pimples. Changing hormone levels can cause an increase in oil or sebum production. Wash face, neck, and back with a gentle natural cleanser twice a day and avoid adult acne prescriptions and treatments with salicylic acid.
• Melasma. This skin darkening process is often called “the mask of pregnancy,” due to hormones triggering the production of melanin in skin cells. Avoid skin-bleaching creams. Some cases of melasma may clear spontaneously without treatment after pregnancy.
• Sun sensitivity. Pregnancy hormones cause increased sun sensitivity. Be sure to wear sunscreen.
• Hair growth. You may have hair growth in unwanted places due to increased hormone levels. Stick with shaving and tweezing for removal, due to lack of information on the effects of hair removal creams, electrolysis, and laser hair removal.
• Constant pressure in your lower abdomen. Visit the restroom often, due to pressure on the bladder and fluid imbalances. If you feel as though you can’t empty your bladder when urinating, bend over while seated, lean forward to reduce uterine pressure, and get the last few trickles out.

Fun tips

• Record your baby’s heartbeat at your 12-week appointment with a clever phone app, such as My Baby’s Beat.
• Give your partner a few nights off to hang out with friends and have a few beers, and you may receive more cheerful help around the house.
• If your partner keeps telling you that he, too, feels queasy or exhausted, he’s not completely nuts. As many as 65-80% of expecting fathers experience some form of Couvade Syndrome, a psychosomatic condition better known as sympathetic pregnancy.⁸

Second Trimester

Hurray! The second trimester is here. Your risk of miscarriage has decreased dramatically, and you may feel more comfortable sharing your news with extended family and friends. Nausea and fatigue should also improve by weeks 13-16, as you feel more energized for work, travel, exercise, sex, and planning for baby’s arrival (your house is probably a mess, too). You should also regain a normal appetite. Although, remember that you are not actually eating for two; it’s more like one and a sixth, since your body needs only 300 additional calories per day (½ cup of almonds = 411 calories). This equals a weight gain of one half to one pound per week in the second trimester. The average weight gain for women who start pregnancy at a normal weight is 25 to 35 pounds, while the average weight gain for twins is 34 and 45 pounds.⁴

Weeks 14-20

Medical tips

• Expect triple screen testing during weeks 15-20, if offered.
• Expect the option of amniocentesis during weeks 16-20, if required. This is usually reserved for women with a family history of birth defects, maternal age > 35, diabetes, or exposure to a viral infection, radiation, drugs, or harmful medication use during pregnancy.
• Anticipate a mid-pregnancy ultrasound at week 20. Decide if you want to know the baby’s gender before your appointment and tell the technician your desires.

Financial tips

• Lay out a maternity plan for your boss. Come to the table with a list of your contributions and negotiate the maternity leave that you desire.
• Research childcare options (Choosing a Child Care Center and Hiring a Nanny). Day care centers fill up fast (some have wait lists), and high-quality nannies meeting your scheduling requirements may be hard to find. Get your partner involved in the process.

Organizational tips

• Start loosely planning a baby shower so that family and friends can “save the date.” Baby showers are typically scheduled six to eight weeks before your due date.
• Start planning the nursery. No painting or sanding for mom. Homes built before 1978 may have lead paint. Note: Lead is a potent neurotoxin with links to miscarriage, preterm birth, and developmental delays.

Fun tips

• Hit the sheets! As long as your doctor gives you the okay, enjoy your second trimester energy boost and bond with your partner. Many women report stronger orgasms during pregnancy, due to increased blood flow and genital sensitivity.
• Keep taking pregnancy photos each week. Set up an alert on your phone for reminders. For a fun progression, take photos in the same place with signs indicating the week.
• Expect baby’s first kicks during this time, which feel like bubbles or wings fluttering in your tummy.
• If you don’t already know the sex of baby, have fun playing gender guessing games. Do these tricks actually work? Yes, 50% of the time.
  • The Carrying Game: Look at mom’s belly. Girl = carrying high, Boy = carrying low.
  • The Heartbeat Game: Girl = 140 beats per minute and higher, Boy = 140 bpm and lower.
  • The Sweet or Savory Game: Girl = craving sweet foods, Boy = craving savory or salty foods.
  • The Ring Game: Tie a ring, such as a wedding ring, with a string and hang it over your belly. Girl = it swings back and forth, Boy = it swings in a circle.

Weeks 20-28

Medical tips

• Ask for pediatrician recommendations. Doctors, nurses, doulas, midwives, and other parents are great resources. Your baby will be checked at birth by your selected pediatrician or pediatric practice.
• Research cord blood banking. This process allows expecting parents to store baby’s umbilical cord blood as a potential source for stem cells used to treat cancers and other disorders. Your baby’s cord blood can be shared for the public good or stored for family use.
  • Pros: Cord blood banking could be lifesaving to your child, a sibling with a disease, or someone else using a public bank.
  • Cons: Your baby may never need it. It’s also not a guaranteed cure for disease, and it’s expensive at $1500-3000 for collection up front, plus $100-200/month for storage.
  • Companies: ViaCord, Cord Blood Registry (CBR), and Cryo-Cell
• Find a doula, if desired. A doula is a childbirth assistant who can provide physical, emotional, and informational support to parents during labor and delivery. The word “doula” comes from ancient Greek meaning “woman who serves”, and this person can be helpful in assisting a woman through natural birth. Hiring a doula for childbirth costs an average $400-$800 or $800-$1500 for a DONA certified doula in an urban area, depending on her experience (Childbirth Options).
• Expect a glucose screen test to check for gestational diabetes between weeks 26-28. This test includes drinking a yucky, sugary drink, waiting an hour, and getting blood drawn. Note: Gestational diabetes affects 18% of pregnancies. It occurs when your body is not able to produce or use all the insulin it needs to “escort” glucose (the type of sugar in your blood) into your body’s cells. This is where your body turns glucose into energy.⁹

Nutrition, health, and well-being tips

• Think daily about your iron intake. Foods high in iron include lean beef, chicken, fish, lentils, spinach, and fortified cereals. You will need plenty of iron to make hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to both mom and baby. By the third trimester, expect to have your juices flowing with up to 50% more blood volume.⁷
• Expect more rapid weight gain during the second trimester and don’t be surprised if you have at least one whopper of a weigh-in at the doctor’s office during this period.
• Work on your marriage or relationship during pregnancy. Even if there is no trouble on the horizon, stormy waters may lie ahead, especially in the intimacy department. Studies show that new parents have about a third of the alone time they had before having children.

Organizational tips

• Update or write a will, including specifications for your child’s inheritance and guardianship.
• Send out baby shower invitations.
• Register for baby gifts with your partner. Take an experienced mom with you who can help you cut out the fluff, or at least consult an experienced parent before adding items in the store or online.

Fun tips

• Take a babymoon now before your feet and back are aching. You will want to stay closer to home in the third trimester. 
• If you are having a bad day, search “awkward pregnancy photos” in Google images and have a good belly laugh.

Third Trimester

You are in the home stretch! However, be prepared. The third trimester can be very physically demanding. Expect backaches (due to a growing belly and two pounds of extra breast weight), knee aches (due to weight gain), swollen feet (due to fluid retention), difficulty sleeping (thanks to your belly, heartburn, baby’s acrobatics, and frequent urination), and other lovely side effects of growing a human being inside of your body. Despite these minor distractions, take a few moments to spend quality time with your loved ones and reflect on this amazing process.

Weeks 29-35

Medical tips

• Expect doctor/midwife visits every two weeks from 28-35 weeks.
• Prepare your birth plan and ask questions about labor and delivery (See: Birth Plan). Watch online videos of births to get a realistic sense of natural birth vs. epidural vs. C-section deliveries.

Nutrition, health, and well-being tips

• Enjoy your baby shower! Don’t let family and friend dynamics stress you out.
• Expect back pain, not just from your belly and weight gain, but also because the ligaments supporting your abdomen are becoming more stretchy and pliable for childbirth.
• Expect your belly to itch as the skin stretches and expands. Moisturizing creams, lotions, and oils can help soothe dry, stressed skin.

Organizational tips

• Send thank you notes for baby shower gifts. Buy a big box of cards to have on hand for gifts that you receive after birth.
• Purchase any baby items still needed, returning duplicates and non-essential items. Use merchandise credit from returns to buy essentials, such as feeding and health supplies.
• Complete a childbirth class, preferably with your spouse or a partner.
• Pre-register for your hospital or birth center. Take a tour of the labor and delivery unit, if possible.
• Pack a hospital bag (Hospital Packing List).
• Read up on baby care now. You will be too tired to do this after baby is born.
• Read up on breastfeeding now and line up support with a lactation consultant or a breastfeeding nonprofit group in your area, such as La Leche League.
• Read up on natural childbirth, if desired. The term natural birth implies a goal of no drugs and no interventions. Educate yourself and your support team about natural birth, be sure to write a birth plan, and strongly consider using a doula to help get you to the finish line without drugs or an epidural.
• Get baby’s car seat installed and inspected. Watch online videos for installation for your brand and model.

Fun tips

• Wash baby’s clothes and linens in a dye and fragrance-free detergent. Do not remove tags from clothes that may not be worn, such as newborn dresses, sweaters, jeans, etc. You can resell, re-gift, or donate them later.
• Schedule newborn photos before baby is born, especially if you have a popular photographer in mind.
• Buy a baby memory and photo book and fill out the pregnancy sections while the memories are still fresh. Take it with you to the hospital and record details of baby’s birth.
• Check out an app, such as Full Term or Contraction Master, to help time contractions.  
• Go out to eat, go to the movies, and enjoy time out with family and friends before you have to pay a babysitter $15 an hour.

Week 35-delivery

Medical tips

• Expect weekly doctor or midwife visits until delivery.
• Stay close to home, since you are generally no longer safe to fly at 35 weeks, and you never know what could happen.
• Expect a Group B strep test (GBS) between weeks 35-37, which is just a vaginal swab.
• Talk to your doctor or midwife about delayed cord clamping. Instead of immediately clamping the umbilical cord, studies have shown that delaying the clamping by two to three minutes allows iron-rich, stem-cell rich, and oxygen-rich blood to be pumped to baby after birth.¹⁰
• Call your health insurance provider and ask about the requirements for adding your baby to your policy.
• Select your pediatrician. Baby will need to be checked right after birth.

Nutrition, health, and well-being tips

• Expect interrupted sleep during the final weeks of pregnancy, due to frequent bathroom trips, back pain, leg cramps, heartburn, baby’s kicks, and general discomfort.
• Sleep on your left side with a pillow between your legs. This keeps the uterus and baby’s weight off your liver, which sits on the right side of your abdomen.
• Try not to push too hard in the final weeks. You want to keep that bun in the oven to full term, if possible. Baby’s eyes, lungs, skin, and other systems are still developing after 35 weeks.
• Find some time to stretch (especially on all fours for the lower back), breathe deeply (to calm yourself and prepare for contractions), and meditate or pray about your upcoming labor and delivery.
• Expect false labor pains in the final weeks before delivery, also known as Braxton-Hicks contractions. These contractions are an infrequent tightening of the belly that typically stops or lessens after you change activity. Real labor contractions are more regular, more frequent, and more painful, and they increase in frequency and intensity with time.
• Prepare for labor and delivery with positive psychology. Remind yourself that labor is “helpful pain” and “useful pain” for allowing you to meet your child. Try to limit using words about childbirth that instill fear.
• If your due date has passed and you are opting for natural birth with no induction, try these classic natural labor inducing techniques: go for a walk, get a massage, stimulate your nipples (to produce oxytocin), have sex if you are cleared for it (sperm contains prostaglandins, which can thin and dilate the cervix), eat spicy food (unless you have terrible heartburn), or try acupuncture or acupressure, if cleared by your doctor.

Organizational tips

• Write an “If I go into labor tonight” plan for work and home. Pre-designate individuals to cover your duties at work, walk your dog, or take care of an older sibling in the middle of the night.
• Make an email list of friends and family. Use this list for an electronic baby announcement. Fill in your baby’s height and weight after birth.
• Email or text yourself a list of companies and phone numbers to call shortly after birth, such as the number for adding baby to your insurance policy, starting maternity leave at work, a dog walking company, etc.
• Finalize baby names with your spouse/partner. The Social Security web site is a favorite source for baby names. Other popular name sites are babynames.com, babynamewizard.com, and behindthename.com (for name etymology and history).
• Keep your baby name a secret until birth, unless you want to hear everyone’s opinions about it.
• Before baby arrives, sit down and write out a rough list of assigned chores and household duties with your spouse or partner. Balance the list until you both feel a sense of equality.
• Before baby arrives, have a discussion about the spiritual or religious direction of your family. If you and your spouse do not share religious beliefs, if one is religious and the other is not, or if you were raised with different religious backgrounds, the subject will come up once you have children, especially if one parent wants the child to be baptized, dedicated, or christened.
• Buy some roomy pajamas or a nursing-friendly nightgown, if you do not want to wear hospital gowns.
• If you do not already own them, buy some large, cotton Granny panties for your postpartum recovery and stock your home with natural maxi-pads. Avoid chemical-heavy pads with odor-lock protection to avoid any possible chemical burns from extended use.
• If you plan to breastfeed, buy some nursing bras, nipple cream, and nursing pads.
• Cook and freeze meals for after delivery. Clean out your fridge to make room for meals delivered after baby.
• Have a friend set up a meal schedule for you on takethemameal.com or a similar website. Email the link to any church groups, service organizations, or close family and friends in the area.
• Look on Groupon, LivingSocial, or other deal sites for a half-price cleaning service to deep clean areas of your home that may not receive attention in the next few months.

Fun tips

• Check out a book at the library that has nothing to do with having a baby.
• Take any older siblings on a “special date” before the baby arrives. Go get ice cream together. Remind them how special they are to you. Have a sibling gift picked out to celebrate baby’s arrival.
• Write a note or make a short video telling your baby how you feel about him or her in the weeks before birth. This could be fun to read when your child is older or watch on your phone when your toddler is screaming in the grocery store.

Baby is considered full term at 37 weeks, so be ready!

Sources

1. Murkoff, H.E., S. Mazel, and C.J. Lockwood, What to expect when you’re expecting. 4th ed. 2008, New York: Workman Pub.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Unmarried Childbearing. CDC Fast Stats, 2012.
3. American Pregnancy Association Miscarriage. 2011.
4. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Frequently Asked Questions: Pregnancy. 2014.
5. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) High fructose corn syrup: estimated number of per capita calories consumed daily, by calendar year. 2014.
6. Curtis, G.B. and J. Schuler, Your pregnancy week by week. 6th ed. Lifelong books. 2008, Cambridge, MA: Da Capo/Lifelong Books.
7. Harms, R.W., M. Wick, and Mayo Clinic., Mayo Clinic guide to a healthy pregnancy. 1st ed. 2011, Intercourse, PA: Good Books.
8. Masoni, S., et al., The couvade syndrome. J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol, 1994. 15(3).
9. American Diabetes Association, How to Treat Gestational Diabetes. 2014.