Pregnancy & Childbirth

Few things are more difficult than caring for a baby while trying to finish college. Taking care of a new baby is very time consuming, and raising a child on your own successfully is a full time job.

Imagine trying to get to early morning classes after being up most of the night with an irritable baby. When you are done with your class load for the day, you spend 8 more hours at a job. Once you get off work, you pick up your baby from childcare. Then you go home and start the process all over again. In this scenario, you are not really raising your child-the childcare provider is doing most of the nurturing and caring for your child. Though this daily routine may be necessary, it is not the most ideal way for a child to start out in life

Statistics show that many young women who become pregnant while attending college and choose to parent their child will quit school and often never return. Many unmarried mothers become dependent upon welfare programs to help raise their child. Without a college education her wages will likely be low and inadequate, keeping the cycle of poverty at her door.

If you are pregnant and in college, this scenario may seem extremely depressing when only a short time ago you were living a life of freedom and had your future pretty well planned.

Of course you want to do what is best for you and your baby. Is it possible to provide the best life for both your child and yourself?

You do have options that will allow you to set your world right, and, at the same time, do the most loving thing you can do for your child. If you have not given much thought to the idea of adoption, now may be a good time think about it. Your decision either to parent or to choose adoption for your child is one you want to consider carefully.

With today’s popular open adoption alternative, you can actually select the parents who will raise your child. You will have opportunity to choose the type of home your child will grow up in, and you will even have choices regarding future contact and updates about your child. Some open adoptions even allow for occasional visits.

With adoption, not only can you finish your education and better your own life, but you can give your child a mother and a father who will provide a stable and loving home. You will be able to go on with your future knowing that your child is in the best possible home that you could provide for him or her. And, you can always know how your child is doing.

Mardie Caldwell, COAP is nationally recognized as an authority on adoption and including resources on the internet dedicated to excellence in adoption. Founder of Lifetime Adoption Center and Lifetime Foundation, she has been in the field of adoption since 1986. Caldwell is a speaker and award-winning author. She has appeared on CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, BBC,

“I have had a boyfriend for over two years. He wants to have sex without a condom and says he will pull out before he ejaculates. The other day my
boyfriend and I were fooling around a lot but we did not go all the way. He ejaculated near my vagina but that was it. Is it possible to get pregnant without having sex?”

Well the first thing any doctor will say is ?ANYTHING is possible. Basically if any semen was near your vagina, it is possible for you to get pregnant. It only takes a very small amount of semen to enter your vagina, and make it to your uterus, for you to get pregnant.

If you are having sex or even almost having sex, you can get pregnant. Any time there is ejaculation and semen around; it is possible that you could get pregnant. Using protection even during foreplay can help reduce your risk of becoming pregnant.

Many women believe that if they are not having intercourse with vaginal penetration, then they do not need to take precautions. This is just not true. You are susceptible to pregnancy as well as sexually transmitted diseases if you are being this intimate with your partner.

There are many women who say they did not have full intercourse and now they are pregnant; as well as women who contract sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea, Chlamydia, vaginal warts, HIV and AIDS. If you are going to be sexually intimate with your partner in any way, you are exposing yourself to these possibilities.

For years, it has been argued about whether the penis actually has to be in the vagina during ejaculation in order for the woman to get pregnant. It is not the case that the penis has actually been in the vagina. This goes for the often-tried birth control method of “pulling out” as well. Men release a pre-ejaculation fluid that contains sperm. This pre-ejaculation does not
offer the man the same sensations as regular ejaculation, so the man does not pull his penis out during the pre-ejaculation. This is how many women get pregnant even though their partner’s penis was not in their vagina during the ejaculation.

If you think you may be pregnant you should take a home pregnancy test as soon as you have missed your period. Or if you want to know the results earlier, you can visit your doctor or a local family planning clinic.

If you find out later that you are pregnant with an unplanned pregnancy, it can be very scary. Today there are many options available if you have an unplanned pregnancy.You can visit Lifetime Adoption for more information on adoption, and to chat live. In today’s adoption world, you can choose how involved you want to be with the adoptive family. Open adoption offers women the option of finding a forever family for their baby, while maintaining contact through letters and pictures

Mardie Caldwell, C.O.A.P. is a Certified Open Adoption Practitioner, an award winning author of 2 adoption books Adopting Online and Adoption: Your Step-by-Step Guide. Mardie is also the talk show host of Let’s Talk Adoption.com with Mardie Caldwell and the founder of Lifetime Adoption in 1986. She travels and speaks nationwide on adoption topics, family topics, infertility and writing. She has been quoted in and consulted for Parenting and Adoption magazines and has appeared on CNN, CBS, ABC, BBC, NBC, and Fox. Featured in Parade Magazine, Caldwell is an adoptive mother living in Northern California.

Pregnancy is a wonderful experience and even more special when holding your new born baby in your arms. If this is your first pregnancy then you may need a little more understanding on the baby`s development within. At first you may not even be aware of any baby movement like the odd flutter all because the whole process is new to you

It is around 18 to 20 weeks into your pregnancy when you may experience your first sensational sensation. Don`t expect your baby to constantly kick because there will be times baby needs to rest.
From as early as 20 to 24 weeks the activity inside the womb will gradually increase and from then onwards over approximately the next ten weeks, your baby will be in overtime mode with kicks and turns.

From 24 to 28 weeks baby can develop hiccups, which will explain any jolts you may feel occasionally throughout this period. It is at this time the amniotic sac will now contain up to 750ml (26floz) of fluid which permits the infant in the womb to move around freely. Into the 29th week your baby will start to make smaller but more distinct movements because of the limited space - in other words hard to manoeuvre inside a cramped uterus.

Positioning time for baby is classed as normal around the of 36th week where the infant is now in the head-down position, Expect baby`s activities at this time to feel like prodding jabs from the feet and arms followed by a couple of uncomfortable rib kicking episodes.

From 36 to 40 weeks the baby inside the womb will be of a good size therefore less action. Activity on the inside is a lot less frequent now and even more so during the last two weeks of your pregnancy. The infant now waiting to make his/her appearance will have their growth rate slowed down slightly. This is nothing to worry about as it is normal.

For all those pregnant women who still feel the need to cover up then go ahead and fashion your self up from head to toe with all the latest trendy maternity wear - but what you have to remember is, that you can never cover up the end result - can you MUM

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