When I found out I was pregnant with my first child, my husband and I were quite nervous and excited all at the same time! I had many questions about the when’s, how’s and why’s of pregnancy and childbirth. I scoured the internet and was overwhelmed by the sheer number of sites devoted to different aspects of pregnancy.
I stumbled on several that I referenced over and over during the nine month wait for my little one. In fact, I have continued to use them during my second and now third pregnancies. Here are some quick reviews of my favorite websites. They should help you wade through the 82,500,000 hits on Google that pop up when you type the word “pregnancy”!
Websites with General Pregnancy Information
A good all around site is www.women’shealth.gov. It has an extensive amount of information on all aspects of partum and post-partum health and wellness. Several print-and-go guides for items like a hospital pack list and pregnancy food don’ts are very handy to carry with you or post on your fridge.
A beneficial site for a visual perspective of your baby’s development is found at www.parenting.ivillage.com. It has many helpful tools to give you insight into what is going on inside your body during your pregnancy. The site offers a personalized pregnancy calendar with a 3D ultrasound photo of what a baby looks like during each week of gestation. The week by week guide is chock full of interesting facts about your body and your baby’s growth.
WebMD is a popular, well-known site with information on a wide range of health related topics. The site has a section with an extensive collection of articles dedicated to issues involving conception, infertility, pregnancy and health issues in pregnancy and child birth found at www.webmd.com/baby . A video library full of information on these topics can also be found on WebMD.
Pregnancy Fitness
When looking for information about fitness for expectant moms, be sure to check out the Fit Pregnancy website. From workout videos to tasty recipes to pregnancy blogs where you can e-mail questions to a labor nurse, this site has it all. I especially like the Prenatal Workouts section. Popular sections of the website include the pregnancy glossary, the guide to breastfeeding and “going green.”
Pregnancy Without Pounds offers a fitness e-book created just for pregnant women. This includes fully customized exercises for all nine months as well as various charts 
to help you track your food intake, weight gain and exercise schedule. I enjoyed using Pregnancy Without Pounds as well as the follow-up program Mommy Without Pounds.
Natural and Alternative Labor Methods
Considering alternative methods to a labor with medication? Childbirth.org provides information on natural water birth, labor pain relief, childbirth classes and methods and links to professional midwife and doula organizations.
Information on Diet and Nutrition in Pregnancy
MyPyramid.gov was extremely helpful during my pregnancy and breastfeeding days. You can design personalized nutrition recommendations for each pregnancy and post-partum stage. To remind me of these guidelines, I printed out my custom-made plan and put it on the fridge. (Always consult your doctor regarding diet and exercise in pregnancy.)
Head on over to part two where I share fun websites to look for baby names, make birth announcements and get reviews on baby gear.
Photo Credits: Carlos Porto/FreeDigitalPhotos.net and Andy Newson/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Thanks for these resources Jenn. I use webmd for a lot of things medical. It’s really helpful and contains in-depth information.
You’re welcome, Gloria! Glad you found it helpful!