What is (or is there any) relationship between cancer, pregnancy, and a fetus? [more inside]
posted by raztaj on Nov 29, 2009 - 7 answers

We are having a baby! We are super excited, except that we are in NYC without health insurance and really scared. What are our options? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Nov 14, 2009 - 33 answers

I'm confused about how to go about providing health insurance for my unborn baby upon it's birth. I am on Medicare, so the child is not covered. I do not qualify for Medicaid/SCHIP, and most individual plans will not cover a newborn from day one. [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Sep 13, 2009 - 13 answers

Had a beautiful baby girl a few months ago. Previous baby due to excellent insurance cost exactly $0. This baby, with crappy Aetna insurance close to $4k. This is after deductible, and using a doctor that was non-preferred (which we paid more for) I am still puzzled how I ended up getting charged this much. Anyway I got to thinking. Why is my out of pocket cost $4k for a birth with no complications? Why is the total cost for this birth $17 - $18k? [more inside]
posted by gnash on Sep 4, 2009 - 39 answers

I want to have 2 bedroom hardwood floors refinished. My wife is about 14 weeks pregnant. Is it safe for her to be in the house with the polyurethane fumes from the floor finish? [more inside]
posted by bingwah on Jul 14, 2009 - 20 answers

Can you help my wife and I choose health insurance? [more inside]
posted by attercoppe on Jan 2, 2009 - 12 answers

Tell me about the health effects of pregnancy. [more inside]
posted by amanda on Aug 8, 2008 - 29 answers

Can I stop taking my birth control pill mid-pack? [more inside]
posted by roomthreeseventeen on Jul 28, 2008 - 20 answers

Marriage, illness, medication, bad timing and having children - what should we do? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Apr 17, 2008 - 16 answers

Who is the best cord blood bank? [more inside]
posted by sublivious on Mar 4, 2008 - 4 answers

So I'm clinically depressed. And right now I likely can't take medication or see a therapist. If things get worked out with medical coverage I might be able to do one or both. But, I'd like to avoid medication if at all possible. What are the things I can do/take (vitamins?) to feel better until ? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Feb 20, 2008 - 40 answers

Having kids or not when you have chronic health issues: how did you decide and come to terms with it? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jan 21, 2008 - 12 answers

California legal/medical/ethical question: In advance of my going to the hospital to give birth within the next few weeks, I decided to download and fill out California's standard Advance Health Care Directive form, i.e. a living will (and to have my husband fill his out too, as long as we were at it). However, Google informs me via multiple sources that this form, even if signed and notarized, is "not valid if pregnant". WTF? [more inside]
posted by Asparagirl on Oct 21, 2007 - 15 answers

my wife is pregnant; we need easy healthy things to cook. [more inside]
posted by BigBrownBear on Aug 29, 2007 - 23 answers

Can someone recommend me a good ovulation kit for detecting LH surge...I am in U.S.A.
posted by tom123 on Jul 29, 2007 - 11 answers

Are mosquito lamps effective and do they pose any health risks to pregnant humans ? [more inside]
posted by matholio on Feb 5, 2007 - 9 answers

My question has two parts: -What are some reliable resources that would allow me to form an intelligent opinion about the possible health-risks of wifi exposure - specifically for a pregnant woman surfing the 'net wirelessly from a laptop for a few hours a day. -Where is the built-in wifi antenna on a Dell Inspiron 1150 laptop? (If it's in the screen vs. the keyboard area, then at least it's a few inches further from the womb-area - but again, I have no idea if that even matters). [more inside]
posted by ericbop on Feb 5, 2007 - 28 answers

Asbestos exposure and pregnancy: at my wife's workplace, they've announced that they are closing off a bathroom for asbestos removal over a weekend. Is it wise for her to avoid the office (all in close proximity to the space) on, say, Monday? Longer? Or needlessly paranoid? She's feeling especially cautious as she is five months pregnant. [more inside]
posted by BT on Mar 22, 2006 - 14 answers

Having no health insurance, how can we possibly afford to pay for the delivery of our coming child? How do freelance/self-employed American families survive without health insurance? Anyone have any experience with Medicaid? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Aug 9, 2005 - 19 answers

I am about 7 weeks pregnant, and still at the stage where we're keeping it a secret from almost everyone. I feel fine, except I'm so mind numbingly tired that I can't seem to function normally, which is increasingly becoming a problem at work. My midwife has made some suggestions, but none have worked for me. Any suggestions for foods/supplements/strategies that can help me feel less exhausted and non-functional would be greatly appreciated.
posted by anonymous on Apr 19, 2005 - 15 answers

IANAMDFilter: My wife is in her 25th week of pregnancy and has developed costal chondritis -- that is, her last rib on the righthand side is being displaced a little bit by her uterus, making it inflamed, swollen and very tender. It was recommended to her by an OB doctor at her clinic that she take 600mg of ibuprofen (an anti-inflammatory) every six hours for a few days, and to repeat this if the pain returned. Wanting a second opinion, another doctor at the same clinic said this would be OK for a few weeks, but that during the third trimester, ibuprofen should not be taken because it contains prostoglandin, and during the third trimester, the baby is sufficiently developed to react to the increased prostoglandin levels, which can cause one of its heart valves to shut prematurely, resulting in, well, unpleasantness. Specifically, the second doctor said that the baby was sufficiently developed to have this reaction by week 32, and recommended taking ibuprofen no later than week 28. But my wife is a nurse from a family of nurses, and still thinks that taking a course of ibuprofen even at this stage is too much of a risk because, apparently, not a lot of research has been done with fetuses and ibuprofen. So, rather than medical advice, I'd like to ask: Does anyone have any resources they'd like to recommend that we consult? The pain is intense enough to make tasks like traveling by car or picking up our 19-month-old pretty unpleasant, so we'd like to be able to take something (besides percocet) to make things more bearable, but there's something ominous-sounding about a prematurely closed heart valve. Any pointers?
posted by blueshammer on Jun 16, 2004 - 14 answers