Finding Answers to Pregnancy Questions

I’m entering the home stretch of my first pregnancy and I’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned that frantically searching the Web is tempting when it’s 11 o’clock on a Saturday night, you’ve got a question and calling the doctor seems like overkill. But Googling your symptoms, I’ve found, often brings more stress than solace. Pregnancy message boards and Web sites are plentiful, but not necessarily reliable. I’d sometimes come away from these late-night computer sessions with a whole new host of concerns, worried about things that I didn’t even know existed.

What you really need are a few reassuring words. Here are two great places to get them:

Lamaze magazine: On our first day of childbirth class, our instructor gave us a copy of Lamaze, which addresses general pregnancy issues, not just the breathing technique. I was completely comforted the magazine’s reassuring overall message. The Lamaze magazine Web site provides more of the same, like the simple reminder that “Pregnancy is a normal, natural life event,” displayed prominently on its pregnancy homepage. Sometimes, as silly as it sounds, that is all you need to hear. Who knew?

Pregnancy and You: A few months ago the Mayo Clinic Web site launched this blog, featuring advice from a certified nurse-midwife who writes about topics like pregnancy weight gain and home births, while remaining completely unbiased and supportive. Now that is a major accomplishment.

For more reliable online sources on pregnancy, visit findingDulcinea’s Web Guide to Pregnancy.

Cara McDonough
Senior Writer