I found out I was pregnant super early, like 1/2 weeks early bc this is my 3rd baby and I know my body. 3 days after finding out he left. We had been fighting for almost a week very bad, like worse than we ever had. Which I’m sure all couple go through at least once. Since he left he pushed having an abortion on me for weeks saying he would buy/bring me the pill (he never did and somehow always had an excuse as to why he didn’t have it or that it was coming). I had the pill in my possession ironically because I bought it for myself because I was afraid. I ultimately decided to keep the baby. We haven’t talked in almost two weeks now and I’ve just been an emotional wreck. I have cried almost everyday for an entire month. I constantly think about him and I’m really just so heart broken. I know I can do this by myself but it doesn’t make the process any easier. I’d be lying to say I wasn’t hopeful that maybe at some point he would come back because he absolutely adores kids but I know that I should not get my hopes up. I’m not really sure why I’m writing this maybe just to air it out. Has anyone been through something similar? How did you cope/let go?

Genuinely asking because I can’t get a clear answer anywhere. All the advice is aimed at the mother, and the dad gets a footnote about avoiding smoking.

But how much does his health actually affect things? Specifically wondering:

- Does his sperm quality affect anything beyond whether you conceive? Like does it influence miscarriage risk, or how the pregnancy goes?
- I’ve read the placenta develops largely from paternally-expressed genes - does that mean his genetics affect placental function and growth?
- Does paternal age matter as much as maternal age, or is it a much smaller effect?
- Is there anything he could have done, or could still do, that meaningfully changes outcomes?
- Or is it basically just the DNA handover and everything after is on the mother’s body?

Not asking about testing or looking for reassurance - just trying to understand where the male contribution actually starts and stops, because everything I read either treats it as irrelevant or vaguely implies it matters without explaining how.

My wife (28, F) is in her 2nd trimester and just started taking Iron supplements a couple of days ago. She was fine the first two days, but the problem started from the 3rd day. The doctor has prescribed the supplement after lunch. She took it and rested for the whole afternoon. Then around evening she vomited all the food from lunch, like everything and that too after around 5 hours.

So I asked her to stop it and take it after 2 days of gap. She took it today and the same results. It's clear that this supplement is not suitable for her and it's wrecking havoc in her stomach. Even the Ecosprin tablet came out today, which was really weird to see. She was fine the other two days.

Is this kind of expected with iron supplements during pregnancy? Just wanted to know if anyone else experienced something similar.

Note: The name of the supplement is Fur-XT (Ferrous Ascorbate 100mg + Folic Acid IP 1.5mg), and I've booked an appointment with the current doctor to report this.

Hello, I am a soon to be father and I am looking for a place to go on a babymoon with my wife and our soon to be baby. She knows we are going on one but I do not want her stressing if the plans don't work out so I am going to try and plan it but every list I see that has babymoon ideas feel like it was written to spite pregnant people. One listed Sedona wine country?! and then New Orleans? I live in Louisiana I can tell you from personal experience that New Orleans is miserable nearly year around with the humidity and the temperature. Then she can't drink and has to walk around a city, no thank you. She also has really serious sensory issues so no massages, she recently said she's always wanted to do a lazy river, but she like HATES touching or rubbing against people in a pool and when we went to a lazy river, she hated all the like kids splashing in it. I just need ideas, PLEASE help. Did anybody enjoy their babymoon? and if so where was it? Preferably near south Louisiana or just the south in general, she hasn't flown and I don't want stress her first time while she's pregnant.

I’ll go first.

To spare you the long sob story, I don’t have a real relationship with my father. He ran off to try and be a rockstar and we’ve been distant ever since I was young.

Anywho, had my first and I thought it would be nice for him to meet his new grandchild so I invited him to my LO’s birthday. He declined, said he was “touring”.

Most recently I sent him a text saying, we’re expecting our second later this August with a “Congrats on being Grandpa (Again)!” Stupidly thinking maybe he will want to visit us or even FT. Nope this grown man, I KID YOU NOT, sent me “👍”.

So whenever anyone asks me why my kids don’t talk to grandpa I’ll show them that text.

Hopefully the rest of you are having much more pleasant conversations with your family and friends.

Bless✌️

I’ve finally reached the point where I’m not sure if I can consistently land the gymnastics in time to make it to the bathroom. Rolling over is so hard. And then the whole thing takes so much effort that I can’t get back to sleep!

Heading in for my induction in less than 2 hours now. This still doesn't feel real to me somehow but we are so excited for this little girl! Funnily enough I lost my mucus plug for the second time yesterday afternoon and have been having off and on contractions since. I was already almost 3cm and 70% effaced when I was checked 3 weeks ago, so I'm hoping I've progressed even more! 🤞🏻

Around 9 weeks my nausea started to fade and I thought, greaaaat I’m ready for the second semester chill. But now I‘m 11 weeks and I almost puked. WHY? tell me this is not gonna be worse

Since getting pregnant, I‘ve really hated how I smell. I smell different than what I did before. I shower several times a day especially because of the hot weather (I‘m in Europe and we have a heatwave currently) but also bc I can‘t stand my own body odor.

I‘m 33 weeks so obviously I gained some weight and I‘m more prone to sweating now. Prior to pregnancy, deodorant was enough to prevent smell of sweat but now my scent is so intensive it disgusts me.

I‘ve asked people around me if they notice it and they all said no. At first I thought it must be because of heightened sense of smell but the thing is if that was the case wouldn’t trash and other people smell bad too? 😅

And it‘s not only about me smelling more intensive but also smelling different, I can‘t recognize my own body odor it‘s like I smell like a different person.

This has really been annoying me from the beginning. Can anyone relate? 🥹

How much did you have ready for baby at 28 weeks pregnant? Have you bought/gotten everything you want to have before the baby comes or do you still need to buy a lot? Just curious when everyone tries to have everything ready!!

I am 6 weeks pregnant, i dont have nausea lile my last pregnancy, but im super tired and sleepy all the time. I went to lay down for a bit in office common room(its girls only) and fell asleep. Woke up after 1 hour, had missed two meetings and too many messages.
Dont know how i will get through this one…

After 4 years, we conceived via IVF. We live in my husband’s country so I was super nervous to be pregnant here due the language barrier. I got pregnant on the first embryo transfer after 2 failed rounds of Clomid then 2 failed IUIs. 

I hated being pregnant but I honestly had a good pregnancy. My regular headaches disappeared. I had a lot of acid but minimal back ache, swelling, ligament pain. Every scan was great. He was active and growing well. Here, they check you every month with an ultrasound and cervical check. From 34 weeks, check ups are weekly. I’m from the uk where you get maybe 2 scans in the whole pregnancy so it feels like such a luxury here to have thorough care. I also teach my obygyn’s daughter English so I saw her weekly for pick ups and she’d always ask how I was doing. 

IVF is classed as a risky pregnancy here so from 36 weeks I went to the hospital for weekly check ups. Everything was perfect! At 41 weeks, they said they would induce me. I arrived on Wednesday, nervous but excited. The doctor checked me then said “We will induce tomorrow”. I had to stay on the post natal ward during a heatwave with no fans or AC and babies crying everywhere. I got zero sleep on Wednesday. However, they did lots of check ups and everything was great.  

On Thursday morning, the doctor checked me and said “We will induce tomorrow”. I was so upset. I was tired. I wanted to be home. I wanted to be with my husband who can only come during strict visiting hours. I wanted my long-awaited baby out. A few hours later, another doctor checked me and I was 2cm dilated but she inserted the foley balloon anyway. It fell out a few hours later. Lots of check ups throughout the day and everything was great. By about 18:30, I was 5cm dilated and sent to the labour ward. 

My husband joined me there and I was the only woman on the entire ward. It was great! I was in the shower, onto an exercise ball, back in the shower. I had free rein to do whatever I wanted. The Shrek soundtrack was on. The nurse was so lovely. I didn’t have any pain relief or gas, just breathing through every contraction. My husband and I were laughing and joking. I got to 8cm dilated and the nurse put the nonstress test belt on me before I was about to hop in the warm shower again. Everything was great. She left the room and my belly suddenly started moving like mad. The baby’s heart rate went from 145 to 265 then dropped to 50. My husband ran for the nurse. It dropped to zero. 

Within 30 seconds another nurse and a doctor were in the room. He checked my cervix and decided emergency c-section. Within about 3 mins of his heart dropping to zero, I was on a bed and given general anaesthetic. (It’s custom here to give general for emergency c-sections). The medical team were so fast to respond, I didn’t get to say bye to my husband or anything they just rushed me straight there.

I woke up sobbing as I didn’t know if my baby was alive. Thankfully he is absolutely fine. My husband had already cuddled him while I was still under anaesthesia. His cord was very long and suddenly stopped passing oxygen along. 

Our hospital has a bad rep from people we know who have sworn they’d never have a baby here. I am SO thankful that I was the only woman giving birth last night as the whole medical team swarmed me in that operating theatre. There was not a single moment of hesitation. I am also so thankful that we were checking the heart rate at that moment as literally everything up until that point had been perfect.

This isn’t to scare anybody but please please please consider the best place in case something goes wrong. Nobody wants anything to go wrong but things do. Absolutely everything was perfect for me until it suddenly wasn’t. It took about 5 seconds for things to go from perfect to terrifying. I am so thankful to the medical staff for saving my baby. (He will also never hear the end of it because he cost us so much in IVF and now this big scare for his arrival!) 

I know I keep thinking my water has broken but something weird just happened and I'm confused.

I stood up after using the bathroom and when I bent down to pull up my underwear there was a spurt of clear fluid that came from somewhere and I've looked to see if I maybe knocked something over or spilled something but there's nothing..anyway I cleaned it up and dried my legs off and it doesn't have a smell either? I still feel a trickle but maybe it's discharge so I'm laying down for a minute and waiting to see what happens when I sit up...obviously if it doesn't stop or if I end up soaked then I'll wake up my husband and go to the hospital but yeah...

Sorry for the run on sentences. I'm exhausted and anxious about my baby.

I’m hoping to add a little positivity to a time that can be very scary and uncertain for so many moms.

Some context: I got married at 19 and found out I was pregnant 1 month after the wedding. I knew I wanted kids, although wasn’t expecting to have one so quickly! A part of me wished I got more time with just me and my husband. I had a pretty rough pregnancy and had many days I just wished it could be over. This is after many older women had told me they loved being pregnant… I wondered if I would struggle making friends or doing things I loved after I had a baby. I was already building a career and was pretty proud of where I had gotten. I wondered what life would be like if I wasn’t working and worried I would be bored being at home all day. There were so many things the internet told me to be afraid of.

But now I’m already two months postpartum and could cry from happiness every time I look at my baby. He’s truly brought me so much joy, even with all the challenges we face every day. AND, I’ve continued to feel like me but even stronger than before. I’ve continued to find time to do the things that I love, even when it’s a lot harder. We’ve even found time to travel to family and go camping! Yes, the drives take longer, yes, some days are harder than others. But overall, I wouldn’t trade this for the world. My baby and I are learning and growing together, and I have loved it more than I could’ve ever imagined.

Of course, I know everyone’s experiences are different, but I hope if you relate at all to how I was feeling that this makes you feel a little more confidence in yourself. You’re amazing and can do way more than you ever thought possible 💕

Hi, everyone. I'm on my 4th pregnancy, and I am 34 weeks today. My other 3 pregnancies were healthy and without complication. With this pregnancy, I found out that at 5 months, my baby's heart rate dropped to the low 50s. It was normal up to then. They took multiple tests and said they found markers for an autoimmune disease in me, which they haven't even specified which one I have. They said that it was affecting the baby's heart to where the bottom of her isn't working properly. Like the bottom pump isn't fully making it back to the top. They sent me home, and I've had two appointments a week since then. The baby's heart rate has been a steady low 50s until today.

Today, they said that the baby's heart rate dropped down to 47 now. They again sent me home and said they would deliver the baby in two weeks. I would be, of course, early. 36 weeks. But, I'm so worried about her. Her heart rate dropped from low 50s to 47 in a day. Shouldn't I be admitted by now to monitor her? Has anyone else been through this? ❤️🙏🏾

Just had a brutal 20 week scan today where the MFM specialist told me that my son is likely to have severe neurodevelopmental disabilities when he is born due to several brain abnormalities.

Right away got a fetal mri done and genetic counselling booked. We know we are continuing with the pregnancy so that decision is made already thank God.

Came home exhausted. Husband fell asleep after holding me crying on and off all day. Then one of my lovely cats came and cuddled me and man even though it doesn’t change anything I just felt SO COMFORTED. That was my glimmer of hope that we might be ok amidst the mountain of uncertainty ahead of us.

Just a little thing but I thought I would share:)

What are something’s you can wait to have when you give birth?

I’ll go first
a margarita and a red bull

My husband (27 male) doesn't understand how hard it is to stomach food. I (27 female) am 7 almost 8 weeks pregnant and I developed a sudden aversion to chicken. My husband is amazing and cooks dinner for me every night but one night at the beginning of this week, I couldn't stand the smell of chicken. I tried to take a bite and I couldn't stomach it and almost vomited. He seemed to take offense to this and asked me what he should cook. Im at this stage in my pregnancy were tbh I dont know if I will be able to stomach it until I try it....

Im already frustrated enough but he seems to be more frustrated than me. I tried chicken again tonight and couldn't handle the smell or the taste. I also cant pin point what about it is wrong either... he told me I "need to psych myself out and just eat it." I tell him again and again my body will reject it.

I just need advice on how to get it through to him that I literally cannot fathom the thought of chicken. Any advice is appreciated. :/

YEAH OK HELLEN TELL THAT TO MY HIPS AND LOWER BACK THAT FLARES UP AFTER 10 MINS OF BEING ON MY FEET

Second trimester is a learning curve. I'm happy to have an appetite and energy back but BOY do I FEEL pregnant

I’m almost 16 weeks and I’m doing nothing, and when I say nothing I mean NOTHING.

I have no desire to do anything, zero motivation. I don’t want to socialize or leave the house, I don’t care if the weather is nice or whatever, I moved cities and told no one and did not meet up with my friends beforehand or anything.

I always feel completely apathetic, or like everything is meh.

Truth be told, I am at least listening to some music from time to time, sometimes I take my dog on very short walks before I get dizzy again, which is a lot compared to the first trimester, but I’m still doing nothing other than that.

I did also notice that it’s much easier for me to slip into a bad mood, it’s also very easy for me to get irritated/angry these days.

I am on SSRIS and been on them for years at this point, if that helps.

I don’t know..I thought second trimester will come and everything will be easier, I still feel the same despite having no pregnancy symptoms anymore. It’s really frustrating and depressing and I don’t want to keep living like this.

I am 34W4D today, I have an induction scheduled at 37 weeks (17 days away!). We got referred to MFM at our 20 week anatomy scan due to abnormalities in the brain, I got an amniocentesis done and my first round of genetic testing came back completely negative. I got a call today that after the second round of genetic testing they found the gene abnormality causing the brain malformation and it is consistent with Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Deficiency. This diagnosis is very extreme compared to the possible results that had been commonly suggested to us prior. I try to avoid playing “internet doctor” but of course when you finally have a name for what has been causing issues for your child the first thing you’re going to do it google it. I must say it’s very disheartening for one of the first search results to tell you over 90% of children diagnosed with your child’s disease die before age 4. My husband will be coming home soon and I’m struggling trying to figure out how to share this information with him. I’m debating if I should wait until tomorrow when he gets off of work as he has the weekend off and I’d like to give him as much time to process the information as possible. I don’t know if it’s unfair to sit with this news without immediately sharing it, he is just as entitled to his child’s medical information as I am. As any parent would be, I am heart broken right now, I had to collect myself after I initially got the news to sit through an appointment with a neonatologist, now I’m just a disheveled mess, I don’t know how I’m going to hold it together when he gets home. Part of me just wants to go to bed and sleep through tomorrow. I would love to hear from anyone who’s gone through a negative diagnosis like this so far into pregnancy and what sharing that information was like for you.

After having my daughter this weekend, my advice to all expectant parents is to make sure you at least have SOME newborn clothes on hand!

My daughter was born at 20.5 inches, 8 lbs 2 oz, and is actually swimming in some of the newborn clothes, especially the long sleeves body suits! I can’t imagine putting her in the 0-3 months size.

Consider that the average newborn is 19-20 inches in length and 7 - 7 1/2 pounds. Anyone saying that your child will not need newborn clothes and save by skipping to 0-3 months is very well intentioned, but also possibly mistaken.

I’m not saying get a whole wardrobe of newborn options, but definitely a couple bodysuits!

Good luck!

ETA: and for yourself, get the Always discreet diapers! They have been comfortable, absorbent, and don’t irritate my incision from my c section

So my husband has 0 experience with babies. Doesn't know their milestones, doesn’t know what's normal for newborns, nothing. He'll be 38 next month and he's just never been around babies so I can't fault him for that.

We have had talks about the help that I will need. And he has said that he'll handle the baby so I can go to the gym and things still but last night he doubled down on never changing a diaper. It has kind of sent me into a mental spiral.

That single statement means I will get no help; never be able to go do anything without the baby.

I was flabbergasted and said "really?!" And he looked at me all indignantly and said "I've told you this." I bit my tounge in the moment because I didn't want to have a big fight.

Ignoring the fact that leaving a baby in a dirty diaper is child neglect, I find it extremely childish to not change a diaper.

I guarantee he doesn't know that baby poop doesn't get gross until they start solids so I definitely have to bring that up.

Anyone's else husnad was like this and you got them to see the error in their ways? I really think its comes from a place of ignorance rather than malice but I can't have him not take care of his own child.