Morning sickness can be one of the most miserable parts of pregnancy. Unfortunately, new research suggests that there is little women can do other than grin and bear it, since there appear to be no effective treatments.

The pharmaceutical industry once weighed in on the issue heavily, with the result being the introduction of the now-notorious thalidomide, which caused severe birth defects in a large number of infants. That episode led to increased requirements for safety screening of drugs before they are marketed and led to the still-prevalent consensus that it is generally not safe for women to take drugs during pregnancy, especially in the first trimester when morning sickness is at its worst. That has led many women to try alternative treatments, including sugar solutions, ginger, vitamin B6, acupressure and acupuncture. Unfortunately, there is little evidence that any of them are effective, Dr. Anne Matthews of the School of Nursing at Ireland's Dublin City University reported Wednesday in the Cochrane Library, a prestigious source of research on the effectiveness of medical treatments.

As many as 85% of pregnant women experience nausea, and half of those endure actual vomiting. The cause is unknown, but researchers suspect hormonal imbalances. About 1 in 200 suffer so severely that they cannot keep any food or liquids down, a condition known as hyperemesis gravidarum. It requires medical treatment and can cause blood clots and damage to the infant. On the plus side, a 2007 study found that women who suffer morning sickness are less likely to develop breast cancer.

Matthews and her colleagues reviewed 27 clinical trials involving 4,041 pregnant women who were as much as 20 weeks pregnant. In six studies of acupuncture and two of acupressure - in which pressure is applied to acupuncture sites rather than needles - they found no benefit. One study of acustimulation, in which a small electric current is applied through the needles, found some benefit over three weeks. There was also very little evidence to support the benefits of ginger (which actually made many women sick), vitamin B6, antihistamines and anti-vomiting drugs. The anti-vomiting drugs induced sleepiness in recipients.

"A number of the studies we looked at appeared to show benefits, but in general the results were inconsistent and it was difficult to draw firm conclusions about any one treatment in particular," Matthews said in a statement. "We were also unable to obtain much information about whether these treatments are actually making a difference in women's quality of life."

Your best bet, according to most experts: Get plenty of rest, drink a little at a time but often to prevent dehydration, and eat small servings of bland food such as toast and crackers. Also, avoid strong smells; eating food cold rather than hot can minimize odors that cause nausea.

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Increased muscle tone, jitteriness, sleep disturbance, irritability, feeding problems, mild respiratory distress and myoclonus have been reported as symptoms of a potential neonatal distress syndrome related to exposure to SSRIs in late pregnancy.  The average duration of symptoms reported is 48 hours.  It is estimated that between 25-30% of SSRI-exposed infants are at risk for [...]

After I had my son, I desperately wanted a girl. When I got pregnant again, I was so convinced another XY was on the way that when the doctor delivered our daughter (XX, that is) and announced as much, I asked my husband: "Is he kidding?"

Had I only followed a strict meal plan of nuts and hard cheese, I presumably needn't have waited on pins and needles - at least according to a study by Maastricht University in The Netherlands. The authors say a mother's diet can determine whether her nursery ends up being swathed in pink or blue. So to boost the odds of having a girl, mothers should say, yes, to calcium and magnesium (think yogurt, spinach, tofu, almonds, cashews, beans, oatmeal, broccoli and oranges) and, no, to salt and potassium (anchovies, olives, bacon, salami, smoked salmon, shrimp, potatoes, processed meats, bread and pastries). Combine a strict diet with some carefully orchestrated sex — to increase the likelihood of having a girl, the researchers recommend avoiding sex immediately before and after ovulation — and apparently it can make all the difference.

News reports about the study, including one in the U.K.'s Daily Mail, have crowed about the nearly 80% success rate of the baby-girl diet. But the fine print — and common sense — call into question just how realistic this recipe for baby-making actually is. Of the 172 women who participated in the five-year study, only 21 ended up adhering to the stringent guidelines about what to eat (at least a pound of dairy each day) and precisely when — and when not — to rendezvous with their lovers. Of those 21, 16 ended up bearing daughters: voila, 77%.

The study further concluded that what the women ate was more important than when they had sex. “The results show that both diet and timing methods increase the probability of 
a girl — the impact of the diet being the most pronounced,” said a spokesman for the researchers.

But don't start stuffing the fridge with Stonyfield Farms just yet. “There is no physiological probability to any of this,” says Dr. Richard Paulson, director of the fertility program at the University of Southern California. “This is a great example of what we call non-science.”

This is probably not the first time you've heard about diet influencing gender. Researchers at the University of Exeter in England surveyed 740 first-time mothers and announced in 2008 that those who ate more calories — particularly those who ate breakfast cereal — had more sons. Nor is the advice new to avoid sex right before and after ovulation in order to birth a girl. When I was new to baby-making, a girlfriend told me about the Billings Method, a natural family planning method that involves timing of ovulation, which some rely upon to help select the baby's sex. Twice it let me down. (But a Nigerian study cited in Billings Method: Controlling Fertility Without Drugs or Devices reports that 310 couples who tried to conceive a boy were successful, while only four were not. Similarly, of 92 couples who tried to conceive a girl, only two failed. Daughters are apparently not so beloved in Nigeria.)

The timing factor was also famously espoused by Landrum Shettles, a Columbia professor who wrote How to Choose the Sex of Your Baby, which has sold over a million copies since coming out in 1970. Shettles postulated that male sperm are speedier swimmers, while female sperm are hardier and tend to outlast the guys. Hence, sex at ovulation should result in a boy, since male sperm should reach the elusive egg quicker, while sex a few days before or after ovulation should yield a daughter owing to the tenacity of the female sperm.

True or not, many have been persuaded. When Paulson addresses medical students and asks who believes it's possible to alter the probability of conceiving a boy versus a girl, half of would-be doctors raise their hands.

Here are nine other tried (but not likely true) ways to select the sex of your baby:

Go Blue:

• Have sex on the day of ovulation
• Avoid sex for several days before ovulation in order to concentrate the male's sperm count
• Don't spare the salt; eat meat and fish but steer clear of dairy
• Drink multiple cups of green tea daily

Pick Pink:

• Have sex several days before or after ovulation
• Have sex — lots of it — to decrease sperm count
• Stash a pink ribbon beneath your pillow
• Men, take a hot bath prior to intercourse because male sperm may be heat-averse
• Eat chocolate!

Have you tried any of these methods? Have they worked for you?

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RockStarMoms Maternity is giving away 50 of their Floating Baby Tees to help kick off September's National Yoga Month and to support the growing popularity of prenatal yoga. Their newest design, Floating Baby Yoga, will be given to one mom-to-be in each of the 50 states. To be eligible, expectant moms must be enrolled in a prenatal yoga class AND be the FIRST person from their state to submit an entry. Once entered, instructions will be given on how they can be entered to win one of two $100 gift certificates for RockStarMoms Maternity Wear. Contest details can be found on the company's website at: http://www.rockstarmoms.com/giveaways.php

Prenatal yoga classes can be a great way to stay in shape during pregnancy when paired with cardiovascular exercise and healthy nutrition. According to Stacey Bell, owner of YogaBell Wellness, "Prenatal yoga is also beneficial because it promotes deep breathing and relaxation, which assists with the physical demands of labor, birth, and motherhood." In addition, "Yoga helps the body deal with stress by slowing heart and breathing rates and lowering blood pressure - a big plus for new moms and moms-to-be."

The Yoga Health Foundation has designated September as National Yoga Month to raise awareness of yoga's health benefits and provide the public with guidance and tools to improve their well-being. This month, over 1,000 National Yoga Month events will be held in communities nationwide.

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Simply titled: "Eliza," this film made by an expectant mom will warm your heart.

Pregnancy and the postpartum period is a time of increased risk for depression.  Therefore, women who are treated with antidepressant medications must consider whether or not to stay on medication during pregnancy.  Despite reassuring data regarding the reproductive safety of various antidepressants, a woman may prefer not to continue medication during pregnancy due to concerns [...]

Women who develop a mild case of gestational diabetes during pregnancy tend to have fewer complications and healthier babies if the diabetes is treated according to the first large-scale randomized trial in the U.S. to address whether such treatment leads to health benefits for mother and child.

As many as 14% of pregnant women in the U.S., or about 200,000 women annually, develop gestational diabetes. This pregnancy-related diabetes can cause the fetus to grow too rapidly, and the excess weight can make delivery difficult and lead to complications. What’s more, gestational diabetes increases the risk of preeclampsia, a potentially life-threatening rise in blood pressure in the mother.

However, the benefits of treating gestational diabetes are somewhat controversial; although most obstetricians screen and treat pregnant women for blood-sugar abnormalities, the 2008 guidelines of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has said there is not enough strong evidence for or against screening and treating gestational diabetes.

“Almost all obstetricians do screen for gestational diabetes, but some of them have not been particularly aggressive about treating milder cases, reserving aggressive treatment for people with higher blood-glucose results,” says lead study author Mark Landon, MD, of Ohio State University Medical Center, in Columbus. “For them, this study serves as notice that aggressive treatment with diet alone is useful for even mild gestational diabetes cases.”

Gestational diabetes can be treated with dietary restrictions, the oral drug metformin, or insulin injections. Dr. Landon says that, unfortunately, some women diagnosed with the condition are not even given a real meal plan to follow; instead they are simply advised to watch their sugar intake.

In the study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, 958 women diagnosed with mild gestational diabetes between 24 and 31 weeks of pregnancy were divided into two groups; half were treated for diabetes, half were not. Women were considered to have mild gestational diabetes if they had an abnormal result after taking an oral glucose-tolerance test (a test in which women drink a sugary liquid and blood sugar is measured at regular intervals), but their fasting glucose level (a test in which blood sugar is measured after fasting) was below 95 milligrams per deciliter. Many doctors treat gestational diabetes only if it is more severe, generally considered to be 95 milligrams per deciliter or higher.

The new research, a partnership of 14 different institutions, showed that women were half as likely to have larger-than-normal babies if they were treated. For example, 14% of women who weren’t treated had a baby that weighed more than 8 pounds, 13 ounces, compared with only 6% who were treated.

The newborns also had fewer cases of shoulder dystocia (1.5% with treatment vs. 4% without treatment), a potential emergency in which the birthing process stalls due to entrapment of the infant’s shoulders—a problem that’s more likely if a newborn is larger-than-normal. Women who were treated had fewer cases of high blood pressure or preeclampsia (8.6% vs. 13.6%) and were less likely to need a cesarean section (about 27% vs. 33.8%) than women who were not.

Most women in the U.S. are screened for gestational diabetes between 24 to 28 weeks of pregnancy but may be tested even earlier if they are very obese, have a strong family history of the condition, or if they had gestational diabetes or gave birth to a large baby during previous pregnancies. If a one-hour oral glucose test is positive for elevated blood sugar, then women generally undergo a similar three-hour test in order to be diagnosed.

Although gestational diabetes usually goes away after a woman gives birth, women who have the condition are 50% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes within the next 20 years. For that reason, the American Diabetes Association recommends occasional blood-sugar testing, a healthy diet, and regular exercise even after childbirth.

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Taking certain antiviral medications for herpes infections during the first three months of pregnancy does not increase a child's risk of major birth defects, researchers report in this week's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The antiviral drugs acyclovir, valacyclovir, and famciclovir are often prescribed to treat herpes viral infections, such as herpes simplex virus (HSV). More than one in five pregnant women have antibodies in their blood to HSV, indicating a past or present infection.

Herpes antiviral medications are also used to treat herpes zoster infections, commonly known as shingles.

Until now, information about the safety of these antivirals during pregnancy has been limited. The medications are listed as category B by the FDA. Category B means adequate studies on pregnant women are lacking but animal studies have shown the medicine is safe during pregnancy, or human studies showed it was safe during pregnancy but animal studies offered conflicting evidence.

The new study suggests that pregnant women may be able to take some of these drugs without fear of harming their developing baby, at least during the first trimester. Researchers in Copenhagen, Denmark, looked at live birth records from more than 800,000 infants between January 1996 to September 2008, noting the link between acyclovir, valacyclovir, and famciclovir use in the first trimester of pregnancy and major birth defects. Participants had no medical history of chromosome or genetic problems or viral infections at birth. The study team also adjusted for other factors known to influence outcome.

“Our study, to our knowledge the largest of its kind, found no significant association between first-trimester exposure to antiherpetic antiviral drugs and major birth defects," the study authors write in the journal report. "Acyclovir is the most extensively documented antiviral and should therefore be the drug of choice in early pregnancy."

The study authors warn that their analysis regarding famciclovir was based on a small number of pregnancies and should "not be viewed as evidence of safety of this drug." Data on valacyclovir also remains insufficient, they say. The team encourages continued research to study the link between these medications and miscarriage and preterm labor, and their safety during breastfeeding.

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Donna is four months pregnant - and she started drinking one month ago. She's totally unapologetic about this.

"My therapist recommended wine [for stress]," says Donna, 32, a Brooklyn mother of two. Her midwife also recommended wine, she says, after her first trimester.

"I've had two glasses in the last nine days," she says cheerfully.

Still, not everyone is supportive of her choice. "My boyfriend is not happy about it," she says. "My aunt said I shouldn’t do it." And Donna, who isn’t ashamed of her drinking, is still so worried about the stigma she doesn’t want her last name to appear in this article.

Drinking while pregnant is perhaps the last big taboo for moms-to-be. Much like breastfeeding and co-sleeping.

But in New York, a growing number of pregnant women are saying, “Bottoms up!”

Tired of the zero-tolerance hysteria — no alcohol, soft cheeses, fish or hair dye — that treats pregnancy like an affliction, they’re embracing a European attitude and indulging in the occasional glass of vino.

“The truth is, if you look at who’s born with fetal alcohol syndrome, their mothers were alcoholics — not one drink a week” women, says Dr. Randi Hutter Epstein, a mom of four and the author of “Get Me Out: A History of Childbirth From the Garden of Eden to the Sperm Bank.”

“I feel strongly that all of our anti-alcohol messages are just targeting the wrong audience,” she says, meaning healthy moms without dependence problems.

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists advises “no amount of alcohol consumption can be considered safe during pregnancy.” Still, research has found that light drinking is reasonably safe. A study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology last year found that children whose moms had “one to two” drinks per week during pregnancy were at no more risk of cognitive deficits than those who had zero alcohol.

Furthermore, a French study published in 2008 found that more than 50 percent of French women drank alcohol at least once while pregnant. The same study, which appeared in a May 2008 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, found that only 12 percent of American women did.

During her first pregnancy, April Peveteaux, a 38-year-old Brooklynite, was nervous about drinking: “There was still that fear in the back of my mind that I could do something to hurt the baby.” However, “I was four months pregnant when I got married,” says the writer at CafeMom.com and now a mother of two. “I thought, ‘I’m definitely having a glass of Champagne at my wedding.’ ”

During her honeymoon in Ireland, she learned about cultural differences regarding pregnancy and drinking while flipping through parenting books that advised no more than two drinks . . . per day. “I was laughing,” she says. “But it taught me a big lesson: I’m going to relax.”

Other expectant moms, such as Donna, are quietly being given the go-ahead by medical experts. Stephanie Korenman’s doctor prescribed alcohol after her amniocentesis test, telling her to “go home and drink a glass of wine,” because it calmed down painful uterine contractions that can result from the procedure. “Of course I was nervous, but it was my third kid,” said Korenman, 38, a Manhattan attorney. She says she was less hyper-vigilant than the first time around — plus, she did her own research to make sure it was safe. “I’m Orthodox [Jewish], so on Friday nights, I’d have just a little bit of wine — like half a shot glass,” she says. “Although I do know people who would say, ‘Not even that.’ ”

Dr. Epstein’s own doctor, by contrast, wasn’t concerned about the occasional sip. “My doctor said, ‘Go about your life and don’t worry about wine or anything,’” says Epstein, recalling her first pregnancy 10 years ago. On a trip to France while she was expecting, “We’d go out to dinner, and the waitress would show me the wine list, and I’d say, ‘I’m pregnant,’ ” says Epstein. “And she’d say, ‘Congrats, what kind of wine do you want?’

For Peveteaux, the freedom to relax with her husband and have a beer was important for her mental well-being.

“It made me feel more like a person,” she says, “rather than just a vessel.”

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Christina Applegate is doing it. So is Alanis Morissette. Kelly Preston and Celine Dion, too. They're all having babies after age 35.

If you're pregnant and at a similar age, there's good news.

"The majority of women over age 35 have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies," said Jim Link, an obstetrician/gynecologist with Partners in Women's Health in Louisville. "There's really not any preset age that's unsafe for any one patient to become pregnant."

But there are some things to think about.

"Pregnancy is a one-year project -- three months to get tuned up and then nine months to do the pregnancy," said Stanley A. Gall, a professor of obstetrics, gynecology and women's health at the University of Louisville.

"Consider what kind of health you're in," Gall said. "It becomes important to maintain good health because healthy moms are more likely to have healthy babies."

Schedule a pre-pregnancy visit. Some physicians recommend visiting an OB/GYN before getting pregnant. The doctor can review your medical history and "determine what things, potentially, besides age, are going to be risk factors for that pregnancy," Link said.

The doctor is likely to consider such things as, "Are your vaccinations up to date? Are you in a good body-mass-index range? Is your blood pressure normal? Is your renal function good?" said Link. Some things can be addressed "prior to conceiving and make your life a whole lot easier, not to mention the baby's," he said.

Follow your doctor's instructions. Your doctor probably will want you to take at least 400 micrograms of folic acid a day to reduce the chance of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, and to take steps to get troublesome medical conditions, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, under control. You also might be asked to change medications.

Be aware of medical conditions that can affect older mom.

"When women conceive over the age of 40, there's a greater incidence of gestational diabetes, preeclampsia and other medical complications," said Steven Nakajima, director of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the University of Louisville. "It's a taxing effort on your body."

Women older than 35 have a higher chance of having a child with Down syndrome than women who are younger.

Here is some specific advice for older women:

Watch your weight. Older women who are heavy tend to have problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure and asthma during pregnancy, said Stanley A. Gall, a professor at the University of Louisville.

Genetic counseling. This can help determine the risk of passing down an inherited disease. It also may provide clues to couples who've experienced recurrent miscarriages. And it can give some couples "peace of mind," said Jim Link, an obstetrician/gynecologist with Partners in Women's Health in Louisville.

Make smart choices. "It's never too late to make positive health changes," such as "stopping smoking, minimizing your stress, trying to get a regular amount of cardiovascular exercise on board, really rounding out your nutrition -- doing away with fast food, minimizing the processed foods, minimizing the high-sugar foods, minimizing your caffeine intake," Link said. "There's a lot of nutritional things that you can do."

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