pregnancy

Prenatal care costs more than $10,000 on average. Dr. Leana Wen wonders what choices she would make if she didn't have health insurance to cover that, and how those choices would affect her baby.

The woman set to run the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services told senators that maternity coverage should be optional in individual and small group plans. Other services could be cut entirely.

Holding a newborn on a parent's bare chest has long been used to help premature babies. Hospitals increasingly recommend it for full term babies, too. Doctors say it reduces pain and lowers stress.

Taking folic acid while pregnant reduces the risk of birth defects. But there may not be enough of the vitamin in enriched grain products, a federal advisory panel says.

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says pregnant women with morning sickness shouldn't reach hastily for the pill bottle. Controversy over one medicine called Diclegis continues.

Puerto Rico has experienced many more cases of Zika virus than the continental U.S. But health and educational services are scarce on the islands for children born with disabilities.

But that's not the final word, caution pediatricians, including the Danish author. It's one of several recent studies with contradictory findings that suggest the supplements could help or hurt.

Infertility is often a private struggle. But some couples are going public — via crowdfunding sites — to help subsidize in vitro fertilization treatments that can cost as much as $20,000 each time.

Women who were infected with Zika virus while abroad and then came to the U.S. had complications about 6 percent of the time, a study finds. First-trimester exposure was linked to more birth defects.

Neither getting the flu nor getting a flu shot appears to increase the risk of autism in children, a study finds. The shots are recommended because the flu poses health risks to mother and fetus.

But they'll have to wait a while. The portion of the $394 million Congress allocated to help pregnant women find out more quickly if they have Zika isn't expected to get to strained labs until 2017.

The lack of effective remedies for morning sickness is frustrating, and can mean months of suffering. An obstetrician explains that few medications have been tested for use during early pregnancy.