When women try to conceive using in vitro fertilization, the results can sometimes come back negative. However, researchers are claiming that there's a possibility of using acupuncture to boost those odds for conception. While it's not verified, they say it could improve the chances by upwards of 45 percent. Studies have been pooled together and analyzed for this conjecture.

This is anything but hard evidence, but scientists think acupuncture improves blood flow to the uterus right after (or before) an embryo is placed in the womb. Inserting the tiny needles could also alleviate stress hormones which would otherwise make it difficult for implantation.

While some continue to debate about how effective it is, they're sure acupuncture wouldn't do any harm to women trying to get pregnant. This is a relatively cheap treatment that could have other benefits on the side, so reproductive specialists may have another weapon in their arsenal!

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With teenage pregnancies in the U.S. on the media's front burner once again, a recent poll showed that a majority of parents favor schools providing students with birth control methods.

However, there were differences in the way some responded to the poll that gave insight into divisional-type thinking on this issue based on generational, income and racial groups. I can understand generational issues, but not really the other two.

67 percent of those polled supported providing students with birth control items, and 62 percent said that an effort like this would reduce teenage pregnancies.

What are your thoughts?

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I was intrigued when I read this post at ParentDish by Kristin Darguzas, which reports on a study with results that seem to show that stressed out moms-to-be are more likely, 5% more likely in fact, to give birth to baby girls. Darguzas was looking at this article that discusses the results of the study conducted by a university in Denmark.

Apparently women who reported higher levels of stress at the beginning of their pregnancies ended up giving birth to girls, while women who generally felt relaxed were more likely to have boys. I know it sounds odd since the x or y chromosome in male sperm determines the sex of a child. The report mentions that it may be difficult for male embryos to implant when stress hormone levels are high or that stressed women may be more likely to miscarry male babies.

Perhaps the most important point made in the piece is that babies born to stressed-out moms are more likely to have a range of problems later in life, such as diabetes and high blood pressure. So if you're hoping to have a baby but just can't relax it may be a good idea to talk to your doctor about ways to relieve some stress.

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Plan on getting pregnant this Spring? While all those wonderful flowers and lush grounds are starting t blossom, we sometimes indulge in the renewal of ourselves using different ways to start a great new season that begs "new life here".

But be careful, as some researchers from the University of Pittsburgh's Medical Center have concluded that women who conceive in the springtime may be more likely to deliver in a pre-term state.

According to the researchers, "Preterm birth was most common among women who conceived in the springtime and was least common in women who conceived in the summer." Pre-term births occur at about 32 weeks after gestation.

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If you're pregnant, have yo changed you dietary habits to ensure the best possible nutrition is supporting that about-to-be-born baby? Many caring soon-to-be-mothers do just that -- they eat right, abstain from alcohol and smoking and even exercise.

But, how about coffee? In a recent and rather rigorous study on the effects of coffee on late-term pregnancies, it was found that there was no link between moderate caffeine consumption late in pregnancy and and either preterm delivery or low birth weight.

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The anti-depressant Paxil should not be used by pregnant women due to the risk of birth defects, according to a group of obstetricians that related this news yesterday.

Last year, the FDA and Paxil's manufacturer -- global pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline -- agreed the reclassify Paxil in order to reflect studies in pregnant women that showed the drug poses a risk to the fetus.

There were a few studies showing that pregnant women who were taking Paxil during their first trimester were shown to have babies with heart defects at twice the normal rate.

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