One of the coolest things about being pregnant is being able to hear the heartbeat of the little being growing inside your belly.

It is a sure sign of life and is something to be treasured. Thanks to the gift of modern technology, Mums and Dads are now able to hear their baby’s heart beat from the comfort of a home environment, from as early as ten weeks.

What? you say. I promise, it’s true.

The Hi Bebe Fetal Doppler is a device often used by midwives. It can be rented from around £9.95 per month and purchased for prices ranging from £69.95.

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Every woman is aware of the fact that with pregnancy comes weight gain; some of us obsess over every extra pregnancy kilo and others of us reach for a third cookie, an extra chocolate, another chip without batting an eyelid.

But what is considered an ‘okay’ amount of weight to gain?

Well, there are no official guidelines for weight gain in pregnancy but gaining between 22-35lb is considered normal – and here’s where it all goes:

Around 7lb 7oz is your baby

* 14lb is maternal stores in preparation for breastfeeding (fat, protein and nutrients)

* 4lb is increased fluid

* 2lb is your womb

* 2lb is amniotic fluid

* 2lb is breast enlargement

* 1lb 7oz is the placenta

Most of your weight gain will occur later on in your pregnancy.

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Perhaps you have decided that 2011 is your baby year? If it is, maybe you should read up on our best fertility tips?

If you find yourself looking at nappies with a googly smile on your face,  or your partner discovers you in the baby aisle randomly inspecting infant formula with sentimental reverie… then rest assured; 2011 is most likely your year.

Once the decision is made and you actively engage in the fun ‘making a baby’ part, remember that that it takes five to six months for the average couple to conceive.  There are, however, some practical things that you can do to boost your fertility.

The first thing to do is Eat Healthy – even better, is to Eat Organic.

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Some exciting news: the UK is hoping to open Europe’s first Centre For Better Births to assist with research in areas such as premature birth and prolonged labour.

Liverpool has been chosen as the home of the new Centre, for various reasons including an unequalled reputation in women’s and children’s clinical care in the largest women’s hospital in Europe, which delivers over 8000 babies each year.

There have been no new major scientific innovations in the treatment of slow labour for more than half a century. Women who experience difficulties with delivering a baby receive very similar treatment now to that devised for women in 1954.

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If you are thinking about conceiving with In vitro fertilisation treatment, it might be handy to visit Ivfpredict.com, which offers a personalised prediction of your chance of having a live birth with IVF.

And it takes only sixty seconds.

You will be required to answer nine quick multiple choice questions, including info on previous IVF attempts and pregnancies, and also any medication you are taking. Although the test does not take into account your lifestyle, it claims to be 99 per cent accurate.

IVFpredict was developed by Professor Scott Nelson and Professor Debbie Lawlor and published in PLOS Medicine.

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