It's well understood that women should not smoke while pregnant. Yet some women find it difficult to quit. Knowing some of the long-term effects may offer an extra motivational boost.

When a woman becomes pregnant, her health affects her and her baby both. Being overweight or obese can also play a part in how a woman's pregnancy goes.

Being overweight while pregnant can increase several health risks. But after you have your baby, it's not too late to try to lose the pounds if you want to have another.

Smoking is a known health hazard for pregnancies. But being exposed to smoke in utero may follow a baby girl into her own pregnancy when she grows up.

Gaining weight is a natural part of growing a baby in your womb. Being overweight or obese while you are pregnant, however, can carry additional risks for your pregnancy.

Being overweight can be a burden for an expectant mother. When it comes to labor and delivery, that extra weight can cause certain complications for both the mother and child.

Pregnant women are advised to take prenatal vitamins to ensure they get all the nutrients they need. But their weight may play a role in how many of those nutrients reach their baby.

More and more has been learned about child obesity in the past few decades. What if we could put all the known risk factors together to get a sense of a child's overall risk of being overweight? We can.

Many factors influence individuals' weight. The same is true for children. Preventing obesity is easier when we know what factors increase a baby's risk of becoming overweight.

The risks to a woman and her baby if she's obese have been well-established, but having sleep apnea ups the stakes even more. Fortunately, sleep apnea can be treated.