Genetics and Pregnancy

Can you predict your new arrival’s weight? There are a few clues that can help you guess. But there’s no way to fill in the weight on the birth announcement until the nurse places your bundle of joy onto the scale.  The average baby is born...

What color eyes will your baby have? When a new addition is on the way, it’s only natural to wonder about their appearance. Will your baby have blue eyes? There is no way to be totally sure, but you can make a good guess.  More: What Are the ...

*/ Genes come in pairs, and each gene in a pair may differ slightly. One gene may be dominant, and override the other gene, which is recessive. A recessive gene only has an effect if both genes in a pair are recessive. An example is eye color. A...

Watching your child grow up comes with the joys of seeing their looks and personality develop over time, as well as their skills (or lack thereof). If you are athletically inclined, it’s quite possible your child will also be an athlete, too. B...

If you have the time to be informed about your body, your expectations, and your options before pregnancy, would you? Well, great news! There are genetic screenings you can request when you decide you are ready to start #ttc. With recent, “at ...

If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that pregnancy is pretty unpredictable. However, it doesn’t have to be nine months filled with unanswered questions and wondering what fate has in store for you. It can feel like grasping at st...

Your baby can inherit a lot more than just hair color and physical features from its parents. As you await the arrival of your new baby, you’ll probably wonder not only what they will look like, but how they’ll act, talk, walk, and more. Than...

Wondering if your baby could be a redhead? Red hair is the rarest natural hair color in the world. Just 1-2% of all humans have red or orange hair. However, in Ireland and Scotland, about 20% of the population are redheads.  Could your little o...

If you are currently pregnant, or planning to become pregnant, you might know the term “genetic testing,” in which you undergo some medical tests to better understand your genetic health history that may or may not impact your child’s healt...

Baby cheeks are so sweet, pudgy, and pinchable. Pair those with adorable dimples and giggles and you have a baby akin to a kewpie doll.  Dimples are often seen as a desirable characteristic because they light up a face, even through smudged, te...

Genes are located on rodlike structures called chromosomes that are found in the nucleus of every cell in the body. Each gene occupies a specific position on a chromosome. Because genes provide instructions for making proteins, and proteins deter...

Learning you are pregnant can be one of the most exciting times in your life. There is so much to think about, from wondering what gender the baby will be to daydreaming about how she will look on her first day of school. Pregnancy can also intr...

Have you ever wondered if twins really do run in families or not? Or ponder what your chances are of birthing twins? I have twin friends and twin cousins, and even though I do NOT have twin kids, I have always been fascinated by multiple births a...

A recent study published by a team of Swedish and British scientists at Uppsala University suggests that becoming a dog owner is heavily influenced by an individual’s genetic structure and make-up. More: An Age-by-Age Guide to Explaining the D...

As a birth professional, I often get asked about traits and my opinion on if babies will come here with this or that! Most people ask about things like eye color and birth weight, but sometimes it’s things like hairline and webbed toes. More: ...

What is a freckle and how do you get them? Ephelides, also known as freckles, are clusters of skin cells that have browned due to high exposure to sun and results in overproduction of melanin. They are appear most commonly on humans with lighter...

When a soon-to-be-parent learns they’re expecting a child, their brains go into overdrive—including wondering what—or who!—their child will look like. Brown hair? Blonde hair? Red hair? No hair? Which may trickle into pondering about heig...

I am one of three sisters; my mom has three sisters, and my dad has three sisters. My husband and I have two girls. Most of my first cousins are female—in fact, it’s a long-running joke that women dominate both sides of my family and that if ...