Becoming a parent is an awesome responsibility, for a human child is almost totally dependent on her or his parents for physical and emotional support for many years. Being a parent requires the investment of time, energy, and physical resources, and often personal goals are postponed or foregone altogether. Every child begins as a single cell formed by the union of a sperm from the father and an egg from the mother. About Choose...261428 days after fertilization, the embryo implants in the uterus, where the 40 weeks of pregnancy take place. After implantation, the embryo's cells manufacture a hormone called Choose...estrogenhuman prolactin (hPR)progesteronehuman chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), which signals the mother's body that a state of pregnancy exists, and is the basis for both at-home and clinical pregnancy tests. In the uterus, the fetus develops inside the Choose...amnionplacentaendometriumchorion, a fluid-filled sac. The fetus receives nutrients and eliminates waste products through the Choose...amnionplacentaendometriumchorion. Many changes occur in a woman's body during pregnancy, among them are an increase in blood volume and heart rate and enlargement of the breasts and uterus. The desire for sexual interaction may increase or decrease; in general, doctors recommend that sexual activity Choose...of all kinds cease after the first trimesterthat doesn't involve intercourse is OK until the third trimesterbe limited to the side-to-side position of intercourseis OK until the onset of labor if no risks to the pregnancy are evident. The health habits of a healthy pregnancy include proper nutrition, exercise, attending to intense feelings, obtaining qualified pre-natal care, and avoiding ALL drugs, cigarettes and alcohol. Occasionally it may be suspected that a fetus is developing with an abnormality. Amniocentesis is a test to determine fetal abnormalities. It involves Choose...using a laparoscope to view the fetus inside the amniotic sacexamining cells from the placenta for chromosome damageextracting and examining fetal cells from the amniotic fluid obtaining x-rays of the fetal body. The birth process begins with strong, regular contractions of the muscular coat of the Choose...uteruscervixheartabdomen, which are intended to expel the baby from the mother's body via the vagina. Occasionally the fetus is not delivered through the vagina and is instead removed from the mother via an incision in the uterus, called Choose...CVScesarean sectionepisiotomyafterbirth. A newborn baby can obtain nutrition from breast-milk or cow's milk supplemented with nutrients. Compared to bottle-fed babies, breast-fed babies Choose...have fewer allergies and diarrheaare psychologically better adjusted as adults have fewer weight problems as adultshave healthier teeth as children. About 20 percent of American couples have difficulty getting pregnant or may not be able to get pregnant at all without assistance from high- tech procedures. Couples not able or willing to engage in pregnancy and childbirth can still be parents through adoption.