From the moment you start trying to conceive (and, actually for some months before that) you should focus on taking excellent care of your body. You want your tiny tenant to thrive, so you should do everything in your power to get their home to be in the best possible shape for the nine or ten months that they're in there.

Aside from the usual need for hydration, there are a couple of factors that make it even more important during pregnancy. 

Oxytocin is kind of awesome.

I gotta warn you, I'm about to get kind of nerdy in this blog post. I find this stuff fascinating, and I love getting into the nitty-gritty of it all.

If you're not into that, that's alright. I realize this article won't be everyone's cup of tea…

When I decided to switch from a “traditional” hospital birth to a home birth with a midwife, I really didn’t know what I was doing. I was eight months pregnant and had about a month to get myself, my husband and my house ready to welcome our first baby in the comfort of our own living room.