A story broke yesterday that will put a chill into the heart of any expectant mom. But it will likely come as a particularly unwelcome shock to those who are planning for a home birth: A young Australian woman who had been a staunch, outspoken advocate for home birth, died last week following the birth of her second child, whom she delivered at home, attended by midwives.

According to reports, 36-year-old Caroline Lovell was able to hold her newborn daughter in her arms, but was already in cardiac arrest and critical condition when paramedics arrived to transport her to the hospital for care. Lovell died the next day. Her baby, Zahra, survived. Lovell also had a 3-year-old daughter, named Lulu.

When it comes to pregnancy, the Internet can be a vast source of helpful knowledge, but it can also be a tricky terrain laden with landmines of myths, misinformation, and anxiety-inducing anecdotes that will just cause you to freak out for no reason. That's why it's concerning that almost 20 percent of pregnant women use the Internet as their primary source of information about their pregnancy.

That doesn't mean 20 percent surf the web here and there, but a small study from the University of Cartuja in Spain rather found that this large percentage of women get MOST of their information from the web. Knowing what's out there, that's kind of scary.

Would you ever consider a home birth? If so, you're in growing company: The number of women skipping the hospital and delivering their babies right in the comfort of their own bedroom (or bathroom or kitchen or, for all I know, TV room) has risen sharply in the past few years, according to government data released Thursday. How sharply? Well, between 2004 and 2009, home births here in the United States shot up a full 29%.

Although overall it's still less than one percent of women who opt to give birth at home, that's a pretty dramatic trend. So, seriously, would you do it?

I love it when I see a bad-ass pregnant woman. You know the kind I'm talking about. The kind who doesn't put her entire life on hold just because she's carrying a child. She still wears dresses and heels. She still commutes to work every day. And she still spends her weekends doing stuff instead of sprawling out on the couch. But I think bad-assery crosses into the territory of bad idea-ery when a woman is rock climbing eight months into the game.

Aimee Roseborrough, a 36-year-old physical therapist, has been rock climbing for 14 years, and pregnancy wasn't/isn't going to slow her down. She rock climbed until she was 37 weeks in her first pregnancy, and now, at 34 weeks with her second child, she's still at it with no plans of slowing down.

Impressive. But is doing something you love more important than the safety of your child?

"Is that really a good idea?" The first line of this Mail Online piece on Chris Hemsworth's wife Elsa Pataky seems to answer its own question, since the article goes on to excitedly describe how Pataky "plummeted" down a steep waterslide "just hours after announcing pregnancy."

My god, watersliding during pregnancy. Next thing you know she'll be exercising, taking baths, going outside during a full moon, or raising her hands above her head. OH, THE HUMANITY.

Oh, my pregnant friends, are you sitting down? A new study brings some news that, while not unsurprising, may yet be tough to hear, especially for those of us who, unaware that we were pregnant during the first few weeks of pregnancy, maybe had a glass of wine or two in the days before seeing those twin lines appear on that tell-tale stick: It's never safe to drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy -- and it can be particularly harmful to your fetus during the first trimester.

On the (relatively) bright side, it's actually drinking alcohol at the end of the first trimester that puts your fetus most at risk for developing physical, behavioral, or cognitive problems, this new research, published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, has found.

OMG, you guys, I just read the most terrible news about Jessica Simpson's pregnancy! According to reports, Simpson is unknowingly—or worse, knowingly—putting her health and possibly even the health of her baby at risk ... all for the sake of VANITY.

What's she doing, you ask? Binding her belly with painful canvas restraints? Eating mercury-laden raw fish in an attempt to curb the carbs? Smoking a pack a day and guzzling directly from a bottle of grain alcohol while bungee-jumping and undergoing unnecessary X-rays AND changing the cat litter?

It's even worse: Simpson has been spotted wearing a pair of heels. OH, THE HUMANITY!

Coming down with a nasty cold -- or worse, the flu -- is never fun. When you're pregnant, though, it's really the pits! Not only do all of those unpleasant symptoms seem magnified (like you weren't already queasy!), it's like there's nothing you can do to make yourself feel better. All the usual tricks of the trade, like knocking back a nighttime decongestant, are definite "don'ts" when you're preggers.

But don't get too dejected -- you're not doomed to have the most miserable winter of your life. There are some ways to make yourself feel better when you're sick and expecting, and they really do work. Really! I've tried them.