What's with all the humongous babies all of a sudden? Only one week after a woman in Iowa gave birth to the biggest baby ever born in that state (13 pounds, 12 ounces!), a woman in China has given birth to what is believed to be the biggest baby ever born in that most populous country. And hard as it might be to wrap your mind around, baby Chun Chun, who was born on Saturday in central China (Xinxiang City, Henan province, for those who know their geography), makes Iowa newborn Asher Stewardson look almost like a little guy.

Chun Chun, whose 29-year-old mom had no idea how big he'd be, tipped the scales at birth at a whopping 15.5 pounds! (The baby's dad insists his wife, who delivered Chun Chun via c-section, ate nothing usual during her pregnancy, in case you were wondering.) 

Both mother and baby are reportedly doing well. And Chun Chun's parents are proud as can be of their healthy baby boy.

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.

At birth, full-term babies born in the U.S. tip the scales, on average, at around 7 pounds, 8 ounces, which of course doesn't mean that there aren't plenty of mothers giving birth to babies both smaller and larger. My healthy babies both weighed around 6 pounds (give or take a few ounces) when they made their debut -- though they didn't stay that small for long!

And bigger? Well, a woman in Iowa has just given birth to a baby boy that CNN reports might just be the largest infant ever to have been born "naturally" in the state. How big was the baby, Asher Stewardson? He weighed in at a whopping 13 pounds, 12 ounces, and measured 23 1/2 inches long! And get this, Asher's amazing mother delivered him vaginally, after six hours of pushing and with no drugs (nope, no epidural, no nothin').

I'll just give you a minute to take that in …

Peyton Rose as a newbornMy friend Tricia is an amazing mom. She is a mom who had twins and had to face things some people never have to face in their lifetime. And through it all, she continues to be selfless and strong. I admire her so much. She is as much of a fighter as her daughter Peyton, who along with older (by one minute) brother Andrew, are reminders of how precious life is, and how love and faith can get us through even the toughest of times.

Tricia and her husband Stephen were trying to start a family. She had a miscarriage in 2007, and of course that adds an element of fear when trying again. Late in 2010, Tricia learned she was pregnant again ... with twins. But her cervix was thinning and opening at 18 weeks. This is her story of hope, loss, and love.

Last month, a 24-year-old Muslim man was arrested after assaulting a nurse trying to deliver the baby his wife was working hard to push out. It seems that, in an effort to make her more comfortable and help her prepare for the final countdown before the newborn debuted, the poor nurse tried to take off the laboring woman’s burqa. Her husband spotted the scene unfolding through a window, broke down a locked door, and punched the nurse dead in the face.

Now, that’s an extreme example of what shouldn’t happen when a gal is huffing and puffing her way through the process of bringing forth new life. And suffice it to say that abusing the medical professionals is generally foolish since they guarantee all ends well in the birthing room. But physical altercations aside, there are other things that men shouldn’t say or do in interest of keeping the peace in the delivery room.

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?

When I was pregnant with each of my two children, I remember being really confused about whether to bank my baby's cord blood or not. Nowadays, it seems women have another decision to make about their baby's placenta, as well: whether or not to eat it.

Apparently there's a booming business to be made in prepping newborn babies' afterbirth for their mothers' consumption. Sure, some women prefer the placenta cooked up and eaten according to gourmet recipes. Others like to have it turned into dried jerky. Still others swear by placenta smoothies. But increasingly, it seems, moms are availing themselves of a growing number of encapsulation services, which steam, slice, dehydrate, and grind the placenta into a powder, and then turn it into capsules for the mom (or dad, or anyone, I guess) to pop. "My customers don’t have to handle it or smell or taste it at all," one midwife who makes placenta capsules boasted to the Daily Mail.

Why would anyone do this, you ask?

Okay, so for the past few days, I've been getting educated by Alice and Eden on the end of the third trimester and getting labor started naturally via CafeMom Studio's Mom-Ed: Childbirth videos. It's been super helpful, super interesting stuff, but I've gotta say -- today's video takes the cake. The ladies talk about what happens once labor starts. And it's so not what I thought. Check out the video, then let's discuss.