Calculators, Timers, and Tests

1. Contraction Master: Scroll down to the pink box to use the online free timer. You can print out results, which is convenient if you want to time your trip to the hospital or if you are planning an at-home delivery.
2. Contractions Timer: This is a free web application written in javascript that can help you and your birth partner keep track of contractions. Once again, you need to have access to an Internet connection to use this tool
3. Live Pregnancy Test: This online tool can provide you with a probability of whether or not you are pregnant, based upon your last period, type of birth control and more. Other tools include calculators for due dates and ovulation as well as pregnancy tips.
4. Pregnancy Due Date: MedHelp’s free Pregnancy Calendar helps women keep track of everything from baby kicks to pregnancy weight gain. Due dates are based upon Naegele’s rule, which is named after Franz Karl Naegele (1778–1851), the German obstetrician who devised the formula.
5. Pregnancy Calculator: This tool estimates your baby’s due date, ovulation date, end of trimesters and number of weeks along you are on a specified date. This pregnancy calculator only provides estimates of the various dates. The due date normally varies by a couple of weeks and the ovulation date depends on the regularity of your menstrual cycle.
6. Pregnancy Ticker: The pregnancy ticker is designed to count your elapsed weeks and days of pregnancy. It will also display the number of days left to your due date or estimated delivery date. This ticker includes many designs that you can use to make it more personal and uniquely yours for your entire pregnancy.
7. Pregnancy Weight Gain Calculator: An average, healthy woman usually gain between 25 to 35 pounds during her pregnancy. Monitor your weight during pregnancy to stay within healthy limits. Insert your weight before pregnancy and the week of your pregnancy to determine a safe level of weight gain.
8. Pregnancy Weight Gain Calculator Chart: If the tool listed above isn’t enough for you, then use this chart so you can look ahead week-by-week for your entire pregnancy. Enter pre-pregnancy weight, height, expecting twin, or teen mother. It will calculate your weight-gain on weekly basis.
9. Weekly Pregnancy Calculator: How many weeks pregnant are you? Enter the date of the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP) and PregnancyToday can calculate a week-by-week timeline for you with this java-enabled tool. Most healthcare practitioners calculate the age of your pregnancy by the number of weeks since your last period (menstrual age). If you want to know the gestational age of your fetus, simply enter the date of conception (or, as an estimate, 14 days before your period was due).

Calendars and Charts

10. 3D Pregnancy App: Track your pregnancy week by week using this pregnancy calendar. Take a look at how your baby develops over time with 3D images.
11. Charting Your Way to Conception: Enjoy this free interactive ovulation chart, where you can pinpoint your fertile days., with a comprehensive chart analysis and an advanced ovulation detector. You also receive a fully-featured ovulation calendar with your cycles “at a glance.” Take their free online course, too.
12. Chinese Pregnancy Calendar 1.0: Download this calendar from cNet to determine your baby’s gender based upon date of birth and date of conception. The logic of this calendar helps you to plan your pregnancy based on your preference to have a boy or a girl. This is a lunisolar calendar which is based on the rotational properties of both the Sun as well as the Moon.
13. Fertility Chart: The Bump offers a chart that can help you track ovulation, basal body temperature, cervical mucus, and everything else fertility on this handy cycle-length chart.
14. Immunization and Pregnancy Chart [PDF]: Use this chart to stay healthy and on target with immunizations for mom and baby, provided by the Centers for Disease Control.
15. Over-the-counter medications during pregnancy: This chart lists over-the-counter medicines considered “low risk” for pregnant women when taken for the occasional mild illness. It also mentions a few that are not safe.
16. Pregnancy Calendar: Use this free tool to create a calendar and print it out to use during your pregnancy. Just Mommies also has other tools and articles on their site for you to enjoy.
17. Week by Week Pregnancy Calendar: This app can help you chart your pregnancy from day one to delivery.

Fitness Tools

18. Blood Pressure Trackers: The American Heart Association offers online blood pressure trackers to help determine if your blood pressure is staying on an even keel.
19. BodyDæmon: Use this site’s online fitness journal to track your fitness during pregnancy. You get goals, food portions, reports and coaching.
20. Fit Pregnancy: This site offers tools, Web apps, suggestions, articles, diets and fashion sense for pregnant women — including all the news about celebrity pregnancies.
21. Fitness Tools: This site is filled with Web apps that can keep you healthy before, during and after your pregnancy.
22. Graffed: Keep track of how your body is changing during and after pregnancy with this free Web tool. Graffed lets you measure your chest, waist, hips, weight and BMI, giving you a real picture of your transformation by modeling it on a human figure. Graffed lets you track your body measurements on a body shape for free.
23. Health & Pregnancy: WebMD offers a complete checklist of things to do, tools, diets and more for a healthy baby and a fit mom.
24. iStats: Use the tools on this site to review your workouts, track your progress toward meeting your goals, and enter in reps, weight, time and more.
25. SparkPeople: You may not want to lose weight while pregnant, but this site contains great tools to make sure you are eating right and in the correct portions.

1. Birthing Beautiful Ideas: Kristen Oganowski is a mother, doula, graduate student, feminist, and writer. Her blog covers anything from pregnancy to birth, to her children and breastfeeding. She offers funny anecdotes about her family, discusses politics, and talks about her work as a doula. You can also follow her Twitter account at @BirthingKristen.



2. Pregnant Chicken: Amy Morrison is the mother of two boys and a freelance art director/graphic designer from Toronto. Her hilarious blog covers anything you can think of, from pregnancy to birth to amusement parks and even nail polish. She offers posts about different foods, natural remedies, and children’s accessories. Check out her Twitter account, @pregnantchicken, where she “pecks away at the myths of pregnancy.”
3. My OB said WHAT?!?: This site began as a way to archive various comments made to different women going through the birthing process by doctors, midwives, doulas, lactation consultants, and educators. They accept submissions, so you can share your stories with others, and even comment on what other women post about. Follow @MyOBsaidWHAT to read all the crazy stories women share.
4. Cool Mom Picks: This blog is written by a few different moms who aim to track down cool stuff and picks for moms, and they understand those working within a budget. They also take suggestions if their readers want to suggest different ideas or companies. Their Twitter account, @coolmompicks, provides quick links to all their favorite picks.
5. Being Pregnant: This site offers a wealth of information, from pregnancy to caring for your baby, toddler, child, and beyond. There are also great resources for mom and dads, and a variety of information about different food and products. Check out Babble.com’s Twitter account, @BabbleEditors, to get the latest news for parents.
6. Mooshinindy: Casey Mullins is a mother living in Indianapolis, who keeps a blog as a way to keep her family updated on their lives. She writes about being a mother, pregnancy, infertility, photography, and even depression. Follow @mooshinindy for her latest Twitter updates.



7. FitPregnancy: On FitPregnancy.com, they offer a section called “Ask the Labor Nurse” where they feature various articles on getting pregnant, pregnancy, nutrition and workouts, labor & delivery, motherhood, and great online tools for parents. Their Twitter updates at @fitpregnancy offer even more news and information for pregnant women and new moms.
8. Digital Mom Blog: This blog is where geek meets parents meets tech meets being a mom. On this site, you can find information about parenting, read the latest tech news, and find tons of great craft ideas. This blog is written by Molly Thornberg, who is a mother of four and contributes to numerous other websites. Follow her on Twitter at @digitalmomblog.
9. A Little Pregnant: This blog is written by Julie, and she started it as a personal journey during her first IVF cycle. Before conceiving her son after four rounds of IVF, she and her husband experienced an ectopic pregnancy, a miscarriage, and a complicated pregrnancy. Her blog talks about her experiences and what she went through while trying to get pregnant. You can also follower her Twitter account at @alittlepregnant.
10. Mom in Rome: This blog is written by a 38-year-old architect who lives in Rome with her husband and two dogs. She started her blog when she was pregnant with their daughter, and she wrote about her life during her pregnancy. Now she discusses pregnancy vs motherhood and all the in-betweens. You can follow her on Twitter at @mominrome to read her latest updates on balancing her job, her baby, and her hectic life.

For years, two-dimensional ultrasound images were the norm, showing black and white images. Now, though, technology has advanced to a point where 3D and 4D ultrasounds can be produced, instead of just relying on 2D ultrasounds. The technology is still relatively young, though, and 4D and 3D ultrasounds are often considered elective, meaning that few health insurance companies will pay for them, although some are willing in cases of high risk pregnancy.

There are differences between 3D and 4D ultrasounds. As you might imagine, a 4D ultrasound is more technologically advanced. There are differences in the way the two techniques are used medically, as well as for documentation purposes by expectant parents.

3D Ultrasound

A 2D ultrasound appears flat, and in black and white. It looks very like a standard photograph of what is going on with the fetus inside the mother’s body. A 3D image, though, adds another layer that makes it appear life like. The images include depth and additional color, offering access to a more lifelike appearance.

3D ultrasound images are made when the sound waves used to help construct the images are sent at different angles. With 2D ultrasound scanning, the sound waves are often reflected back in one direction. The 3D image is created by taking the results of the ultrasound scanning from different angles and compiling them, with the help of special computer software, to create an image that is more life like, and that includes depth.

These types of images offer a greater chance for identification of surface problems. For instance, the greater detail and depth offered by a 3D ultrasound can help identify some physical problems, such as a cleft lip, sooner and with more accuracy. A 3D image can often cost between $125 and $150 per session, depending on where you are.

4D Ultrasound

Even more advanced than a 3D ultrasound is the 4D ultrasound. The biggest difference is that a 4D ultrasound adds the element of movement. The sound waves are used to capture the movement and positioning happening inside the uterus. As a result, a 4D ultrasound appears as a video in many cases.

For the most part, while it can sometimes be possible to convince an insurance company to pay for a 3D ultrasound in cases of high risk pregnancy, or health worries, it is difficult to justify the use of 4D ultrasound images medically. However, they do offer enhanced diagnostic ability. A 4D ultrasound can help show some internal issues, such as with the heart and vascular system, or with the skeletal system, since they do include movement.

Many parents like to have the ultrasound videos, since they are interesting and can show the life moving inside them. However, these can get quite pricey, costing anywhere between $165 and $225 (or more) per session. There are companies that specialize in 4D ultrasounds, and will set the ultrasound to music, at your request.

Other Uses for 4D and 3D Ultrasound Pictures

While we think of ultrasounds as something that is primarily used for pregnancy, the truth is that ultrasounds can be used for other purposes as well. In mammograms, ultrasound images can be used to help measure breast tissue. On top of this, some operating rooms feature 4D ultrasound equipment that can help surgeons perform their duties more effectively. The live action feature, showing movement, can be a good guide for those who want to know what is happening inside the body. 3D and 4D ultrasound can also be used to determine the effectiveness of regional anesthesia, and can be very helpful during out patient procedures that involve peripheral nerve blocks for different types of out patient surgery.

Risks of 4D and 3D Ultrasounds

It is important to note that 3D ultrasounds used for medical purposes have the same waves and intensity as those used in 2D ultrasounds. There is speculation that risk to fetal development from exposure to the ultrasound waves might be possible, but these are generally low, especially when used in medical settings.

Some equipment used to make 4D and higher quality 3D ultrasound pictures might actually use higher intensity ultrasound waves. While many agree that these energy waves are unlikely to cause damage, recommendations are that exposure to these energy waves by the developing baby be limited. Both the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine and the Food and Drug Administration have issued opinions that non-medical use of ultrasounds for records, or for entertainment, are a misuse of medical equipment. With the lack of reliable data regarding the safety of these devices, many prefer to be safe. However, there are still many centers that specialize in offering these products to excited parents.

Bottom line: Ultrasounds can be very useful in a number of ways. They allow a view of the baby, which can provide information about the gender, as well as help health care providers identify possible problems. Additionally, ultrasound can help in non-pregnancy medical diagnostics. Advanced techniques of 3D and 4D ultrasound can provide better, more realistic pictures that can help health care providers get a clearer picture of possible problems, during pregnancy, surgery or in other situations.

Whether you choose to get a 3D or 4D ultrasound depends on your assessment of the risk, and whether you are willing to pay out of pocket for the images.

The list below is categorized, and each link leads directly to the video at YouTube, where you can lean back, watch, enjoy and learn. All videos were chosen with an eye toward family viewing with older children and toward a more scientific rather than religious perspective. The videos below are listed in logical order, rather than in alphabetical order within consecutive categories.

Conception

1. How to make a baby? A film produced by the Malpani Infertility Clinic that show the scientific process behind conception.
2. Understanding Endometriosis: A common female health problem, endometriosis, can lead to infertility.
3. Conception: This BBC mini-documentary shows the moment of conception inside the womb.
4. Fetal Development: This video shows various infants in equally various stages of development, including ultrasound.
5. From Conception to Birth: This short video is entitled, “In the Womb,” and shows the growth of an infant in the womb from conception to time for birth through actual images.
6. How the Body Works: From Conception to Birth: This short film illustrates the growth of a fetus to a child about to be born.
7. Baby Making Myths: The Truth About Sex Selection: Learn the answers to questions about sex selection from a fertility doctor.
8. Gender Selection and Sex (Pregnancy Health Guru): Another video that states the choice of gender during conception is, basically, a myth.

Ultrasounds

9. How to Get an Ultrasound for Pregnancy: Dr. Steve Arkin explains ultrasound for pregnancy in this video.
10. 4D Sonograms: This video explains both 3D and 4D sonograms during pregnancy.
11. Early Pregnancy Scan: Ultrasound Dimensions in Dublin Ireland offers these images of first trimester development.
12. Baby at 13 weeks from conception: This ultrasound shows a fetus at age 13 weeks from a side view.
13. Baby Fransen ultrasound at 16 weeks since conception: This couple learned that they were having a son, and this ultrasound shows his progress at 16 weeks.
14. Our wonderful baby in 22nd week of pregnancy ultrasound: This ultrasound shows a fetus at the 22nd week of development.
15. Baby Boy 4D Sonogram: This sonogram shows the clarity of a 4D sonogram at 28 weeks during gestation.
16. Watch the Baby Grow! Ultrasounds Week by Week During Pregnancy: A series of images with subtitles that show the age of the embryo/fetus in development.

Pregnancy Series

The following videos are contained in a series created by Health Guru. They are short, simple to understand, yet comprehensive.

17. Pregnancy: Weeks 1-4, Month 1: If you have a positive pregnancy test, this is what has been happening in the woman’s body during the first weeks.
18. Pregnancy: Weeks 5-8, Month 2: This video shows what to expect during the second month of a pregnancy.
19. Pregnancy: Weeks 9-12, Month 3: The embryo transitions to fetus during this month, displaying sex and movements.
20. Pregnancy: Weeks 13-16, Month 4: During this month, the baby is about the size of a large orange. See what else happens during these four weeks of development.
21. Pregnancy: Weeks 17-20, Month 5: This is the halfway point in a normal pregnancy, and the fetus is now the size of a small cantaloupe.
22. Pregnancy: Weeks 21-24, Month 6: Yes, a mother’s shoe size can increase during this month even though the baby now is only one pound in size.
23. Pregnancy: Weeks 25-28, Month 7: Now’s the time to start talking to your stomach (but only if you’re pregnant). The baby may be able to hear and recognize your voice.
24. Pregnancy: Weeks 29-32, Month 8: This month represents the most physical changes for the mother with a possible return of morning sickness and an introduction to heartburn, incontinence and “practice contractions.”
25. Pregnancy: Weeks 33-36, Month 9: These are the final weeks of pregnancy. The baby is now about six pounds and about 20 inches in length.

Pregnancy and Post Pregnancy Issues

26. 9 Months of Pregnancy + 10 Weeks Postpartum Time Lapse: After watching the series above, this video can show more evidence of the physical changes a woman goes through during pregnancy.
27. Amniocentesis: Amniotic Fluid Test in Pregnancy: Learn more about this procedure to test the amniotic fluid during the second trimester.
28. Chromosone Issues — Pregnancy: Burton Rochelson MD, Chief of Maternal Fetal Medicine and Obstectrics at NS/LIJ Healthcare System, talks about this issue.
29. Ectopic Pregnancy signs & symptoms: Learn the signs and symptoms for this physical issue.
30. Ectopic Pregnancy Treatment: Animated video that show the remedy for an ectopic pregnancy.
31. Sex during pregnancy — What’s his problem? Helpful hints and tips to help women understand why he may have some issues with sex during pregnancy and what women can do about it.
32. Teen Mom Talks Pregnancy: Amanda Ireland, a Gloucester, Mass. teen mother urges her peers against pregnancy and psychologist Lisa Boesky talks about the social problems associated with teen pregnancy.
33. Recurrent Pregnancy Loss — Miscarriage: Dr. Mark Perloe, Medical Director at Georgia Reproductive Specialists in Atlanta explores this problem.
34. Postpartum Depression — What You Need to Know: Gwyneth Paltrow, Brooke Shields, Courtney Cox and more have experienced postpartum Depression. Learn more.

Birth

35. Your Pre-Labor Checklist: Be prepared for the big delivery day with the advice from this video.
36. 3D Medical Animation: Birth of Baby (Vaginal Childbirth): Nucleus Medical Art presents a 3D medical animation of a baby’s birth shows a time lapse view of labor and delivery during normal vaginal birth.
37. Baby caesarean birth C section: This video shows an actual cesarean section birth and how the baby is treated upon delivery.
38. Cesarean Birth (C-section) Delivery & Birth: This 3D animation shows the common indications for a cesarean delivery, including dystocia, placenta previa, fetal distress and multiple births.
39. Childbirth Stations of Presentation: Nucleus Medical Art creates another video, this time showing a time-lapse 3D medical animation of the stations of presentation during labor and childbirth.
40. Epidural & Spinal Anesthesia: This video explains the epidural, a procedure often performed during childbirth.
41. How the Body Works: Childbirth: This animation shows the birth of a child through normal vaginal delivery.
42. Inducing Labor: This short video explains labor unduction succinctly.

Hospital Labor and Delivery

This series of amateur videos shows interesting aspects to hospital delivery, including epidural and various medical issues.

43. Labor & Delivery: The Labor: At home, ready to leave for the hospital and the onset of labor at the hospital.
44. Labor & Delivery: The Delivery: The actual delivery of this couple’s baby daughter and the baby’s first exposure to hospital treatments.
45. Labor & Delivery: The First Hours: Part three shows the family and parents reacting to the birth of the baby.

Home and Water Births

46. Danielle’s Twin Homebirth: Amelia Faith and Annalise Hope were born on Labor Day, 2008, by water method at home with husband and midwife helping.
47. Homebirth: A non-graphic video of a home birth starting with water and ending outside the water with the help of two midwives.
48. Home birth/ Water birth of Judah Darwin: Some film, some images in a video presented to the Virginia Birth Matters video contest.
49. Olive’s homebirth/waterbirth: A brief pregnancy progression and the birth of a second child at home in a waterbirth process with a midwife.
50. Our Home Births: Three births at home, the second a water birth and the third with surprise twins.

1. Angelina Jolie: Everything having to do with this star is followed obsessively. Her adoptions of children from third-world countries were followed with interest, and when Jolie and her partner, Brad Pitt, announced they were having a baby in January 2006, the tabloids, entertainment magazines and everyone else went wild. A sonogram claiming that it showed Jolie’s baby was listed on eBay, and quickly removed. Shiloh Nouvel was born in May of 2006. In July 2008, Jolie gave birth to twins, Knox Léon and Vivienne Marcheline. That pregnancy was also followed obsessively in the tabloids. With three adopted children, and three biological children, there is little surprise that the baby-hungry actress is once again the subject of more pregnancy rumors. Even while tabloids report that the relationship with Pitt is on the rocks, speculation continues that Jolie is pregnant — or trying to become so.
2. Katie Holmes: The world watched in wonder as Katie Holmes began a relationship with Tom Cruise. She had grown up watching him in movies, and was now living every young girl’s fantasy: to marry her teen idol. Rumors that Holmes was pregnant surfaced soon after she met Tom Cruise, and were soon confirmed. People couldn’t get enough of the pregnancy news, even though both Holmes and Cruise tried to avoid the press and keep things as private as possible. Indeed, when Suri was born in April 2006, it was months until pictures of Suri were published in the September issue of Vanity Fair. As soon as 2007, the rumors of another pregnancy started, but even there are constant rumors of a second child on the way, none of them have been substantiated as yet.
3. Britney Spears: When Britney Spears became pregnant with her first child, the world took notice. Spears had been making headlines due to her marriage to dancer Kevin Federline, whom she wed after he left his girlfriend for Spears. The press followed every move during the pregnancy, especially since rumors of a rocky relationship between Spears and Federline were swirling. However, Sean Preston was born in September of 2005, and Spears was pregnant a couple of months later. Indeed, Spears’ second pregnancy was followed as voraciously as the first was, and the birth of Jayden James happened just before Sean’s first birthday in 2006. Two months later, Spears filed for divorce against Federline, in what became a media circus. Once again, pregnancy rumors are surrounding Britney Spears, but she is denying them.
4. Sarah Jessica Parker: The Sex and the City star was married to Matthew Broderick for five years before they had their son James Wilke. Women were very interested in Parker’s pregnancy and followed it obsessively. On screen, the makers of Sex and the City employed a number of tricks, since they didn’t want her character, Carrie Bradshaw, to have a baby. That season of Sex and the City was cut short to accommodate Parker’s needs. Instead of getting pregnant again herself, Parker decided on a surrogate for her next pregnancy. She and Broderick decided to hire a surrogate mother for their next child. In April of 2009, Parker’s surrogate delivered twin girls, who now live in New York City with the rest of the family.
5. Julia Roberts: Linked romantically to a number of famous men, Julia Roberts married cameraman Danny Moder in 2002, after the Moder’s divorce from his wife was finalized. Roberts had long expressed a desire to settle down and have children, but she went a long time without doing so. When she was finally pregnant in 2004, the world couldn’t get enough. And, to make this high profile pregnancy even more high profile, it was revealed that she was having twins. After giving birth to twins in 2004, Roberts took a break from movies and concentrate on her twins, living quietly on her ranch in New Mexico. However, in 2007, she had her third child. Early in 2009, Roberts was seen leaving a hospital and once again pregnancy rumors swirled around the star, as well as speculation about her health in a pregnancy now that she is in her forties.
6. Nicole Richie: After battling her weight problems (as in not enough), Nicole Richie began putting on weight. That was enough to start the pregnancy rumor mill. Richie was made famous for her role on The Simple Life, in which she starred with Paris Hilton. The two had a falling-out, though, and Richie went her own way. Richie announced her pregnancy around the time she pleaded guilty for driving under the influence of drugs. The tabloids leaped on the story, obsessively following the pregnancy, and watching for signs that the skinny socialite was unhealthy. Her first child was born in January 2008. Soon after, pregnancy rumors began swirling again. Nicole Richie gave birth to another child in September 2009.

TV Character Pregnancies

Sometimes when TV stars get pregnant, the condition is written into the script. This means that celebrity pregnancies are followed on a number of levels. Here are some of the TV character pregnancies that generated some interest for the public.

7. Dana Scully: The hit television show, The X-Files, featured a pregnancy for FBI agent Dana Scully. Scully, played by Gillian Anderson, was told she would never have a baby. However, after becoming romantically involved with her partner Fox Mulder (something that generated interest itself), and after a series of strange events, it was revealed that Scully was expecting. Anderson had been pregnant before, but the show’s producers and writers apparently felt it was not time for Scully to have a baby. In the end, Scully’s baby is revealed to have special powers. He is given up for adoption. However, it was never revealed on the show who the father was, nor how Scully became pregnant in the first place. In the latest move about The X-Files, Scully’s son is referred to, but there are no answers about what became of him.
8. Phoebe Buffay: When Lisa Kudrow, who played Phoebe Buffay on the extremely popular TV show, Friends, became pregnant during the fourth season, the producers and writers decided to create a pregnancy for her in the show. Instead of having her own babies, though, in the show Buffay acts as surrogate for her half brother. The world watched as she had triplets on behalf of someone else. This TV pregnancy raised the profile of surrogacy, and saw an interest in this method of conception and pregnancy.
9. Sydney Bristow: One of the more popular television shows was Alias, in which Jennifer Garner played secret agent Sydney Bristow. However, when Garner became pregnant during season five with Ben Affleck’s baby, the show took that into account and decided that her character should have a baby with Bristow’s lover, Vaughn. Bristow continues to go on missions, even though she is pregnant. She does end up being pulled off assignment at one point. The world watched with interest, on and off screen, as Garner’s (and Bristow’s) pregnancy unfolded. On the show, Bristow had her baby while trying to free herself from a kidnapper.
10. Lucille Ball: Back in the day when I Love Lucy was hugely popular, pregnancy was not considered “decent” for television. However, while Ball was pregnant with the child of her husband and co-star, the producers and writers decided to work it in. As the TV audience watched, Ball’s pregnancy progressed. However, to keep from totally offending the sensibilities of the audience, the word “pregnant” was never used.