This list is organized in alphabetical order within categories.

Search Engines

1. IFPMA Clinical Trials Portal: Developed in conjunction with information technology leader IBM, this was the first internet search engine constructed specifically to link to on-line information made available by the innovative pharmaceutical industry about clinical trials worldwide. This is a free and easy-to-use interface for patients and health professionals alike. The industry’s R&D pipeline contains hundreds of new medicines and vaccines being developed to address global disease threats, including cancer, heart disease, HIV/AIDS and malaria.
2. LegitScript: According to the site, this resource is a source of information for patients, Internet users, physicians, businesses and other third parties who need to know if an Internet pharmacy is acting in accordance with the law and accepted standards of ethics and safety. LegitScript is identified by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) as the only Internet pharmacy verification service that adheres to its standards. Currently, verification is offered as a free service to Internet pharmacies.
3. MediLexicon: MediLexicon has the world’s largest online database of pharmaceutical and medical abbreviations — over 230,000 and growing. MediLexicon contains searches, information, news and resources for medical, pharmaceutical and healthcare professionals. Search the drug databases for drug information including prescription drug information. Multiple drug searches available or use their Pharmaceutical Company Directory to find worldwide pharmaceutical companies.
4. Medtipster: Jeff Polter is responsible for the development of new content, products and services for Medtipster. He manages all pharmacy and retail chain relationships, business partnerships, and leads all of Medtipster’s business development efforts. You can find information here through a drug search and about various pharmaceutical concerns.
5. Omni Medical Search: This search engine offers search options, a reference desk, information about conditions and diseases and a local directory — all gathered from 25 databases, including authoritative medical search engines, image libraries and the latest health and medical news.
6. Pharmacy Pages: Whether you need to find you local corner drugstore or search the many online pharmacies in this database, the Pharmacy Pages provides directions to the nearest drugstore or the ability to send an email to your pharmacist for information on prescription drugs or over-the-counter medicine. For the quickest pharmacy search results try the Quick Search by entering your Zip Code. Pharmacy Pages is a free web directory sponsored by Pharmacy Choice, the premier web portal for the pharmacy industry.
7. PogoFrog: Studies have shown that physicians rarely find links to credible medical information on the first few pages of a keyword search when using the popular consumer search engines. In fact, they often must search through dozens of results pages before finding the credible medical information they need. PogoFrog provides a medical research engine for physicians who use the Internet regularly to research varied healthcare subjects.
8. RXCut Pharmacy Search Engine: Use this mashup of Google Maps and a database to find a pharmacy located near you. Enter the full search address or Zip Code or the first few letters of the medication name to complete your search options.

Directories

9. BioPharmaLink: Initially BioPharmaLink provided an easy tool to retrieve information about companies and institutions that contribute directly to the development, manufacturing, licensing and distribution of medicines and therapies for the prevention and treatment of human illness. The concept has been further developed into a network of biopharma professionals, who meet online through showrooms visited daily by a global community.
10. Pharmacy Checker: PharmacyChecker.com was founded by a medical doctor in 2003 to help consumers safely save money on medication. It independently checks the credentials of online pharmacies and lets you easily compare drug prices. Its online pharmacy verification program is the largest and most accepted — referenced by AARP Magazine, Smart Money, and Consumer Reports.
11. PharmWeb: Since its launch in 1994 PharmWeb has developed into the premier online community of pharmacy, pharmaceutical and healthcare-related professionals with over 40,000 self-registered users. This site also includes a library of archives from over 100 moderated discussion forums. Until recently, PharmWeb was operated with minimal resources and was maintained by Tony D’Emanuele, assisted by John Heaton and Anthony Howarth. PharmWeb has developed into a professionally managed Internet provider specializing in pharmaceutical- and health-related information.
12. RPhWorld: RPhWorld.com was created to organize and keep track of links of websites pharmacists may need to use in our daily practice. The purpose of this site is to enable pharmacists, as well as other healthcare professionals, to access free and reliable clinical resources on the internet from one easy to remember location.
13. RxList: RxList is an online medical resource dedicated to offering detailed and current pharmaceutical information on brand and generic drugs. Founded by pharmacists in 1995, RxList’s knowledgeable staff continuously reviews and updates the site with articles written by pharmacists and physicians and data provided by credible and reliable sources like the FDA and First Data Bank, Inc. to ensure the most accurate and beneficial information is provided. RxList is 0wned and 0perated by WebMD and part of the WebMD network.

Other Search Tools

14. MedHelp: Founded in 1994 out of a shared need for better medical information and support, MedHelp is the pioneer in online health communities. Today, MedHelp empowers over 12 million people each month to take control over their health and find answers to their medical questions.
15. MedicineNet: Since 1996, MedicineNet.com has had a highly accomplished, uniquely experienced team of qualified executives in the fields of medicine, healthcare, Internet technology, and business to bring you the most comprehensive, sought-after healthcare information anywhere. Nationally recognized, doctor-produced by a network of more than 70 U.S. board-certified physicians, MedicineNet.com is the trusted source for online health and medical information.
16. Pharmocracy: This is a Connected Market Space platform, and it was developed by E-Health online, a division of CMAEON. CMAEON is the parent company of a host of world-class subsidiaries and brands that apply technological and strategic expertise to assist clients in a broad variety of market sectors. Users can search for medications and purchase those meds from pharmacies listed on this database.
17. PubMed: PubMed comprises more than 20 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. The focus is on medicine, clinical trials and biotechnology. Sponsored by NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information), its mission is to develop new information technologies to aid in the understanding of fundamental molecular and genetic processes that control health and disease.
18. RXinsider: This portal is a marketing, networking and software development firm providing solutions to the healthcare sector with a focus on the pharmacy profession. Their mission is to develop and market profitable, industry-leading technologies that connect end-users to relevant resources that provide valuable advantages to our clients. They offer educational resources and a CE search engine.
19. The New England Journal of Medicine Advanced Search: The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) is dedicated to bringing physicians the best research and key information at the intersection of biomedical science and clinical practice, and to presenting the information in an understandable and clinically useful format. Use this advanced search to find information from over almost two centuries worth of publications. Through the NEJM archive, every article published in NEJM since 1812 is available and completely searchable online.
20. U.S. National Library of Medicine: The National Library of Medicine (NLM), on the campus of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, is the world’s largest medical library. The Library collects materials and provides information and research services in all areas of biomedicine and health care. As part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), This library offers databases for a variety of medical and pharmaceutical sites as well as access to all NLM databases.

General Medicine and Health

These sites offer a number of reliable and informative videos on a variety of topics related to health and medicine. Go here for news about your health, and helpful tips.

1. WebMD Health Video A-Z: Find reliable information on a number of topics related to health and medicine with these videos from a respected source.
2. CDC-TV: The Centers for Disease Control offer a number of helpful videos on health and medicine.
3. NIH VideoCasting and Podcasting: Get access to a number of great videos from the National Institutes of Health.
4. Video Index – MayoClinic.com: This respected medical institution offers a number of great videos, categorized to help you find the health information you are looking for.
5. Health Seminar Videos: Johns Hopkins Medicine provides a number of great seminars on different medical subjects.
6. Discovery Health Videos: Watch videos straight from Discovery Health. Interesting videos on a number of subjects.
7. MD Kiosk: You can videos certified by physicians. Learn about a number of topics, and find out more about your health.
8. Health and Medical Videos: EverydayHealth offers a wide selection of videos on health related topics.
9. Medpedia: This interactive medical encyclopedia includes videos on a number of topics, as well as articles.
10. VideoMD: Includes thousands of helpful information on health and medicine.
11. eMedTV: Health information and news, meant to help you learn. There are more than 100 health channels, as well as articles and other helpful resources.
12. Health Videos from Medical News Today: Get information about different issues related to health, and find out more about different topics.
13. HealthiNation: Watch videos on different subjects related to health and medicine.
14. Medical Videos: A number of medical videos. Some are rather graphic, so be careful about what you choose.

Nutrition

Learn about proper nutrition, and how it can help you improve your health. These sites have interesting and information videos to help you.

15. ScienceDaily: Nutrition Videos: Learn more about nutrition, food, and how what we eat affects our health.
16. American Dietetic Association: This site includes videos that can help you learn to eat better, and improve food safety.
17. Nutrition and Food Web Archive: Watch videos related to nutrition, and find out more about what it takes to remain healthy.
18. Health & Nutrition: Even though these videos are aimed at children, they are still rather informative, offering basic information.
19. Nutrition: These videos are from the NBC Digital Health Network and can offer some great information.
20. Nutrition Videos: Healthline offers some great videos on better nutrition and healthy eating.
21. Health & Nutrition: Howcast offers access to a number of different videos dealing with issues of nutrition and healthy eating.
22. Healthy Eating Videos & Disease Prevention Videos: A look at different aspects of healthy eating, as well as disease prevention, from Reader’s Digest.
23. ifood.tv: Get information on food, eating and more.
24. ABC News Nutrition Online Video: Different videos on a variety of nutrition subjects.

Fitness

Get more information on exercise. Many of these sites include how-to videos that can help you develop fitness routines and check that you are doing the exercise correctly.

25. Fitness Videos: Get access to a variety of fitness videos from 5min.com. A great resource.
26. ExerciseTV: Go here to get great videos that can help you get in shape — and stay in shape.
27. Video Channel – FITNESS: Great tips, insights and more on better health through fitness.
28. Physical Activity @ Work: Some helpful videos on exercises you can do while at the office.
29. PhyscialFitnet: Get exercise videos and browse workouts. A great way to shape up.
30. Workouts on Demand: A number of workouts that can help you increase your level of physical fitness.
31. Exercise Videos: Workouts, exercise and more from Men’s Fitness.
32. Fitness Videos: OVGuide offers a number of fitness videos that can help you with physical exercise, and to address other issues.
33. workoutz.com: This site is devoted to workout videos and exercise programs. Increase your health and physical fitness.
34. Exercise Database and Exercise Videos: Choose which muscle groups you want to exercise and watch videos about how to do it.
35. Sportskool: Watch sports videos, and get tips on how to perform different activities from world class athletes and coaches.

Specific Conditions

Learn about specific health conditions. This can include pregnancy, or a disease. These sites offer information, advice and help.

36. MedlinePlus: Videos of Surgical Procedures: Watch these interesting videos of surgical procedures.
37. BabyCenter: Find a number of videos about pregnancy and health, as well as infant health so that you can take good care of your newborn.
38. Pregnancy Videos: Pregnancy Today has a number of videos that can help you learn to have a healthier pregnancy.
39. Depression Videos: FamilyDoctor.org offers these helpful video resources on depression.
40. Depression Issues – Videos: A look at depression and anxiety.
41. Psych Central: You can watch videos on depression from Psych Central.
42. Asthma Videos: HealthCentral has some information and helpful videos about living with asthma.
43. The ADHD Information Library: ADHD videos and podcasts are meant for parents who have children with ADHD. Plenty of other information around the site to help.

Alternative, Complementary and Holistic Medicine

The following sites are concerned with health as it is practiced outside “regular” channels — or in addition to these channels. Find out how you can enhance your health, and improve your outcomes, by adding something a little “alternative.”

44. altMD: Offers a number of videos related to alternative medicine.
45. Alternative Medicine: Watch videos on alternative medicine on The Doctor’s Channel.
46. How Stuff Works: You can get some insight into natural medicine and alternative medicine with these videos.
47. Alternative Medicine Videos: Helpful videos from NaturalNews.tv.
48. AcupunctureTube.com: Learn more about acupuncture and other areas of alternative medicine.
49. Homeopathy Medicine Videos: Watch different videos about homeopathy, learning pros and cons.
50. Create Your Health: This site includes complementary medicine videos and episodes.

General Forums and Message Boards for Ultrasound Technicians

If you are looking for a place to generally interact, or to get answers to general questions, these forums and message boards can be quite helpful. Includes radiology technician and related message boards.

1. Ultrasound Forum & Archives: Post thoughts and questions related to ultrasound technology. This forum is meant for medical professionals involved with ultrasounds.
2. The Ultrasound Forum: This site helps you keep up with others in the field, and provides a way for you interact on a forum.
3. Ultrasound Forum: Read about different questions related to ultrasounds, and show your expertise. A great place to learn more about the process.
4. Echocardiography: This Yahoo group is designed for ultrasound physicians, sonographers interested particularly in the heart.
5. Canadian Society of Echocardiography: A place for those interesting in cardiovascular ultrasound to hang out and ask questions.
6. Talking Radiology: A great forum from Advance providing information on a variety of related topics, from ultrasound and sonography to other types of imaging.
7. radRounds Discussion Forum: Join the discussion at this great forum. Answer questions, and share your experiences.
8. Radiolopolis: Professionals share information about radiology topics and other related subjects. Some great communities and forums.
9. Aunt Minnie Forums: Helpful information, interactions and more related to different technician jobs.
10. Radiology (Diagnostic): Expert forum from MedHelp aimed at radiology subjects. If you know something of the subject, you can share your knowledge. You you can ask a question and improve your knowledge.
11. The Radiographers’ Alliance: Discuss radiography issues with others when you participate in this discussion forum.
12. Radiology Forums: Helps you connect with others involved in imaging, even though it is not exactly the same as ultrasound.
13. Radiography Forum: Information, topics and more related to radiography.

Ultrasound Technician Students

You can visit these message boards and forums to interact with other ultrasound technician students, as well as other radiology students, and find support as a student.

14. Radiology: This sub-forum at the Student Doctor Network is quite helpful and informative for students who are interested in getting straightforward information.
15. Dave’s Radiology Student’s Page: Find resources, ask questions, and more on this great page.
16. Radiography Students: Enjoy chat with other students in the radiological sciences.
17. Medical School Forum: Offers threads and sub forums on a variety of topics related to medicine, including providing information for ultrasound technician students.
18. Careers in Medicine: This forum at College Confidential is meant to help students interested in medical careers. This includes those interested in medical technician and ultrasound technician jobs.
19. Tiromed.com: Meant to help doctors meet up with medical students.
20. The Student Room: A great place to go to meet interesting people with all sorts of interests. You can find posts from ultrasound technician students, or those interested in health fields and radiography, as well.

Ultrasound Technician Jobs

Use these message boards and forums to find jobs related to your chosen medical technician field. Find helpful hints on how to apply, and see what jobs are available.

21. Ultrasound Technician Jobs Forum: Indeed.com offers a forum designed to help you find an ultrasound technician job.
22. Ultrasound Technologist Jobs: This forum focuses specifically on different types of jobs you can get as an ultrasound technologist. Great research for the job hunter.
23. Ultrasound Technologist Jobs at Monster: Offers insight into different jobs available to someone with ultrasound knowledge.
24. Ultrasound jobs in USA: This search result from MedicalTechnicialJobs.org provides you with a number of opportunities for work as a medical technician and as an ultrasound technician.
25. Medical Technician Jobs: These jobs provide you with a number of opportunities to look for work as a medical technician. Includes radiology jobs and ultrasound jobs.
26. Medical Technician Jobs at CareerBuilder: Some great lab jobs, as well as other jobs that are related to medical technology.
27. Career Center at the American College of Radiology: Create an account and look for jobs. Ask questions and even participate in job fairs.
28. Health Care Jobs at Simply Hired: You can find a number of health care jobs at this board. Includes some ultrasound and other radiology jobs.
29. Chat Medical: You find information about healthcare career jobs and training, including jobs related to ultrasound technician.

General Medical and Health Boards and Forums

There are also forums and message boards that address a broad ranges of topics related to medical technicians, and health issues, including ultrasound related subjects. Get access to a wide range of health topics.

30. HealthBoards Healthcare Professionals Message Boards: Read on a variety of topic related to health and medicine. Also includes information related to ultrasounds, and questions about the career.
31. Medical Technologists’ Journal: Different subjects relating to med tech. Includes some information that is helpful to ultrasound technicians.
32. Pregnancy Forum: This forum from ehealth offers information about pregnancy, and addresses issues related to ultrasound as well, including 3D ultrasounds.
33. eMediNews Health Professional Forum: This general medical discussion forum includes information on different medical fields, and addresses ultrasound careers as well.
34. Medical Professionals Forum: A place where you can connect with others in the medical profession, and learn from them. Share your own experiences as well.
35. Healthcare & Medical Professionals Forum: This Linkedin group is meant to help those working in health care. As an ultrasound technician, this can be a valuable resource.
36. CureZone Forums: Find discussions on a number of different topics related to health and medicine, including questions and answers about ultrasounds.
37. HealingWell.com Forum: Find a number of topics on different subjects related to medicine health.
38. WebMD Community: Find information on health, developments in medicine, and even information about ultrasounds in some cases.
39. MomMD: Community aimed at women in medicine. While there is a focus on physicians, there are also threads related to other medical careers.
40. Health and Human Biology at Live Science: Interesting topics of discussion related to health. This can be interesting for any ultrasound technician or any other health care worker.

Pregnancy and Birth

Many first-time parents are concerned about giving their baby the best start. This means a healthy pregnancy. If you are interested in learning more about a healthy pregnancy, as well as your birth options, these blogs can help you.

1. Ob/Gyn Kenobi: Learn more about pregnancy, health and childbirth from this doctor.
2. At Your Cervix: This labor and delivery nurse offers helpful information on childbirth.
3. Navelgazing Midwife: This midwife offers insights into natural childbirth and healthy pregnancy.
4. Fit Pregnancy: Learn more about having a health pregnancy, and staying fit throughout.
5. What to Expect: Great blogs and insights that can help you understand pregnancy and have a healthy pregnancy.
6. Pregnancy: Learn more about pregnancy, what to expect, and how to be healthy throughout.
7. Stand and Deliver: Learn more about natural childbirth, your options and being a parent.
8. Pregnancy Advice: This Families.com offers helpful information on a successful pregnancy.
9. Babyfruit: This blog about pregnancy, miscarriage and pregnancy is inspiring and helpful.
10. The Postpartum Stress Center: Offers great insights and support for those struggling with postpartum stress and depression.

Child Health and Development

Learn more about child health and wellness. These blogs can help you learn how to care for your little one at birth, and as he or she grows. Keep up with the information you need to ensure that your child has the best possible start. Includes some blogs that focus on parenting children with special needs and development issues.

11. Thrive: This is the blog from Children’s Hospital Boston on pediatric health.
12. Pediatrics Blog: Get information related to your child’s health.
13. Dr. Nabong’s Pediatric Blog: A look at news, information and tips related to keeping your child healthy.
14. Joy’s Autism Blog: Learn more about raising an autistic child.
15. Adventures in Autism: Another blog offering insight into life with autism.
16. Parenting Teens: Get solid information and help on parenting teens and keeping them healthy in body and mind.
17. Infant, Child, and Teen Health: This Healia blog offers great information on raising healthy children.
18. Ann’s Learning Disabilities Blog: A great resource for parents whose child has learning disabilities.
19. Special Needs Blog: Read more about parenting children with special needs.
20. Freedom to Learn: An interesting blog from Psychology Today about learning — especially with ADHD.

Childhood Issues and Trends

Are you concerned about how to parent children and teenagers in an increasingly confusing and complex world? These parenting blogs offer insight and information on the latest issues affecting children and parents, as well as trends in parenting. Includes great blogs on green parenting.

21. Mom Logic: A great place to go to learn more about trends facing children and parents.
22. Momsational!: News, tips and more about the issues that affect children and parents.
23. Connect with Your Teens: Learn about what is going on with teenagers, and how to keep in touch with what’s important to them.
24. The Parenting Coach: Learn more about parenting, navigating tricky issues faced by children and teens, and more.
25. ParentDish: News, trends and tips on better parenting, with reference to what your child is interested in.
26. Radical Parenting: This is an interesting site that includes parenting advice — from kids.
27. The Green Mom Review: A blog that can help you learn more about products that can help you with greener parenting.
28. Green and Natural Parenting Blog: A look at green parenting and tips for incorporating the principles in your life.
29. Mindful Momma: Learn more about parenting in a more sustainable way.
30. Suburban Turmoil: Issues related to raising children and the trends that they are interested in.
31. Parenting Blog: Help dealing with issues that come with raising children.

Being a Parent

Being a parent can be tough. The following blogs can help you connect with other parents, and learn what to expect. You might be overwhelmed by your new role as a parent, but these blogs on parenting and being a parent can help you cope — and find your footing.

32. The Busy Dad Blog: Get information on being a dad.
33. Dooce.com: Keeps you up to date on being a mom, and how you can cope with the challenges of parenthood.
34. GeekDad: This father blogs about being a geek and a dad.
35. MomGrind: This mom blogs about social issues, health, wellness and other things related to being a woman.
36. RebelDad: Learn more about parenting as a dad from this insightful and thoughtful father.
37. Jobs and Moms: Resources for moms who are trying to balance work outside the home and parenting.
38. Daddy Types: Find out more about coping with life as a parent.
39. Mama-Om: Looking for peace while you parent.
40. The New Dad Blog: Insight advice and help on being a new daddy.
41. Adventures in Parenting: Advice and more about coping with the challenges of parenting.
42. The Bean Blog: Issues in parenting, tips and helpful advice.
43. Haluski: Dealing with being a parent.
44. MotherThoughts: Great insight into coping with the challenges of motherhood.

Single Parents

Single parents face their own special challenges and struggles. These great blogs can help you find your way as a single parent. Even if you aren’t a single parent yet, these blogs offer great insights that any first-time parent would be glad to have.

45. Single Parents Blog: Tips and issues related to single parenting.
46. Jennifer’s Single Parents Blog: Helpful information on handling parenting as a single.
47. Dad’s House: A looking at single parenting from a dad perspective.
48. Ms. Single Mama: Life as a single mom, parenting tips and an interesting and genuine perspective.
49. Single Parents Unite: A blog meant to help single parents find resources.
50. Single Mom Seeking: A look at family life, dating and parenting.

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.

Each link leads to the download page, either at Google Chrome or at the developers’ sites. You may discover a few extensions that will add to your browsing safety and pleasure as well, especially when you can find tools that help you to avoid risky sites and to watch international television. For more extensions, visit the Google Chrome Extensions Web site.

Parental Extensions

1. Adblock Lite is a fast, easy way to block ads while browsing. It is the only extension that does not need to be configured before surfing, and it hides advertisements before they appear on the page. Needs daily updates, however.
2. BitDefender QuickScan takes full advantage of the “in-the-cloud” scanning service and is capable to detect active malware in less than a minute, taking just a fraction of the system resources needed by a regular virus scan.
3. CEOP’s internet safety advice is a tool produced by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre. Download their extension and keep CEOP specialists at your fingertip whenever and wherever you use the internet.
4. Click&Clean deletes browsing history, typed URLs, Flash cookies, all traces of your online activity to protect your privacy.
5. F Off! is a profanity filter for Google Chrome that cleans your Internet of swearing. It’s a great app for people who would like the power to choose what sort of language they consume on the Web, or for those who would like to make the web a cleaner place for their kids.
6. FlashBlock allows you to block all Flash features or to be selective with the embedded whitelist manager. Each Flash element is replaced with a placeholder that allows you to load only selected elements on a given page.
7. Ghostery allows you to protect your privacy by detecting trackers, Web bugs, pixels and beacons placed on Web pages by ad networks, behavioral data providers, web publishers, and other companies interested in your activity or your child’s activity.
8. LinkExtend provides a toolbar that allows parents to set safety browsing, to install a KidSafe alert and erase tool, page ranks and more. Great for parents as well as for kids.
9. PasswordFail Extension warns the user if the Web site being used stores passwords in plain text, a practice which is unnecessary and dangerous.
10. SiteAdvisor for Chrome is based upon McAfee SiteAdvisor and warns you about page ratings before you open the site.
11. WOT, or Web of Trust, is a safe browsing tool, which warns you about risky sites that cheat customers, deliver malware or send spam. Traffic-light rating symbols show which Web sites you can trust for safe surfing, shopping and searching on the Web.

Fun Extensions for Kids

12. Chrome TV is a free plug-in that enables users to watch online TV direct from the Chrome browser. With more than 3,000 TV channels from all over the world, this is best way to easily watch TV on your computer.
13. Cooliris transforms your browser into a full-screen 3D Wall for searching, viewing and sharing the Web. The Cooliris extension includes a plugin that requires access to your graphics card in order to render the high-performance 3D Wall. Cooliris also helps parents seem cool.
14. Flixster Movies extension lets you find out about new movies and watch trailers directly from your toolbar.
15. Justin.tv Channel Browser shows what is on Justin.tv without going to the site. Find live videos and search to find a live channel to watch streaming videos.
16. Kidstube Button allows Internet users to open KidsTube with a click of a button, and avoids any unnecessary browsing. KidsTube has a wide variety of age-appropriate videos.
17. One Manga Reader helps users to follow the updates of favorite mangas and beautify the One Manga Web site. Mangas are sorted in alphabetical order in the list. Mangas with new updates appear on top of the list.
18. TV Chrome is the TV Extension for Google Chrome that allows users to watch 2780 live television channels sorted by country and category directly from the Chrome Browser.

Learning Extensions

19. Basic Calculator is a simple and easy-to-use calculator that allows users to choose a favorite style and icons.
20. Chrome Dictionary Lite lets you translate words on any current page. Click the magnifier icon to turn on on particular page, then move your mouse to hover words to translate.
21. Diigo Web Highlighter and Bookmark highlights Web pages with multiple colors as you read online. Also allow tagging and sticky notes.
22. Fast Typer is a game and a learning tool as users see how many six-letter words they can type within one minute.
23. Google Dictionary helps define words with a double click. Once you double click on a work, a small pop-up bubble shows the complete definition of that word.
24. StayFocusd increases productivity by limiting the amount of time per day that users spend browsing time-wasting Web sites. Once your allotted time for the day has been used up, the sites you have blocked will be inaccessible for the rest of the day. Good way to teach kids how to stay focused and to restrict time spent on certain sites.
25. Wikipedia Companion — Mini Wiki Browser is a full-featured mini-browser and lookup for Wikipedia and is an essential tool for any Wikipedia user. It saves your recent wiki lookups, is multi-lingual and moves back and forward and more.

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.

Reproduction, Pregnancy and Sexuality Trends

One of the biggest issues out there is teen pregnancy. Another issue is abortion. Additionally, there is a lot of interest in teachings about premarital sex. While these abortion isn’t always related to teen pregnancy and pre-marital sex, it is still an interesting statistic.

1. Teen Pregnancy in America: This infographic from Medicine. Technology. Web. features a look at teen pregnancy in America, and correlates it to abstinence-only funding, providing an interesting look at the idea that maybe abstinence-only education is not the best route to take when trying to prevent teen pregnancy. Many of the states that accepted abstinence-only funding saw teen pregnancy rates higher than the national average. Of course, the infographic may not take into account changes since then, as the programs have progressed, and it doesn’t take into account recent arguments that abstinence-only education may be working.




2. Religious Attitudes and Sex: This relatively simple infographic looks at religious teaches on sex, including teen sex, pre-marital sex, abortion and birth control. It also looks at religious attitudes toward homosexual orientation. You can see a quick comparison of how different religious traditions view different aspects of reproduction and sexual identity and practices. It is interesting to compare the different attitudes, and it can provide you with a look at some of the reproductive traditions held by a large portion of the world. This infographic is found on Flickr, and uses information from ReligiousTolerance.org in its creation.
3. Abortion State-by-State: If you are interested in the rate of abortion, you can take a look at this infographic, from CatholicVoteAction.org, to get an idea of which states see more abortions, with relation to the national average. It divides these states into “red” and “blue”, dividing states according to political leanings (liberal or conservative, based on who won the states in in 2008. However, it is important to note that the states used to create the infographic actually come from 2006, before the last presidential election, so it may not exactly match up with attitudes. But it should be fairly close.
4. Homosexuality: How has homosexuality evolved? You can find out more about gay behavior, and where it might have come from, with help from this io9 infographic, based on information about evolutionary sexuality from New Scientist. Learn about how different sexual traits might have developed, and the purpose for some of them. You can also compare the development of homosexuality in other species to homosexuality in humans. Apparently, in some cases, a tendency toward gayness develops for very specific reasons. In other cases, reasons are a little less pronounced. A very interesting infographic for those who are interested in how our sexual preferences might have evolved.
5. Timeline of Abstinence-Only Education: Want to know how much has been spent on abstinence-only education in the U.S.? Here is an interesting infographic from Blogging Censorship that offers information on how federal funds have been used with regard to sex ed and abstinence-only education since 1981. Depending on where you stand, this is either good news or bad news.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) and Pornography

Learn a little bit more about STDs, and what you can expect from them, as well as facts about their spread. Also included are infographics on pornography.

6. STDs in America: Learn some basic stats about STDs in America. This includes information about STDs, as well as information on HIV/AIDS. Some of the information addresses STDs in high school, as well as STDs in the general population. This even includes “fun facts” about sexually transmitted diseases amongst porn stars and ways that you can contract sexually transmitted diseases. It’s a sometimes surprising look at STDs and their prevalence, and where you are likely to encounter them. Plus, this infographic will give you something to think about before you have unprotected sex.
7. HIV: Want to know which countries are making progress in combating AIDS? This World AIDS Day infographic on GOOD offers a look at how different countries are doing, showing which have reduced their HIV positive populations the most — and which are seeing a big increase. Estimates put the total number of people with HIV at 33 million right now, assuming reporting is accurate. You can learn more about HIV/AIDS and get a better idea of where we are at — and how much further we have to go in order to get the HIV/AIDS epidemic under control as a concerned global community.
8. Porn and the Economy: Learn about how things are going in the pornography industry, and what the industry expects going forward. Even though porn is huge, this infographic published on PotPotato looks the implications of an industry that is being upstaged by free content on the Web and other issues (like high paid porn stars). Can porn survive all the free content that is now available? And what is porn’s impact on the overall economy, anyway? You can learn by looking at this infographic, as well as see where the U.S. ranks in pornography use as compared to other countries in the world.
9. Porn by Numbers: This surprising infographic from Gunaxin Media offers a look at pornography trends in the U.S. From learning that “porn” and “sex” account for two of the top five searches for kids under the age of 18, to getting an idea of how much different countries spend on porn, to learning that Utah has the highest per capita consumption of porn, you can find out a number of interesting facts about how we use pornography as a society, in the United States of America and around the world.

Genetics and Reproductive Development

Find out more about genes, reproduction and cloning from the following infographics.

10. Cloning: Concerned about cloning? Many people are, with the word conjuring images of soul-less masses. This handy infographic can help you learn to distinguish between research cloning and reproductive cloning. So, while cloning is used in research, and for some procedures, actually using reproductive cloning on a widespread basis with humans is still a very long way into the future. However, research and therapeutic cloning could hold some keys to the curing of diseases.
11. Breasts: This fascinating developmental infographic illustrates 15 things you should know about breasts. This great infographic offers insight into interesting facts, such as the average breast weighs 1.1 pounds, and that the average breast size has increased over the last 15 years. You can also learn other facts — such as that nearly 18,000 breast reductions were performed on men in 2008. So breasts aren’t only about women. It kind of makes you want to take a second look at these important parts of the reproductive cycle, and learn a little bit more about how they do what they do.
12. Menstrual Cycle: Human reproduction has a tough time of it without the menstrual cycle. If you are interested in learning how the menstrual cycle works, and what happens inside the body during this time, you can learn from this colorful and interesting cartoonish infographic on imgur. An interesting journey through the female reproductive system, this infographic highlights the changes in the body during the menstrual cycle, as well as what makes the whole thing work, as well as some helpful hints about how and why some women feel and act certain ways during the month.
13. Semen: Learn about male reproductive health with this infographic from Spurs Fan Says. Learn interesting facts about semen — how it is produced, how fast it moves, and how much volume it takes up. Also included: How long sperm can live inside a woman or on a toilet seat. You can also compare human sperm ejaculation to that of other animals. Learn how different foods you eat can affect semen, and some interesting beliefs about becoming a man in different cultures.

Population Growth

Get information on population and reproductive trends for different cultural, religious and racial groups.

14. Muslim Populations Worldwide: This interesting infographic from PBS.org addresses the population trends related to Islam. It looks at population growth amongst Muslims in different areas around the world, including in Europe and North America. It also projects the possible growth out to 2025. One of the most interesting figures is the growth of the Muslim population in France, which is seeing a large increase as the immigrant population has more babies, white French citizens reproduce at a slower rate.
15. U.S. Population Growth through 2050: The U.S. Census Bureau offers an interesting infographic showing population growth projections through 2050 by race. While whites will still be the majority in the U.S. by then, it is clear that the trend is toward an increase in current minority populations, probably due to the higher rates of reproduction in other populations, since whites are having babies at slower rates. Charlie Gibson generated controversy a couple of years ago by calling whites to action to make more babies in an effort to keep other races from catching up to, and eventually overcoming, the white population.
16. Population and Inhabitable Land: One of the issues that comes up when we talk about reproductive health and population is the idea that Earth is overpopulated. However, this might not be entirely the case — at least in some places. Human.org.au offers an interesting infographic that illustrates how “full” different countries are with regard to the livable land available. Perhaps we’re not quite on the verge of running out of roon. Turns out (if you believe the infographic) that there is still plenty of room to grow in the U.S. and Britain, but, according to this infographic South Korea is definitely full.
17. Infant Mortality: This interesting infographic from Gapminder shows that infant mortality rises in poorer countries. It shows the population of different countries as well. Interestingly, the U.S. has one of the highest infant mortality rates of developed countries. Some point to premature births as one of the main reasons the U.S. has such a high infant mortality rate for its wealth. Some even claim that the high number of premature births indicates that the U.S. is not where it should be in terms of reproductive health and prenatal care.