The average mother is about 10 pounds heavier than a comparable woman without children, moms tend to eat high-carb quick foods on the run, and mothers are at heightened risk for Type II diabetes.

Studies have shown that having children increases the chance of having more intense PMS. While it's not going to put you in the hospital -- though the prospect of that kind of rest may sometimes sound pretty good!

Our siblings are usually the people we know longest in this life, but it's striking how many people have distant, even hostile relations with their brothers and sisters. Family tensions related to sibling rivalries wear on parents individually, and sometimes can challenge their marriage so it's important to tackle them in steady, systematic ways.

Studies show that women are more prone to colds and flus after having children -- and kids themselves are exposed to germs continually in childcare and preschool. So it's smart to take up arms against those microbial invaders!

How to respond when the wants of parents and children differ is one of The Big Questions of parenting. Things usually go well when parents and kids want the same things -- problems start when they don't!

Oh dear! When children come along, relatives can be an incredible blessing or something of a curse -- and sometimes both at the same time. Happily, there are lots of ways to keep things on a good footing with the relatives.

Motherhood is a long journey, a marathon, not a sprint. If you regard motherhood as a long marathon, spanning twenty years or more, how might you shift the demands you place on yourself? How might you assert yourself to get more help from others? How might you take better care of your body? Or better nourish your inner being? Or simply be nicer to yourself?

Conventional medicine is great for things like stitching up our daughter's hand the time she accidentally cut it open with a steak knife. But when it comes to more subtle, "systemic" matters like preventing colds or recovering quickly if you still get one...