Symptoms and discomfort due to pregnancy vary from woman to woman. The following are some common discomforts. However, each mother may experience symptoms differently or not have them at all:

* Nausea and vomiting
Nearly half of all pregnant women experience nausea and sometimes vomiting during the first trimester, this discomfort is also often called morning sickness because symptoms are most severe in the morning. In some cases nausea and vomiting last throughout pregnancy. The morning sickness may be due to changes in hormone levels during pregnancy.

Consider the latest statistics from the National Center for Health Statistics, a body which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

* During 2005, 4,105,000 babies were born in the U.S.

* The average age of women having their first baby in 2003 is 25.2 years, compared with 25.1 years in 2002.

* Birth rates for women 35 to 39 years old (43.8 births per 1,000 women) and 40 to 44 years (8.7 births per 1,000 women) are the highest in more than three decades.

* The birth rate for teenagers between 15 and 19 years fell 5 percent between 2002 and 2003, a record low. The current rate for teens is 41.6 births per 1,000 teens.

* In 2003 the twin birth rate continued to rise, increasing 1 percent between 2002 and 2003. The current rate is 31.5 twin births per 1,000 women.

* The preterm birth rate (less than 37 weeks gestation) was 12.3 percent in 2003.

* C-sections rose 5 percent from 2002 to 2003 until they reached a rate of 27.5 percent of all births.