Mommy Trends of 2007: The Next Big Things in Pregnancy and Parenting

In this article:
Procreation Vacations
Male Fertility Test Kits
New Age Prenatal Care
Gender Prediction Kits
Chic Swaddles and Slings
Baby's First Spa
Noteworthy Baby Names

What's hot with moms and moms-to-be? Find out which mommy trends we think are just about to pop!

In 2006, the very act of being pregnant was hip, trendy, and popular. Angelina Jolie, Katie Holmes, and Sophia Coppola (to name just a few) made sporting a bump the fashionable thing to do. Forecasting into the future—what can we expect to see as the next hot, new thing when it comes to preconception, pregnancy and parenting? BabyZone offers some insight.

Procreation Vacations

Expectant parents plan babymoons, but what about couples hoping to conceive? The hot trend in travel this year is the procreation vacation, geared toward busy working couples whose hectic lives may not leave a lot of time for baby-making. The hotel industry has responded to the demand with packages designed to help couples de-stress, spark up the romance, and maybe head home with much more than just a suntan. Packages typically include romantic dinners, spa treatments such as massage and reflexology, special "fertility foods," and, in some cases, short seminars where experts share fertility secrets.

Among the hotels offering procreation vacation packages are:

Martineau Bay Resort & Spa: Vieques, Puerto Rico. Contact: 866-716-8108; www.martineaubayresort.com.
The Westin at Our Lucaya Beach & Golf Resort: Grand Bahama Island. Contact: 888-627-7130; www.westin.com.
The Westin St. John Resort & Villas: Saint John, US Virgin Islands. Contact: 888-627-7206; www.westin.com.
Five Gables Inn & Spa: St. Michaels, Maryland. Contact: 410-745-0100, www.fivegables.com.
Teton Mountain Lodge: Jackson, Wyoming. Contact: 800-801-6615, www.tetonlodge.com/reservations/specialoffers.htm.
Miraval Resort: Tucson, Arizona. Contact: 800-232-3969, www.miravalresort.com.

Male Fertility Test Kits

Between ovulation predictor kits and home pregnancy tests, women already have a variety of at-home fertility tools available to them. Now, with the introduction of a male fertility test kit from Baby Start, men can perform a semen analysis right in the comfort of their own homes—which might help reluctant husbands get to a specialist sooner. The kits test for sperm concentration and give a positive (fertile) or negative (infertile) color-coded reading within five minutes. Each box comes with enough materials for two tests, so you can repeat the process several days later to ensure accuracy. The Baby Start tests cost about $32 and are available at many drugstores and online retailers.