FEATURES

Where Don’t Babies Come From?
Storks, cabbage patches, and baby mice emerging spontaneously from unwashed underwear…these are just some of the strange ways that people have answered the question “Where do babies come from?” Explore some of the scientific theories that were proved or disproved, and the truth behind the question!
By Mary Beth Cox

Nine Awesome Months
It takes juts 266 days for a new human being to form from a single cell. But exactly what’s happening during those nine long months? Explore a month-by-month timeline as well as some amazing photos that show what’s going on as a new person develops.
By Allie Sakowicz with Marcia Amidon Lusted

Happy Birth Day!
No, it’s not a party with balloons and cake. The first birthday you ever had was much different from all the ones you’ve had since. As your life changed from floating in a quiet, warm womb to living in an outside world full of light and sound, you probably had a lot of unanswered questions. Read some of the answers here!
By Kathryn Hulick

Testing, Testing
You think you take a lot of tests? Developing babies and their moms go through lots of tests and exams, too. And while they don’t get letter grades for these tests, the results can mean a lot more than any test you take at school. Read about the different kinds of tests that help determine if Mom and baby are healthy.
By Kathiann M. Kowalski

A Day in the Life of Obstetrician Dr. Robin Kalish
What is it really like to be an obstetrician and juggle six expectant mothers and their eight fetuses in one hour? Follow a day in the life of Dr. Robin Kalish, an obstetrician at a Manhattan hospital.
By Emily Voigt

Y Am I a Boy?
You may know where you came from, but have you ever wondered why you are a boy and not a girl or visa versa? In humans (and most other mammals), there is a specific scientific process that determines sex and it has to do with chromosomes. And why is it that some species can change their sex from male to female and back again?
By Aliza Stern Guyer

Helping Hopeful Parents: An Interview with Embryologist Phyllis Risch
Babies don’t come from storks, but sometimes parents do need help to make them. Help often comes from in vitro fertilization (IVF), and one member of the IVF team is the embryologist. In this interview with Embryologist Phyllis Risch, you’ll learn about what an embryologist does to help hopeful parents become expectant parents.
By Dan Risch

Dangerous Day One
Imagine as a brand new baby falling six feet as you are born! Or being born miles away from your family and having to find them before something bigger and meaner eats you! When animals are born in the wild they have to fight to survive. Read about how that first day can be the most dangerous and scary of all.
By Carla Mae Jansen

Rebecca’s First Year
Do you have a baby book of your first year, recording each milestone you reached as you grew? Explore the first year of Rebecca’s life and how she learns and grows with every month.
By Mary Ann McGann

The Option Package
It was D Day. Dog Day. Decision Day. Sixty-three days since we’d visited the Best Friends Forever clinic with a vial of Rufus’s blood. The vet saved it for us after Rufus drifted off into the big sleep. Dr. Wilson couldn’t do much after a truck hit my best friend except to make sure he didn’t suffer. A short story by Angie Smibert

ACTIVITIES

The Chicken, or the Egg?
Learn about the science of birth by just opening a carton of eggs!
By Nick D’Alto

DEPARTMENTS

Science Scoops
Powerful Eyes
Thanks to Your Twin Brother
Eat Your Veggies!
Memristor Discovery
By Kathryn Hulick

Ask Dr. Cy Borg
What Do You Wonder?

What is It?
Is it a work of modern art? Maybe a painting or a beautifully colored piece of fabric? No, it’s a human embryo!

Animal Angles

Don’t Cuddle a Puggle
The echidna may not be very cuddly, but it’s one of the world’s most unusual animals.

By Peg Lopata

Brain Strain
Molly is visiting a very strange zoo with only giraffes and ostriches. Can you help her answer the zookeeper’s questions?

Star Chart and Stargazing with Jack Horkheimer

You’ve Got Mail!
ODYSSEY's reader response department welcomes your letters, original poems, stories, drawings, and responses to questions!
E-mail odysseymagazine@caruspub.com with You’ve Got Mail! as the subject, or snail mail You’ve Got Mail, ODYSSEY
30 Grove St., Suite C
Peterborough, NH 03458

Consulting Editor

Robin B. Kalish, M.D, is the Director of Clinical Maternal-Fetal Medicine and an assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Weill Cornell Medical College. She received her bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College in 1992, and her medical degree from The University of Tennessee College of Medicine in 1996. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology in New York and a three-year fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College/New York Presbyterian Hospital where she has been a full-time faculty member since 2003. Dr. Kalish’s research focuses on multifetal pregnancies, IVF pregnancies, genetic factors associated with preterm birth, and depression in pregnancy. She has authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications, several textbook chapters, and has presented her research at numerous international forums.