Having a baby is a life-changing event, and raising a child is an exciting ongoing challenge. We're here to offer guidance, with easy-to-use sites that feature original high-quality content and practical advice from trusted sources such as obstetricians, pediatricians, developmental experts, nutritionists, and fellow parents.

Why are we the most trusted parenting resource on the Web? For these reasons:

• Parenting expertise. The seasoned professionals on our editorial team have worked at major magazines such as Parenting, Parents, and Health. More important, many of us are moms and dads who are living the subject firsthand, raising newborns, toddlers, and older children. We thoroughly research and fact-check every article we publish. We're the only family site that uses a team of medical advisors to ensure the reliability of the material we produce.
   
• Shopping guidance. Many parents and parents-to-be are overwhelmed by the complex choices they face in picking out the right baby gear, baby clothes, toys, nursery accessories, and other essentials. And parents of older children face a mind-boggling array of toys, games, software, and more products marketed for kids. We'll help you make better buying decisions with our popular buying guides and product comparisons. Shop online at the BabyCenter Store for new and expectant parents, babies, toddlers, and big kids.
   
• A sense of community. Our bulletin boards and chat sessions offer a thriving support system, letting you connect with other couples, women due around the same time as you, and medical professionals for answers to your questions. By taking 30 seconds to become a member, you'll receive free personalized e-mails written especially for your stage of pregnancy or your baby's age.
   
• Helpful e-mail newsletters. When you become a member of BabyCenter and Parentcenter, you'll receive free, personalized e-mails written especially for your stage of pregnancy or your child's age.
   
• Recognition as a trusted source. BabyCenter.com focuses exclusively on pregnancy and early childhood, letting us concentrate on helping you make confident, informed choices. Since the site's launch in November 1997, we've been featured on CNN and CBS, in Time, Fortune, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal, and in hundreds of other newspapers, magazines, TV shows, and radio broadcasts. And we've won three Webby Awards, the industry's highest honor. See a complete list of BabyCenter's awards and honors.
   
• Respect for our users. Your privacy is important to us. We won't share information about individual readers with any advertiser, marketer, or outside party without your permission. See our privacy policy.

About ParentCenter

ParentCenter.com is an easy-to-navigate one-stop resource designed to help parents of children ages 2 to 8 better manage and enjoy the day-to-day challenges of raising great kids.

ParentCenter takes a friendly and informative approach to content, offering helpful experts and a vibrant online community. ParentCenter includes more than a thousand original articles created especially for the Web, covering the topics of children's health, fun and activities, learning, and parenting. Information is organized by age and grade so you can find the most relevant information for your child's situation quickly and easily.

Also on ParentCenter are unique features that allow you to tap into the collective wisdom of thousands of other moms and dads, and tools to help you understand and celebrate your child's own, special abilities.

About the company

BabyCenter LLC is headquartered in San Francisco. Our team of editors, designers, marketers, and technical staff is devoted to providing new and expectant parents, as well as parents of children ages 2 to 8, with trusted guidance. The company produces BabyCenter.com, the Web's most complete information source on preconception, pregnancy, baby, and toddler; BabyCentre.co.uk, a version of BabyCenter for British parents; and ParentCenter.com, for parents with older children. BabyCenter LLC is a member of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies.

Editorial and Advertising Policy

BabyCenter is dedicated to providing parents and parents-to-be with high-quality, medically reviewed content. Our editorial team is made up of professional writers and editors, many educated at top journalism schools in the United States. We want to be your most trusted parenting resource. That's why we offer practical advice from expert sources, such as obstetricians, pediatricians, midwives, developmental psychologists, and — equally important — fellow parents.

With only a few exceptions, our content is all originally reported, fact checked, and reviewed by our Medical Advisory Board. Our editors and advisors are constantly updating and reviewing articles, and we make every effort to make corrections in a timely manner. In 2005 we began documenting this process on each story (look near the article title for the last reviewed date and advisor's name).

As part of our mission to provide readers with trustworthy information, we adhere to a strict policy of separation between editorial and advertising content. We believe you should always know the source of the information you're reading. We never allow advertisers to influence editorial content, and all advertising is either clearly separated from editorial content (in standard placements such as banner ads and right-hand units), or clearly labeled "advertisement" or "from our sponsors."

BabyCenter receives the bulk of its funding from paid advertisements. Other revenue sources include sales from our retail arm, the BabyCenter Store; our subscription business, BabyCenter Plus; and a custom publishing division.