Pregnant with her first child, Evanston resident and Northwestern alumna Elisa All was clueless about navigating the pregnancy process.

“I found very little advice and books, and if I did, they weren’t timely,” said All, Medill ’93. “There was nothing on the Internet at that time.”

That was eight years ago. Now information from editors, writers, experts and parents from all over the world is just a click away on www.iparenting.com.

All, the editor of the Web site, launched the site after her own pregnancy experience to guide first-time mothers through their pregnancies.

“It’s more than just facts,” All said. “It about each woman’s parenting and pregnancy experience.”

All said her graduate work at Medill refined her editing and writing skills, preparing her to develop her own media company. The Web site, which initially included tips and stories about pregnancy, grew into a conglomeration of magazines, newspapers and more than 40 separate parenting sites. The company has been named by Newsweek magazine and U.S. News & World Report as one of the “Best of the Web.”

The site, which is based in Evanston, receives about 1.5 million hits each week. Many readers are from the Chicago and Evanston areas, All said, but visitors also log on from across the country.

“Evanston is a great representation of our readers,” she said. “They like being informed and are eager to learn everything they can on parenting.”

Stephanie Risicato, a mother from Needham, Mass., has been using iparenting.com once a week since last summer. She said she prefers the site over traditional parenting magazines because of its easy accessibility.

“You could get the information quickly,” Risicato said. “I just have to go online and read a quick story or I can go in a chat room and people answer you right away.”

The site provides message boards, medical information and recipes for readers, in addition to stories submitted by users. The stories allow readers to share personal stories of happiness and loss with other readers, All said. There are hundreds of stories on the site covering topics such as twins, miscarriages, late births and premature births.

Courtney Spence, a mother from Eugene, Ore., discovered iparenting.com in November after she experienced a miscarriage. She said she found comfort in the stories of other women who also had experienced miscarriages.

“It gives these women, and even men, someone to relate to, someone who understands and has gone through the same experience,” All said.

Risicato said the site was especially helpful in teaching her how to potty train her son, a new experience that was much more difficult than she had anticipated.

“It’s nice to read that other people are going through the same thing that you are and you’re not the only one,” she said.

Eighteen-year-old Jessica Edwards from White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., said the site helped her through her pregnancy as a young mother.

“It gave me daily reminders, ideas, words of wisdom,” Edwards said.

A new addition to the site is an online diary, All said, where she posts regularly. Readers can put their babies’ pictures in their own diaries and write about their parenting experiences.

“They can update it whenever they want, and look back at previous entries,” All said. “It’s a new and easy way to preserve memories.”

Risicato, Spence and Edwards each said they plan on using the site for parenting advice until their children are adults. Risicato said she has introduced the site to many of her friends, who have also begun using the site.

“As my kids get older, I will continuing utilizing the site indefinitely,” she said. “It’s like that morning cup of coffee.”