Uterine Cafe - Information for Pregnancy & Mothers

Preterm birth contributes to growing number of infant deaths

noreply@blogger.com (Uterine Cafe) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:51:00 +0000

(PhysOrg.com)--Babies born too soon and too small accounted for a growing proportion of infant deaths, according to new statistics released today from the National Center for Health Statistics, (NCHS).

Babies who died of preterm-related causes accounted for 36.5 percent of infant deaths in 2005, up from 34.6 percent in 2000, according to "Infant Mortality Statistics from the 2005 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set," Vol. 57, No. 2, of the National Vital Statistics Report, released today by the NCHS.

The nation's infant mortality rate inched up slightly in 2005 to 6.9, from 6.8 percent in 2004, although the change is not statistically significant, according to the report. While the infant mortality rate dropped more than 9 percent between 1995 and 2005, the changes since 2000 have not been statistically significant.

"Essentially, there has been no improvement in the infant death rate since 2000, and the increase in the proportion of infants who die from preterm-related causes is troubling," said Joann Petrini, Ph.D., director of the March of Dimes Perinatal Data Center. "Preventing preterm birth is crucial to reducing the nation's infant mortality rate and giving every baby a healthy start in life."

More than a half million babies are born premature (less than 37 weeks gestation) each year and those who survive face the risk of life long health consequences, such as breathing and feeding problems, cerebral palsy, and learning problems.

Mortality rates for infants born even a few weeks early, or "late preterm" (between 34�??? weeks of gestation) were three times those for full-term infants.

The NCHS report found that the mortality rate for very low birthweight infants (those weighing less than 1,500 grams or three and a third pounds) has not changed since 2000, despite rapid improvement between 1983 and 2000. The mortality rate for this group of infants was more than 100 times the rate for normal birthweights infants (at or more than 2,500 grams or five and half pounds).

Low birthweight and preterm birth are leading causes of infant mortality and the rates of both have increased steadily since the mid-1980s. The rise in multiple births from the increased use of assisted reproductive technology and increases in cesarean sections and inductions of labor for preterm infants have contributed to this increase.

Source: March of Dimes Foundation

Empathy comes naturally to children

noreply@blogger.com (Uterine Cafe) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:53:00 +0000

Study suggests an inborn capacity to respond to the pain of others

Reuters
updated 9:17 a.m. ET, Fri., July. 11, 2008

CHICAGO - When children see others in pain, their brains respond as if it were happening to them, U.S. researchers said on Friday.

This response, which also has been shown in adults, suggests that normal school-age children may be naturally prone to empathy, they said.

"What it shows us is that we have this inborn capacity to resonate with the pain of others. That's probably a very important step toward empathy," said Jean Decety of the University of Chicago, whose study appears in the journal Neuropsychologia.

For the study, the researchers showed 17 children aged 7 to 12 animated images of people experiencing pain while they were undergoing a type of imaging known as functional magnetic resonance imaging or fMRI.

The series of images depicted accidents, such as a heavy bowl falling on a pair of hands, and situations in which pain was inflicted on purpose, such as someone slamming a car door on a person's hand. They also were shown images without painful encounters.

Click here to continue reading article at MSNBC.com

Asthma risk from too many nuts in pregnancy

noreply@blogger.com (Uterine Cafe) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:52:00 +0000

Peanut allergens may make child more prone to the disease, study finds

Reuters
updated 9:25 a.m. ET, Tues., July. 15, 2008

LONDON - Pregnant women who eat nuts or nut products like peanut butter daily raise the risk their children will develop asthma by 50 percent, Dutch researchers said on Tuesday.

The study also showed that moderate amounts did not seem to have an effect, meaning it is too soon to say whether pregnant women should give up nuts because they contain many important nutrients and healthy fats a developing fetus needs, they said.

"We were the first to find these strong effects on asthma symptoms," said Saskia Willers, an epidemiologist at Utrecht University, who led the study linking nuts with asthma.

"But until we are certain we don't want to restrict them from the diet. So it is important that other studies replicate the findings," she said.

Asthma is an inflammatory disease causing wheezing, coughing and labored breathing that can be life threatening. In some countries as many as 30 percent of children develop the condition, according to the World Health Organization.

Click here to continue reading article at MSNBC.com

Expectant mothers should not shun exercise

noreply@blogger.com (Uterine Cafe) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:44:00 +0000

Hanover, Germany - Just a few years ago expectant mothers were told to take it easy. But now we know that exercise during pregnancy improves overall condition, strengthens the cardiovascular system, and stimulates blood circulation. "If their gynaecologist gives the green light, pregnant women should go ahead and participate in sports," said Christian Albring, president of the Munich-based Association of Gynaecologists (BVF).

The right amount of exercise depends on how the pregnancy is going and how active the woman was before. Endurance sports, which are physically beneficial in a host of ways, are also good training for the strains of pregnancy.

"Jogging, hiking, Nordic walking, cycling, dancing and swimming in water with a temperature over 20 degrees centigrade are also well suited to people who don't care for sports," Albring said.

Click here to continue reading article at Earth Times.org

Mother's Vitamin D Status During Pregnancy Will Affect Her Baby's Dental Health

noreply@blogger.com (Uterine Cafe) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:44:00 +0000

ScienceDaily (July 7, 2008) �?? Low maternal vitamin D levels during pregnancy may affect primary tooth calcification, leading to enamel defects, which are a risk factor for early-childhood tooth decay.

Investigators from the University of Manitoba (Winnipeg and Victoria) recently presented* the results of a study they conducted to determine the vitamin D status of pregnant women, the incidence of enamel defects and early-childhood tooth decay among their infants, and the relationship with pre-natal vitamin D levels.

Two hundred six pregnant women in their second trimester participated in the study. Only 21 women (10.5%) were found to have adequate vitamin D levels. Vitamin D concentrations were related to the frequency of milk consumption and pre-natal vitamin use.

Click here to continue reading article at Science Daily.com

Heavy Birthweight Babies Twice As Likely To Develop Rheumatoid Arthritis

noreply@blogger.com (Uterine Cafe) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:44:00 +0000

ScienceDaily (June 29, 2008) �?? Heavy birthweight female babies are twice as likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis in adulthood as their average birthweight peers, suggests research published ahead of print in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

The results support the fetal origin of disease theory, which argues that certain conditions and diseases in adult life are programmed by factors during the pregnancy.

Diabetes, coronary heart disease, and high blood pressure, for example, have been linked to low birthweight, while an increased risk of breast cancer and leukaemia have been linked to high birthweight.

The findings are based on over 87,000 women taking part in the US Nurses' Health Study between 1976 and 2002. All the participants were aged between 30 and 55 at the start of the study in 1976.

Click here to continue reading article at Science Daily

Mom's High Fat Diet During Pregnancy May Be Key To Child's Weight Issues

noreply@blogger.com (Uterine Cafe) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 04:16:00 +0000

ScienceDaily (June 22, 2008) �?? The notion that you are what you eat may go back even farther �?? to your mother, said a Baylor College of Medicine researcher in a report that appears in the current issue of the Journal of Molecular Endocrinology.

"We want to understand the mechanisms behind the current epidemic of childhood obesity," said Dr. Kjersti M. Aagaard-Tillery, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at BCM. "What efforts can we take in pregnancy to affect this problem? Is it that the mom is obese or is exposure to a high fat diet the problem?"

A consortium of researchers from BCM, the University of Utah Health Sciences in Salt Lake and the Oregon National Primate Research Center teamed up to study what happens to the offspring of non-human primate mothers fed a diet consisting of 35 percent fat. When compared to those who ate a 13 percent fat diet, the offspring of these animals had non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (comparable to that found in obese human youngsters). In fact, their triglycerides (one form of fat measured in blood) were three times high

Click here to continue reading article at Science Daily.com

Age At Puberty Linked To Mother's Prenatal Diet

noreply@blogger.com (Uterine Cafe) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 04:14:00 +0000

ScienceDaily (June 17, 2008) �?? A high-fat diet during pregnancy and nursing may lead to the child having an early onset of puberty and subsequent adulthood obesity, according to a new animal study. The results were presented June 16, at The Endocrine Society's 90th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

An early first menstrual period, often used as a marker for early-onset puberty in girls is a risk factor for obesity, insulin resistance, teenage depression, and breast cancer in adulthood, said Deborah Sloboda, PhD, lead author of the study. She is a researcher at The Liggins Institute of the University of Auckland in New Zealand.

"Other research suggests that a combination of prenatal and postnatal influences in girls can affect the onset of menarche [menstruation]," Sloboda said.

She and her colleagues therefore studied how prenatal nutrition and nutrition during childhood interact to alter reproductive maturation. The study was done in rats.

Click here to continue reading article at Science Daily.com

Weighing Nondrug Options for A.D.H.D.

noreply@blogger.com (Uterine Cafe) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 05:12:00 +0000

By TARA PARKER-POPE
Published: June 17, 2008

About 2.5 million children in the United States take stimulant drugs for attention and hyperactivity problems. But concerns about side effects have prompted many parents to look elsewhere: as many as two-thirds of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or A.D.H.D., have used some form of alternative treatment.

The most common strategy involves diet changes, like giving up processed foods, sugars and food additives. About 20 percent of children with the disorder have been given some form of herbal therapy; others have tried supplements like vitamins and fish oil or have used biofeedback, massage and yoga.

While some studies of alternative treatments show promise, there is little solid research to guide parents. That is unfortunate, because for some children, prescription drugs aren�??t an option.

The drugs have been life-changing for many children. But nearly one-third experience worrisome side effects, and a 2001 report in The Canadian Medical Association Journal found that for more than 10 percent, the effects could be severe �?? including decreased appetite and weight loss, insomnia, abdominal pain and personality changes.

Click here to continue reading article at the NY Times.com

Mother�??s Diet May Affect Daughter�??s Puberty

noreply@blogger.com (Uterine Cafe) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 05:09:00 +0000

Tara Parker-Pope on Health
June 18, 2008, 12:56 pm

What you eat during pregnancy and nursing may affect the age at which your daughter starts puberty, suggests a new animal study.

The findings, presented this week at the Endocrine Society�??s annual meeting in San Francisco, are important because a girl�??s age at first menstrual period may influence her lifelong health. An early first menstrual period, before the age of 12, is a risk factor for breast cancer, teenage depression, obesity and insulin resistance.

The investigators, from the University of Auckland, fed pregnant rats a high-fat diet throughout pregnancy and lactation. Another group of rats received a regular diet of rat chow. After the baby rats were weaned, they also ate either regular chow or a high-fat diet.

The onset of puberty was much earlier in all the rats whose mothers ate a high-fat diet, regardless of whether the baby rats ate high-fat or regular diets. Baby rats that ate a high-fat diet also had early puberty even if their mothers ate a healthful diet. Rats exposed to a combination of a high-fat diet inside the mother�??s womb and a high-fat diet after birth also had early puberty, but it wasn�??t any earlier than other rats eating a fatty diet.

�??This might suggest that the fetal environment in high-fat fed mothers plays a greater role in determining pubertal onset than childhood nutrition,�?? said Deborah Sloboda, lead author of the study.

Three-month-old Infants Are Sensitive To Emotional Cues Referring To Objects In The World

noreply@blogger.com (Uterine Cafe) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 07:12:00 +0000

ScienceDaily (Jun. 13, 2008) �?? Scientists have discovered that three-month-old infants are sensitive to emotional signals that refer to objects in the world. It was once thought that young infants could only process social signals that were directed at them. However, researchers from Hunter College and the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Scientists show that three-month-old infants go beyond face-to-face social interactions: they even use social cues to process objects in the world around them.

Social referencing is the ability to search for and to use social signals to guide one's behavior in a new situation. For decades, researchers thought that the ability to social reference developed only when infants were about twelve months old.

In this study, funded by the Sofja Kovalevskaja Prize of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, three-month-old infants viewed images of people who looked at new objects with either fearful or neutral facial expressions. Infants' electrophysiological brain activity showed that processing of new objects varied depending on the emotional signals that adults had used as referential social cues.

Click here to continue reading article at ScienceDaily.com

Expectant Moms Should Wait Out Due Date For Deliveries, Experts Urge

noreply@blogger.com (Uterine Cafe) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 01:04:00 +0000

Many parents become anxious toward the end of a pregnancy, when women are sleepless, fatigued and finding it difficult to perform their daily activities. Technology during the past 10 years has made labor induction easier and more successful, and now, more than ever before, deliveries are planned during the last few weeks of pregnancies.

But studies are showing that a delivery even two weeks early can be associated with newborn complications, according to Dr. Celeste Durnwald, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at The Ohio State University Medical Center.

There is still ongoing development and maturation of the fetus, even in those last few weeks,�?? notes Durnwald. The consequences of being born early include problems such as jaundice, poor feeding, inability to sit in a car seat without breathing difficulties and, rarely, premature lungs.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists states that a full term pregnancy is one that has completed 39 weeks. Because of the many recent medical advances, patients and physicians are choosing to push the date of a delivery earlier than ever before, even to 36 weeks gestation, a full month ahead of the mother�??s due date. Nationwide, the number of deliveries in this gestational age range increased dramatically in the past decade.

Some of these early births are scheduled for good reason, in response to health concerns for baby or mother. �??Certainly, a medical problem with the mother�??s health, or suspected fetal jeopardy can sometimes necessitate a delivery earlier than otherwise anticipated. Maternal hypertension and poor fetal growth are common reasons. The rate of infant deaths and stillbirths is going down, while the rate of �??late preterm births�?? or �??near-term births�?? is going up,�?? Durnwald says.

Healthcare providers and parents must weigh the risks and benefits of the �??late preterm births,�?? realizing there are potential complications for a newborn,�?? notes Durnwald.

�??Even though those last few weeks can seem like months to the patient, I try to emphasize the importance of delivering at a gestational age when the baby gets to go home with the mother and does well in the nursery,�?? says Durnwald.

Read the complete article on Science Daily

Essential Dental Treatment Safe For Pregnant Women, Says New Study

noreply@blogger.com (Uterine Cafe) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 06:51:00 +0000

ScienceDaily (Jun. 10, 2008) �?? Pregnant women can safely undergo essential dental treatment and receive topical and local anesthetics at 13 to 21 weeks gestation, says a study published in the June issue of The Journal of the American Dental Association.

Although obstetricians generally consider dental care safe for pregnant women, supporting clinical trial evidence has been lacking. To address this issue, researchers compared safety outcomes from the Obstetrics and Periodontal Therapy Trial in which pregnant women received scaling and root planing (deep cleaning) and essential dental treatment (defined as treatment of moderate-to-severe cavities or fractured or abscessed teeth).

The researchers randomly assigned 823 pregnant women with periodontitis to receive scaling and root planing, either at 13 to 21 weeks' gestation or up to three months after delivery. (Experts recommend that pregnant women defer elective care before eight weeks' gestation and during late pregnancy.) The researchers determined that 483 of these women also needed essential dental treatment. Three hundred fifty-one of the women completed all recommended treatment.

Throughout the trial, obstetric nurses reviewed medical records to monitor subjects for serious adverse events. The authors defined these events as pregnancies that ended in a nonlive birth and other adverse events that did not result in pregnancy termination (including hospitalizations for more than 24 hours because of labor pains, hospitalizations for any other reason, fetal or congenital anomalies and neonatal deaths).

The results of the study showed that "periodontal treatment and essential dental treatment, administered at a time between 13 and 21 weeks' gestation, did not significantly increase the risk of any adverse outcome evaluated," the authors write. "Use of topical and local anesthetics for scaling and root planing also was not associated with an increased risk of experiencing these adverse events and outcomes."

The research team was led by Dr. Bryan Michalowicz, professor of periodontics, University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, Minneapolis.

Bright Light Therapy May Improve Nocturnal Sleep In Mothers

noreply@blogger.com (Uterine Cafe) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 05:58:00 +0000

ScienceDaily (Jun. 10, 2008) �?? Bright light therapy may improve a mother's nocturnal sleep, decrease daytime sleepiness and be beneficial to her well-being, according to a research abstract that will be presented on June 9 at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).

The study, authored by Shih-Yu Lee, PhD, of Georgia State University, focused on 16 first-time mothers with a low birth weight infant hospitalized in the intensive care unit. The subjects were randomly assigned to two groups: the treatment group mothers received a 10,000 lux blue-green bright light therapy for four weeks and the control group mothers received a placebo dim red light therapy. Total sleep time during the day and night was measured by averaging the data obtained from two consecutive days of wrist actigraphy monitoring.

According to the results, the post-treatment average nocturnal total sleep time increased from 383 minutes (6.38 hours) at the baseline to 424 minutes (7.07 hours) for the treatment group mothers. However, the total sleep time in the control group mothers worsened from 413 minutes (6.88 hours) to 373 minutes (6.22 hours). After the four-week intervention, the treatment group mothers' daytime total sleep time decreased from 114 to 39 minutes.

"Having a low birth weight infant in the ICU can intensify sleep disturbances for mothers because of extended periods of exposure to the artificial dim light in the ICU and stress related to the infant's medical condition," said Dr. Lee. "Impaired sleep may have negative impact on the mother's well-being. In our research, we were looking for an intervention to help mothers that would be feasible for them to use even when their infant is hospitalized. The preliminary findings from our pilot study indicate that bright light therapy given through use of the special visor may improve mothers' nocturnal sleep, decrease daytime sleepiness, and be beneficial to their well-being. While our results are promising, a larger scale randomized clinical trial is needed to establish if this would be an effective therapy in this population."

Sleep plays a vital role in promoting a woman's health and well being. Getting the required amount of sleep is likely to enhance a woman's overall quality of life. Yet, women face many potential barriers -- such as life events, depression, illness, bad sleep habits and medication use -- that can disrupt and disturb her sleep. Overcoming these challenges can help her enjoy the daily benefits of feeling alert and well rested.

Click here to read article at Science Daily.com

No Link Found Between Antidepressants And Birth Defects, According To New Study

noreply@blogger.com (Uterine Cafe) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 21:43:00 +0000

ScienceDaily (May 23, 2008)
Dr. Anick Bérard and her team found that antidepressants have no effect on foetal development. "This is the first study to investigate the impact of antidepressant use during the first trimester of pregnancy in mothers with psychiatric disorders," she said. "In terms of birth malformations in this population, we found no difference between women who used antidepressants and those who did not use antidepressants during their first trimester."

The research team used data from the Quebec Pregnancy Registry, established by their group, to analyze the records of 2,329 new mothers diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder and treated with antidepressants for at least 30 days before pregnancy. Also included in the registry were women who delivered liveborn and stillborn children, while birth defects were considered anything from facial malformations to heart anomalies.

"The duration of antidepressant use in the first trimester of pregnancy was not associated with an increased risk of birth malformations," explained Dr. Bérard. "We hope these findings help clinicians and women decide whether to continue antidepressant therapy during pregnancy."

This study was supported by the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec (FRSQ), the Réseau Québécois de Recherche sur l'Usage des Médicaments and the Network for the Wellbeing of Children.

Drinking Tap Water Disinfected With Chlorine May Harm Fetus, Study Suggests

noreply@blogger.com (Uterine Cafe) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 21:31:00 +0000

ScienceDaily (Jun. 5, 2008) �?? Drinking water disinfected by chlorine while pregnant may increase the risk of having children with heart problems, cleft palate or major brain defects, according to a study published in BioMed Central's open access journal Environmental Health.

Read the complete article from Science Daily

Fitness during pregnancy is a balancing act

noreply@blogger.com (Uterine Cafe) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:32:00 +0000

By CHRISTINE HAWES CORRESPONDENT
Published Tuesday, June 3, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
Last updated Tuesday, June 3, 2008 at 4:52 p.m.

Kathy Jordan lived an active, fast-paced California lifestyle in the 1990s, constantly working out at the gym and producing independent action films in the highly competitive atmosphere of Los Angeles. "I worked in a very male-dominated industry, and I had to keep up with them."

Then Jordan became pregnant with twins. That hard- driving, "gotta keep going" spirit that served her so well in her job no longer jibed with the changes in her body. So three months into her pregnancy, just as her intense morning sickness began to subside, Jordan followed a friend's advice and tried a pregnancy yoga class.

At first, she kept her beeper on, set on alert, and she was ready to leave class if her production crew needed her. But after a few months, the replenishing breathing exercises and calming movements in her class helped Jordan surrender her intensity and ask others for help instead of trying to do everything herself.

That sense of calm and renourishment helped Jordan have a "textbook delivery" of her twins and inspired her to become a pregnancy yoga teacher herself.

Click here to read entire article at Herald Tribune.com

Mercury Teeth Fillings May Harm Some: FDA

noreply@blogger.com (Uterine Cafe) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 07:39:00 +0000

Health Officials Issue Warning to Pregnant Women

By Susan Heavey
June 4, 2008

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Silver-colored metal dental fillings contain mercury that may cause health problems in pregnant women, children and fetuses, the Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday after settling a related lawsuit.

As part of the settlement with several consumer advocacy groups, the FDA agreed to alert consumers about the potential risks on its website and to issue a more specific rule next year for fillings that contain mercury, FDA spokeswoman Peper Long said.

Millions of Americans have the fillings, or amalgams, to patch cavities in their teeth.

"Dental amalgams contain mercury, which may have neurotoxic effects on the nervous systems of developing children and fetuses," the FDA said in a notice on its Web site.

"Pregnant women and persons who may have a health condition that makes them more sensitive to mercury exposure, including individuals with existing high levels of mercury bioburden, should not avoid seeking dental care, but should discuss options with their health practitioner," the agency said.

The FDA said it did not recommend that people who currently have mercury fillings get them removed.

The FDA must issue the new rules in July 2009, Long said.

Such a rule could impact makers of metal fillings, which include Dentsply International Inc and Danaher Corp unit Kerr.

The new rule will give the agency "special controls (that) can provide reasonable assurance of the safety and effectiveness of the product," Long said.

The lawsuit settlement was reached on Monday with several advocacy groups, including Moms Against Mercury, which had sought to have mercury fillings removed from the U.S. market.

Click here to continue reading article at ABC News Health

Medical marvel: Baby Macie Hope was born twice

noreply@blogger.com (Uterine Cafe) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 07:38:00 +0000

Returned to womb after life-saving surgery, she arrived 10 weeks later

By Mike Celizic
TODAYShow.com contributor
updated 9:33 a.m. ET, Fri., June. 6, 2008

When Chad and Keri McCartney say their infant daughter, Macie Hope, is born again, they aren�??t referring to religion �?? the month-old miracle baby really was born twice.

The first �??birth�?? was about six months into Keri McCartney�??s pregnancy, when surgeons at Texas Children�??s Hospital took the tiny fetus from Keri�??s womb to remove a tumor that would have killed Macie before she was born.

The second time was on May 3, when the McCartneys welcomed their surgically repaired �?? and perfectly healthy �?? baby girl into the world.

The happy couple talked exclusively to TODAY�??s Ann Curry on Friday from the hospital, where they were joined by Dr. Darrell Cass, the fetal surgeon who led the team that performed a surgery that has been successfully completed fewer than 20 times around the world. In Macie�??s case, he said, �??We were very, very fortunate. It really turned out perfectly.�??

The McCartneys�?? story began in Keri�??s 23rd week of pregnancy, when the couple took their entire family to their obstetrician�??s office to discover the sex of the baby Keri was carrying.

�??We had our whole family,�?? Chad McCartney told Curry. �??Our four kids had piled into the van, and we headed to our routine ultrasound to find out what the sex of the baby was going to be. That was the big discussion on the way up, so there was lots of excitement.�??

Click here to continue reading article at MSNBC Health News

Top Food offering free prenatal vitamins

noreply@blogger.com (Uterine Cafe) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 07:37:00 +0000

By Melissa Allison
Seattle Times business reporter

Haggen and Top Food stores will give free prenatal vitamins and fluoride supplements to anyone who has a prescription for them beginning June 4.

No insurance plan is required for the handouts. Prenatal vitamins usually cost $8 to $19 a month. Fluoride supplements are recommended for children in homes without a fluoridated water supply and cost about $6 a month.

Bellingham-based Haggen operates 33 stores in Washington and Oregon under the Top Food & Drug, Haggen Food & Pharmacy and Larry's Market names.

Melissa Allison: 206-464-3312 or mallison@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company

Stretching exercises may reduce risk of pre-eclampsia during pregnancy

noreply@blogger.com (Uterine Cafe) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 04:28:00 +0000

CHAPEL HILL �?? Stretching exercises may be more effective at reducing the risk of preeclampsia than walking is for pregnant women who have already experienced the condition and who do not follow a workout routine, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing.

Preeclampsia, or pregnancy-induced hypertension, is a condition that affects up to 8 percent of pregnancies every year and is among the leading causes of maternal and fetal illness and death worldwide.

The finding is contrary to existing studies and literature that suggest that rigorous exercise is the most effective way to reduce the risk of preeclampsia, said SeonAe Yeo, Ph.D., an associate professor with a specialty in women�??s health at the UNC School of Nursing and the study�??s lead researcher.

Yeo will present the findings Thursday (May 29) at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in Indianapolis, Ind. The results will be published in the spring issue of the journal Hypertension in Pregnancy.

Preeclampsia is characterized by a marked increase in blood pressure during pregnancy and may be accompanied by swelling and kidney problems. It is diagnosed when blood pressure readings taken twice in six hours read 140/90 or higher.

�??These results seemingly contradict the conventional wisdom that walking is the best protection pregnant women have against developing preeclampsia,�?? Yeo said. �??But for women who were not physically active before becoming pregnant and who have experienced preeclampsia with a previous pregnancy, that might not be the case.�??

From November 2001 to July 2006, 79 women with a previous preeclampsia diagnosis and a sedentary lifestyle participated in this National Institute of Nursing Research-funded study. Women were randomly assigned to either the walking group (41 women) or the stretching group (38 women) during the 18th week of pregnancy.

The walking group was asked to exercise for 40 minutes five times a week at moderate intensity, following the program recommended by the Surgeon General and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Stretchers were also asked to perform slow, non-aerobic muscle movements with a 40-minute video fives times a week. Frequency and duration of exercise decreased in both groups as the pregnancy progressed.

Click here to continue reading article at EurekaAlert.org

Stress during pregnancy may raise baby's risks

noreply@blogger.com (Uterine Cafe) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 04:07:00 +0000

Asthma, allergies more common in kids of frazzled moms-to-be, study says

Reuters
updated 3:33 p.m. ET, Sun., May. 18, 2008

CHICAGO - Women who are stressed about money, relationships and other problems during pregnancy may give birth to babies who are predisposed to allergies and asthma, U.S. researchers said on Sunday.

The findings, presented at a meeting of the American Thoracic Society in Toronto, suggest a mother's stress during pregnancy may have lasting consequences for her child.

"This research adds to a growing body of evidence that links maternal stress such as that precipitated by financial problems or relationship issues to changes in children's developing immune systems, even during pregnancy," Dr. Rosalind Wright of Harvard Medical School in Boston said in a statement.

Wright and colleagues found mothers who were the most distressed during pregnancy were most likely to give birth to infants with higher levels of immunoglobulin E or IgE �?? an immune system compound �?? even though their mothers had only mild exposure to allergens during pregnancy.

Studies in animals have found that a mother's stress amplifies the effects of allergen exposure on the immune system of the developing offspring. The Harvard team set out to see if they could find the same in humans.

They measured levels of IgE from the umbilical cord blood of 387 newborns in Boston.

Babies whose mothers were the most stressed out �?? but who had low exposure to dust mites in the home �?? still had high levels of IgE in their cord blood, a finding that suggests that stress increased the immune response to dust exposure.

This was true irrespective of the mother's race, class, education or smoking history.

Stress as 'social pollutant'
"This further supports the notion that stress can be thought of as a social pollutant that, when 'breathed' into the body, may influence the body's immune response," Wright said in a statement.

Click here to continue reading article at MSNBC.com

For moms, more kids can mean fewer teeth

noreply@blogger.com (Uterine Cafe) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 04:01:00 +0000

Connections found even among higher-income women in the U.S.

Reuters
updated 4:41 p.m. ET, Thurs., May. 29, 2008

WASHINGTON - A German folk saying that means "every child costs the mother one tooth" may hold a lot of truth, research published on Thursday indicates.

Women who gave birth to more children tended to lose more teeth during their lives, regardless of whether they were rich or poor, U.S researchers found.

They examined data on 2,635 U.S. women ages 18 to 64, sorting the nationally representative sample into three categories �?? low, middle and high socioeconomic status.

In the highest socioeconomic group, women with no children were missing on average less than one tooth, those with one child were missing about two teeth and those with four or more were missing about five teeth.

Among the women in the lowest socioeconomic group, those with no children on average were missing two teeth, those with one child were missing an average of three teeth and those with four or more were missing more than eight teeth.

The trend also held true in the middle socioeconomic group, said the researchers at New York University and Yale University in Connecticut.

"It seems that having more children is related to having fewer teeth," New York University dental professor Dr. Stefanie Russell, who led the research published in the American Journal of Public Health, said in a telephone interview.

Not just poor women
"People might say that happens because women who are poor have more children and women who are poor are not going to be able to afford the dentist," she said. "But we found that it was true across all socioeconomic levels."

Click here to continue reading article at MSNBC Health News

FDA stresses birth defect risks with Roche drug

noreply@blogger.com (Uterine Cafe) — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 07:23:00 +0000

No new cases reported, but agency worries doctors haven't seen warning

updated 5:31 p.m. ET, Fri., May. 16, 2008

WASHINGTON - Health regulators warned again Friday that Roche and Novartis drugs prescribed to organ transplant patients can cause miscarriages and birth defects when used by pregnant women.

The Food and Drug Administration last October said it received reports of miscarriages and infants born with ear and mouth birth defects after their mothers took Roche's CellCept. At the time, FDA added its most serious warning to CellCept and a similar Novartis AG drug, Myfortic.

FDA spokesman Christopher Kelly said the agency has not received any new reports of pregnancy-related problems, but was concerned some doctors may not have seen the initial warning.

CellCept and Myfortic are used to suppress the body's immune system to avoid organ rejection in transplant patients.

In a notice posted online Friday, FDA said that before prescribing the drugs doctors should confirm their transplant patients are not pregnant, and are using effective contraception.

FDA said most of the reported problems came from mothers who were taking CellCept before their pregnancies were detected. Some of the patients were taking the drug for conditions it was not approved to treat �?? including rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

A spokesman for Roche said it has not received any new reports of miscarriages or birth defects since updating the drug's labeling. The company previously reported 25 miscarriages among 77 women exposed to the drug between 1995 and 2007.

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Causes of morning sickness revealed

noreply@blogger.com (Uterine Cafe) — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 07:14:00 +0000

Despite the misery, nausea and vomiting actually serve a useful purpose

By Charles Q. Choi
updated 1:05 p.m. ET, Mon., May. 19, 2008

As irritating as morning sickness may be for pregnant women, it may protect embryos.

Doctors have long known that morning sickness �?? the nausea and vomiting usually experienced in early pregnancy �?? is actually a good sign of a healthy pregnancy, despite the discomfort it brings.

However, scientists have debated whether morning sickness actually helps pregnancies succeed. It could just be an annoying byproduct of a healthy pregnancy, as pregnant women and their embryos carry out a tug of war over the body's resources.

When and why
To see which explanation might be right, scientists analyzed medical research to see when morning sickness does and does not occur.

If morning sickness was just the byproduct of a healthy pregnancy, then it should accompany all healthy pregnancies. "But it doesn't," said researcher Samuel Flaxman, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Although two-thirds of pregnant women do experience morning sickness, the rest often carry their pregnancies to term.

Also, morning sickness does not seem to occur in other mammals, only humans, the researchers noted. If morning sickness was the byproduct of conflict between mother and embryo or fetus, one might expect other mammals to have it too.

Instead, morning sickness is usually triggered in specific circumstances �?? in response to:

* the sight, smell, or taste of meats and strong-tasting vegetables, which were historically likely to contain foodborne microbes or birth-defect-inducing chemicals;
* alcohol and cigarette smoke.

This all suggests morning sickness serves a useful function, evolving to protect mothers and embryos from things that may be dangerous, the researchers figure.

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