Pregnancy & Birth
This tag causes the Pregnancy News Letter to be displayed at the bottom of posts or QA articles.
The Power of Waiting: Optimal Cord Clamping
The timing of clamping and cutting the umbilical cord can make a difference in babies' health - especially for babies born early. Clamping too late can lead to blood thickening, lung problems, and can…
A New Clue to an Old Mystery
About 1 in 12 women who are pregnant develop an important combination of swelling, elevated blood pressure, and protein in the urine that we call preeclampsia. The unborn baby's symptoms are not as ea…
Pregnant and Depressed?
Health Canada has issued an August 2004 advisory that certain anti-depressant medicines taken during the third trimester of pregnancy may cause symptoms in the baby at birth. Health Canada is the coun…
Dental X-Rays
A lead apron to protect the reproductive organs may not be enough to protect a developing baby when her mother has dental x-rays. Researchers at the University of Washington analyzed the pregnancies o…
Down Syndrome Testing and Vegetarians
Dr. Greene's take on Down Syndrome testing for vegetarian moms... Pregnant women who are vegetarians may be unnecessarily worried by prenatal screening tests, according to a study from the Chang Gung …
Inhaled Steroids and Pregnancy
Asthma is becoming more and more common at all ages, now affecting more than 20 million Americans (including more than 5 million children). What do we know about managing asthma in pregnancy? Inhaled …
Amnio, Down’s, Miscarriage, & Money
Amniocentesis (amnio) to detect Down Syndrome is cost effective for pregnant women at any age according to a study in the January 24, 2004 Lancet. For years Amnio has been offered to women over age 35…
Pack it in, Pack it out
The right type of pregnancy weight gain benefits both you and your baby. Happily, the right type of weight gain is also the kind that turns out to be easiest to shed, according to research published i…
Climb a Mountain, Drink Tea, or Be a Friend
In a Herculean effort to draw attention to breast cancer, a group of women climbers, including several breast cancer survivors, reached the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro this summer. Through their climb t…
Cesarean Delivery & Food Allergies
Children born by C-section to allergic mothers are more than 4 times more likely to develop proven egg allergies than are peers born vaginally, according to a fascinating study in the August 2003 Jour…
Common Over-the-Counter Medicines & Miscarriage
Women who take aspirin, ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil, etc.), or naproxen (Alleve) during pregnancy or just before may have an 80 percent increased risk of miscarriage, according to a study in the August 1…
Walk for Your Baby, for Yourself
Regular physical activity during the year before pregnancy and at least during the first half of pregnancy has been associated with both healthier babies and moms according to a study published in the…
Diet and Skin
Baby soft, smooth skin in young children could be partly the result of what their mothers ate during pregnancy and nursing, according to a study reported in the May 31, 2003 issue of The Lancet. Benef…
America’s Children and the Environment: Measures of Contaminants, Body Burdens, and Illnesses
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released their second report on America's Children and the Environment on February 24, 2003. Where we have taken decisive action on issues of the environment,…
Lactoferrin and Lysozyme Supplements
Before a baby is born, the normally pristine environment of the uterus is separated from the bacteria-rich environment of the vagina by a small mucus plug -- like a cork in the cervical opening. Resea…
The Link Between Parental Smoking, Obesity, and Diabetes
When mothers smoke during pregnancy, their choice may affect the children for the rest of their lives. The January 5, 2002 issue of the British Medical Journal reports an analysis of 17,000 births dur…
Folic Acid
Women who take folate during pregnancy appear to reduce the chances that their children will later develop acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). A study published in the December 8, 2001 issue of The La…
Smoking During Pregnancy Increases!
I've heard headlines this week about how great we are doing at decreasing smoking during pregnancy. But smoking rates among pregnant teens increased by 5% between 1994 and 1999, according to an August…
The Latest on Pregnancy and Alcohol
A study in the August 2001 issue of Pediatrics demonstrates the association of prenatal alcohol exposure and later childhood behavior problems at lower levels of alcohol exposure than had been previou…
Lasting Effects of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Alcohol is now recognized as the most common major destructive environmental agent to which a fetus is likely to be exposed. It is directly responsible for 10-20% of mental deficiency with IQ's in the…