Prenatal
Omega 3’s, Colostrum, and Allergies
As I describe in my book, From First Kicks to First Steps what mothers eat while they are pregnant influences the health and development of their babies in many ways. Each meal can be a gift to your b…
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 …
Healthier Babies and Insect Sprays: A Change That Worked
Women who wouldn't consider smoking while pregnant might not think twice about putting flea collars on their pets or spraying to control cockroaches. Thankfully, somebody did. While revelers were cele…
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 …
West Nile Babies
What happens when pregnant women get bitten by a mosquito? West Nile virus infection has become increasingly common in the United States. In 2003 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) r…
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…
What If Mom’s Mother Smoked Years Ago?
Sometimes our actions ripple onward to our children and our children's children. Babies born during the Dutch winter famine of 1944-45 had birthweights that varied depending on what trimester they wer…
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…
Protecting Babies from HIV
My heart goes out to pregnant women with HIV. Even though treatments for HIV continue to improve, its presence casts a dark shadow over a special time. In 2002, about 800,000 babies caught HIV from th…
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…
Healthy Babies and Mom’s Gum Health
Dr. Greene's take on mothers' gum health... The right dental treatment can increase the odds of giving birth to a healthy baby, according to a study in the August 2003 Journal of Periodontology. We've…
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…
Heroin, Crack, and Tobacco
Quitting smoking can be miserable ? especially for a newborn baby whose developing brain has been damaged by the tobacco. Smoking regular cigarettes during pregnancy can have the same neurotoxic effec…
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,…
Mom’s Vitamins Help Kids
Vitamin B12 consumed by nursing mothers can change the trajectory of their babies' brain development. The Jan 31, 2003 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly report told the story of a 15-m…
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…