Having an epidural during labour may protect key muscles and therefore cut the risk of incontinence in later life, a study of nearly 400 women suggests.
Research in the BJOG, the leading obstetrics journal, found more than one in ten women who had vaginal births suffered damage to the “levator” muscles which hold up internal organs.
via BBC News.
When doctors detect preterm labor its often too late to do anything about it. Premature births are often only delayed a few days. Biomedical researchers at Johns Hopkins University however, are developing a new system to help physicians detect preterm labor. “If labor can be detected earlier, medications can sometimes prolong the pregnancy by as much as six weeks,” says researcher, Karin Hwang. “We estimate that the cost savings could be more than $44,000 per patient for every preterm birth we could prevent”
via Change.org.
Pregnant women in the UK should be told to routinely take vitamin D supplements, researchers say.
The team at University College London Institute of Child Health says official bodies currently offer conflicting advice.
Writing in the British Journal of Nutrition, they say there is a “strong case” for a daily dose of vitamin D in pregnancy.
via BBC News
Pregnant Arab women have an “extraordinarily high prevalence” of vitamin D deficiency — a potential health issue for them and their babies, according to a new Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center study.
The vitamin deficiency is largely due to how Arab women dress outdoors — preventing exposure of the skin to sunlight and subsequent vitamin D intake, according to Adekunle Dawodu, M.D., a physician in the Center for Global Child Health at Cincinnati Children’s and lead author of the study.
via Science Daily. Thanks to levelsofillusion for pointing out this article to me.
Women who drink during pregnancy may be damaging the future fertility of their sons, research suggests.
In a study of almost 350 young men, sperm levels were a third lower in those whose mothers had drunk more than four drinks a week during pregnancy compared with teetotallers.
via BBC News
Studies have shown fathers who are active in their children’s upbringing can significantly benefit their children’s early development, academic achievement and well being. Now, a new study by University of South Florida researchers suggests that a father’s involvement before his child is born may play an important role in preventing death during the first year of life – particularly if the infant is black.
The two researchers found that the largest share of adverse reactions (42%) was reported for psychostimulants (such as Ritalin), followed by 31% for antidepressants (such as Prozac) and 24% for antipsychotics (such as Haldol) . A number of ADRs were reported for Danish children below 2 years, probably due to the mother’s intake of psychotropic medicine, primarily antidepressants and antipsychotics, during pregnancy. Serious ADRs such as ‘neonatal withdrawal syndrome’, ‘ventricular septal defects’ and ‘premature labour’ were reported. According to Aagaard, “Considering the higher number of birth defects being reported greater care has to be given while prescribing these drugs for pregnant women.”
via Medical News Today.
Pregnant women with thyroid function test results in the upper half of the normal range have an increased chance of miscarriage, even when they lack thyroid-harming antibodies, according to a new study. The results, which the authors say show the need to change screening practices for pregnant women, will be presented at The Endocrine Society’s 92nd Annual Meeting, ENDO 2010, in San Diego on June 22 by Alex Stagnaro-Green, M.D., senior author and senior associate dean for education at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
“We think there is a postcode lottery of treatment and some GPs clearly have fears around prescribing ant-nausea medication. Thalidomide still casts a shadow,” said University of Lincoln health psychologist Dr Brian Sallow, who has organised the meeting in collaboration with Pregnancy Sickness Support.
“But we also want to challenge some of the prevailing presumptions about sickness in pregnancy and this idea that somehow women are just making a fuss.”
via BBC News
The Changing Parenting Culture conference next week is to explore the emergence of what it sees as new, often contradictory rules shaping pregnancy and pregnancy planning.
These include the role of stress in pregnancy, amid conflicting reports on the impact of the way a mother feels on the wellbeing of the growing foetus.
Some studies have suggested that stress in pregnancy can cause anything from physical abnormalities to behavioural problems.
via BBC News
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