Mild to moderate iodine deficiency during pregnancy can result in a child developing a lower IQ and diminished reading ability and comprehension later.
The findings are from a study by the University of Surrey in England, and they were published online in late May, 2013 in the medical journal The Lancet.
Read MoreScientists have known for years that during pregnancy, cells from the developing fetus can wind up in the mother’s bloodstream. But a newer study shows that fetal cells can also travel to specific organs, such as the heart, lungs, skin … and even the brain, where they can become integrated among the mother’s neuronal cells permanently.
This process is known as “microchimerism.” (The name comes from Greek mythology, in which Chimera was a creature that was part serpent, part lion and part goat.) Microchimeric cells were first noticed in humans when cells containing the male Y chromosome were found in the blood of mothers after a pregnancy (these foreign cells can live in the mother’s bloodstream for years after a pregnancy).
Read MoreA study in Japan has shown that a crying baby’s heart rate drops very quickly if the infant is picked up and carried by a familiar caregiver. Just holding the baby won’t do; the infant has to be picked up and carried.
Lead researcher and neurobiologist Dr. Kumi Kuroda, of the Riken Brain Science Institute, theorized that this is the same response that we see in other mammals, including puppies, kittens and lion cubs, all of which relax and go limp when picked up and carried with their mothers’ mouths.
Read MoreStatistics from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that the leading cause of injury death for infants under 1 year old is suffocation, accounting for three-quarters of all infant injury deaths — thousands every year. Many of these senseless deaths could have been avoided by taking appropriate cautionary measures.
Below are objects in and outside the home, with which parents need to use precautions, to avoid choking hazards.
Read More