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 MoreAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), asthma is the most common chronic condition affecting children in the United States. In 2009, an estimated 10.2 million U.S. children — almost 10 percent of Americans under 18 years of age — have been diagnosed with asthma.
And it is increasing at an alarming rate; up 75 percent from 1980. A rise in asthma cases among infants and toddlers accounts for a large part of the overall increase. One of the difficulties of diagnosing asthma in this group is that it is difficult to safely measure lung function at that age.
Read MoreMoms-to-be understand the importance of eating a healthy, balanced diet during pregnancy. But it is also important to insure that you’re getting appropriate levels of food and nutrients before your baby is even conceived.
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 MoreThe American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists published new guidelines that strongly discourage cesarean sections unless they are medically indicated, on grounds that they can lead to complications for the mother as well as the newborn. The report was published in the organization’s March, 2013 edition of its journal, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and appears online on ACOG’s website.
The group states that vaginal deliveries should be the norm, and that every attempt should be made to avoid early cesarean deliveries. The recommendations are an attempt to reduce the skyrocketing rate of cesarean sections, by limiting “maternal-request” C-sections and early deliveries for presumed big babies.
Read MoreAs a new mother, you’ve probably heard that “breast is best” and when it comes to preventing food allergies in your new baby, this is especially so. Though allergies have been on the rise with children (1 out of 5 will usually develop an allergy by the age of 20), it has been shown that those children who were breastfed are less likely to develop allergies.
Babies tend to develop and allergy to those foods which they try first. Since a breastfeed infant is receiving trace amounts of what the mother eats, the likelihood of that baby developing an allergic reaction to solid foods diminishes. However, every baby is different–for example, if a mother eats peanuts and then nurses, the baby could, in extreme cases, go into anaphylactic shock.
It’s important to keep in mind that having an allergic reaction to food and having an irritant due to the food are two separate things. An irritant will cause a temporary reaction, while an allergen (a substance which causes an allergic reaction) will be more severe and longer lasting. For instance, a child may be fussy due to gas which was a result of the mother eating broccoli. This would be considered an irritant, not an allergen. The most common irritants are chocolate, cruciferous vegetables, onions and bell peppers. However, foods that babies can have an allergic reaction to are cow’s milk, soy, wheat, corn, shellfish, citrus fruits, eggs and peanuts. Also be wary in trying foods that other family members are allergic to, as the likelihood that the baby will be allergic to it as well is increased.
When trying to see if a baby is sensitive to a certain food, a mother must keep in mind that fussiness caused by food is different from normal baby fussiness. If it’s a reaction to food, then the baby will be irritable directly after feedings. They may cry non-stop for long periods of time, sleep very little, or, when they do go to sleep, wake and seem very uncomfortable. Other allergy signs are:
Read MoreA study published in late March, 2013 in the American Academy of Pediatrics journal Pediatrics found that a majority of babies in the United States may be getting introduced to solid foods much too early, often leading to a variety of chronic illnesses.
Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveyed 1,334 new moms nationwide; they found that almost 93 percent had introduced solid foods to their infants before the babies were six months old, 40 percent had introduced solids before four months, and 9 percent had done so before four weeks of age.
Read MoreDespite the startling technical advances that the field of medicine has made in the last few decades, women are taking longer to give birth now than they did 50 years ago.
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