Trusted Information for Healthy Pregnancies
breastfeeding
Breastfeeding difficulties may be due to presence of high testosterone during pregnancy
Jan 8th
According to a research conducted by the researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, mothers who find it difficult to breastfeed their child might have had high level of testosterone, a male hormone during their pregnancy. The study published in Acta Obstetricia and Gynacologica Scandinavica was conducted on 180 pregnant women.
High testosterone levels in women may be due to various reasons, which bring unwanted results to a woman's appearance and health. She may suffer from hair loss, acne, unexplained weight gain and irregular menstrual cycles. The most common hormonal imbalance disease is the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). High testosterone level may also result after the placenta, the site of the hormone production, comes into action.
According to the researchers, testosterone may disrupt the development of the glandular tissue in the breast, which can affect the breastfeeding abilities of the pregnant woman. They found a direct relationship between low breastfeeding rates at three and six months and high level of testosterone in the new mothers more than factors like smoking, age and education.
Source
Breast not always best, study shows
Jan 6th
Women should forget what they have been told about the health benefits of breastfeeding, researchers have claimed.
A controversial new study has concluded that, contrary to the view of many experts, breast is not necessarily best for children in the first months of life.
Professor Sven Carlsen, who led the Norwegian team, declared: "Baby formula is as good as breast milk."
What really affects the health of a growing infant is the hormone balance in the womb before birth, according to the research.
This in turn influences a woman's ability to breast feed, resulting in a misleading association between breastfeeding and child health, it is claimed.
The only benefit from breastfeeding supported by genuine evidence is a "small IQ advantage", said the scientists. And even this was yet to be properly confirmed.
Prof Carlsen's team reviewed data from more than 50 international studies looking at the relationship between breastfeeding and health. Most concluded that the more children were breastfed, the healthier they were.
On the surface this was correct, said Prof Carlsen, from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. But he added: "Even if this is statistically true, it is not because of breastfeeding itself. There are very few studies that have examined the underlying controls on breastfeeding ability."
The largest study on breastfeeding was conducted in Belarus and involved more than 17,000 women and children who were monitored for six years. It "cut the legs out from underneath most of the assertions that breastfeeding has health benefits" said the scientists. For example, the study found no evidence that breastfeeding reduced the risk of asthma and allergies in children.
The research is published in the January edition of the journal Acta Obstestricia and Gynecologia Scandinavica.
Source
March of Dimes Reveals Pregnant Moms Biggest Fears
Dec 9th
The March of Dimes polled about 1,200 moms to find out exactly what it is that caused them to lose sleep (other than the fact they were pregnant!) while they were pregnant. The results were presented today at the March of Dimes National Communications Advisory Council luncheon where experienced, practicing obstetricians and gynecologists discussed the survey results, as well as some of the frequently asked questions their patients ask.
The March of Dimes poll found that the number one thing moms worried about was birth defects - 78 percent said they were worried their child would be born less than perfect. Stress was moms' second fear, with 74 percent answering that they were concerned if stress in their life would harm their baby's health. Preterm birth was a close third with 71 percent saying they were worried their baby would be born too soon.
"Women should discuss all their questions with their doctors and should be concerned about their overall health - quit smoking, control their blood pressure, weight and any chronic diseases, such as diabetes - before they become pregnant so they will have a better chance at a healthy pregnancy," said Dr. Diane Ashton, March of Dimes deputy medical director, who took part in the panel discussion.
Surprisingly, only 70 percent thought about the fear of pain of childbirth and 55 percent were worried that they wouldn't get to the hospital on time!
Other things moms worried about were:
- 60 percent worried they wouldn't be able to breastfeed successfully.
- 59 percent worried about losing weight after pregnancy.
- And, 59 percent worried about getting pregnant in the first place.
- Sushi and fish was the number one food concern, with 61 percent concerned.
The poll was conducted Nov. 6 to Nov. 13, 2009 using the online software Zoomerang. There were 123 valid responses from the 1,224 women from the March of Dimes Moms e-Panel and March for Babies Family Teams who were invited by email to answer the 65 questions. Some 90 percent of the women surveyed have a child who was born preterm. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents are employed, about 60 percent are between the ages of 25 and 34, 90 percent have children under the age of five and 95 percent had attended some college. The survey was written by Betty Wolder Levin, Ph.D., professor of Public Health, Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
Source
Breastfeeding Could Offer Protection Against Metabolic Disorder
Dec 3rd
Breastfeeding may offer mothers long term protection against a condition linked to diabetes and heart disease, researchers report today.
The longer women breastfed, the lower their chance of developing metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk factors such as high blood pressure and high triglycerides associated with obesity, the scientists found.
"Pregnancy may have some adverse effects on some of these cardiovascular risk factors," lead author Erica Gunderson says, "and lactation (breastfeeding) may offset some of these effects."
The impact of breast-feeding on the risk of metabolic syndrome was "slightly stronger" in women who'd had gestational — or pregnancy-induced — diabetes, says Gunderson, an epidemiologist and research scientist at Kaiser Permanente's Division of Research in Oakland. "This is the first study to really look at lactation and the metabolic syndrome in women with GDM (gestational diabetes)."
About 18%-37% of U.S. women ages 20 to 59 have metabolic syndrome, Gunderson says. A study she published in August found women with gestational diabetes are 2½ times more likely than other women to develop the condition after pregnancy.
Gunderson and her co-authors based their new findings on 704 women in an ongoing, government-funded study of heart-disease risk factors. When the women entered the study in 1985-1986, they were ages 18-30 and had never given birth; testing confirmed they didn't have metabolic syndrome.
They all went on to deliver at least one child; only 16% had more than two children. They returned for measurements of metabolic syndrome components seven, 10, 15 and 20 years after entering the study; 120 developed metabolic syndrome.
In women who didn't have gestational diabetes, breast-feeding cut metabolic syndrome risk 39%-56%. In those who did, it cut the risk 44%-86%. In both, the authors write in Diabetes: The Journal of the American Diabetes Association, the longer women breast-fed, the lower their risk.
Breast-feeding is associated with a quicker loss of pregnancy weight, but that's only "a little bit of the explanation," Gunderson says. Another possibility, she says: Breast-feeding might minimize the accumulation of belly fat, fat linked to type 2 diabetes risk.
Source
Clinical Question: Topamax and Seroquel in a Woman with Bipolar Disorder Planning to Breastfeed
Dec 1st
A clinician asks: “I am a psychiatrist treating a patient with Bipolar Disorder on Seroquel and Topamax. I would like to know what information is available regarding the safety of these medications to the infant if used during breastfeeding.”
With regard to topiramate (Topamax), there is relatively little information on breastfeeding. One case series included five [...]
Tips for Saving Money Once the Baby Arrives
Nov 25th
Parents can spend up to $10,000 buying stuff for baby's first year of life alone! (read more about baby costs.)
But there are ways families can save thousands of dollars:
Cloth Diaper Your Baby
Cloth diapering can save families literally thousands of dollars and is good for the planet too. Cloth diapers have changed so much in the last decade - they are actually easy to use and oh so cute too. (talk to other moms about cloth diapering.)
Buy Items With Multiple Uses
Parents know how frustrating it can be to buy items that only last a few months before baby grows out of them. Look for items that grow along with baby. Think about a high chair that converts to a booster, or a toy that takes baby from tummy time to standing. (more about baby gear essentials.)
Plan Ahead
Parents may not realize how much they're spending on items they don't need at places like the grocery store. Plan your meals and shop for groceries only that you need.
Breastfeed Your Baby
It's no secret that breastfeeding can save a family more than $1,500, after all, formula is expensive!
Source