Pregnancy: Some Depression Relief, Without Drugs

Up to a quarter of all women suffer from depression during pregnancy, and many are reluctant to take antidepressants. Now a new study suggests that acupuncture may provide some relief during pregnancy, even though it has not been found to be effective against depression in general.

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Restricting oral fluid and food intake during labour

In some cultures, food and drinks are consumed during labour for nourishment and comfort to help meet the demands of labour. However, in many birth settings, oral intake is restricted in response to work by Mendelson in the 1940s. Mendelson reported that during general anaesthesia, there was an increased risk of the stomach contents entering the lungs. The acid nature of the stomach liquid and the presence of food particles were particularly dangerous, and potentially could lead to severe lung disease or death. 

Since the 1940s, obstetrical anaesthesia has changed considerably, with better general anaesthetic techniques and a greater use of regional anaesthesia. These advances, and the reports by women that they found the restrictions unpleasant, have led to research looking at these restrictions. In addition, poor nutritional balance may be associated with longer and more painful labours, and fasting does not guarantee an empty stomach or less acidity. This review looked at any restriction of fluids and food in labour compared with women able to eat and drink. The review identified five studies involving 3130 women. 

Most studies had looked at specific foods being recommended, though one study let women to choose what they wished to eat and drink. The review identified no benefits or harms of restricting foods and fluids during labour in women at low risk of needing anaesthesia. There were no studies identified on women at increased risk of needing anaesthesia. None of the studies looked at women's views of restricting fluids and foods during labour. Thus, given these findings, women should be free to eat and drink in labour, or not, as they wish.

Continue reading...  http://www.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab003930.html

The Breast Whisperer

AMY BRILL, a writer who lives in Windsor Terrace, survived nine months and six days of pregnancy, then 40 hours of labor. But after a few days of nursing, she was in excruciating pain, crying every time her baby latched on. Ms. Brill’s pediatrician wrote out a phone number as if it were a prescription. “Call this woman,” he said. “She’s seen every new mom in Brooklyn.”

Continue reading... http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/nyregion/21freda.html?emc=eta1

Risk Of Preterm Birth Influenced By Pre-Pregnancy, Obesity And Gestational Weight Gain

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine's (BUSM) Slone Epidemiology Center and Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) have found that pre-pregnancy obesity and gestational weight gain are associated with an increased risk of preterm birth in African American participants from the Black Women's Health Study. This study currently appears on-line in Epidemiology.

Continue reading... http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/178905.php 

Haemorrhoids During Pregnancy & Birth

I would like to introduce you to Mr Gordon Buchannan, he's a Consultant Colorectal and General Surgeon at The London Rectal Clinic at 108 Harley Street and Imperial Hospitals, London. He has published papers on many aspects of colorectal surgery, in particular investigation of anorectal conditions and fistula-in-ano. He is presently undertaking collaborative research on laparoscopic resection of colorectal cancer. 

Continue reading...  http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/179791.php

What Is Morning Sickness? What Causes Morning Sickness?

Morning sickness, also known as nausea gravidarum, nausea/vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) , emesis gravidarum or pregnancy sickness is a condition that affects over 50% of all pregnant females. The woman feels nauseous, sometimes vomits and is often tired. Women who use hormonal contraception or HRT (hormone replacement therapy) may also have morning sickness symptoms.

Continue reading... http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/179633.php

Chronic health conditions increasing in children, study finds

 The rates are higher and the illnesses are different than in previous generations, researchers say, with youths suffering from attention deficit disorder, obesity and asthma.
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Benzene exposure linked to sperm abnormalities that cause birth defects.

Men exposed to benzene at levels close to the U.S. permissible limit are more likely to have an abnormal number of chromosomes in their sperm, researchers report in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
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Oregon Senate shoots down ban on BPA in baby bottles, sippy cups

Oregon's Senate shot down a bill this morning that would have banned a potential endocrine-disrupting chemical from baby bottles and sippy cups, splitting 15-15 on a ban that Washington's Legislature has endorsed with lopsided votes.
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Weed killer atrazine may be linked to birth defect

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Living near farms that use the weed killer atrazine may up the risk of a rare birth defect, according to a study presented this past Friday at the annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine in Chicago.

About 1 in 5000 babies born in the U.S. each year suffers from gastroschisis, in which part of the intestines bulges through a separation in the belly, according to the March of Dimes. The rate of gastroschisis has risen 2- to 4-fold over the last three decades, according to Dr. Sarah Waller, of the University of Washington, Seattle, and colleagues.

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