Pregnancy News
December 29, 2006
Pregnant Women Warned not to Eat too much Fish
Taiwanese researchers are asking pregnant women to limit the amount of fish they consume, after a recent study exposed the potential risks of doing so. They discovered that women who ate fish three or more times a week during pregnancy, were exposing their unborn children to potentially fatal levels of mercury. The study followed a small sample of women living in Taipei, and could that women who ate fish frequently had 9.1 microgram/1 mercury level in their baby’s umbilical cord blood – much higher than the 5.8 microgram/1 level recommended by the U.S. National Research Council (USNRC) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Phil Steer, editor of the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, which will be publishing the study in their January issue, said the research demonstrates "how food eaten by a pregnant mother affects the child in her womb... The message to take home from this is not 'Stop eating fish' but 'Be careful which fish you eat, and how often.'"
Source: AllHeadlineNews.com
December 28, 2006
Sex Selection Allows Parents to Avoid Blind Babies
An Assisted Reproduction United in the Basque region of Spain has, for the first time, successfully performed embryonic sex selection in a woman carrying Retinitis pigmentosa – a degenerative disease linked with the X chromosome that can lead to blindness – so as to avoid giving birth a blind baby boy. The disease affects males and females differently – men born of mothers with the disease have a 50% chance of suffering from it, while their female counterparts will be healthy, although they have a 50% chance of being carriers. Sex selection is currently the only option available for parents looking to avoid having baby boys affected by the illness.
Source: MedicalNewsToday.com
December 27, 2006
Pregnancy Diet Can Reduce Child’s Cancer Risk
Medical researchers have discovered yet another reason for women to eat a healthy diet during pregnancy; it could protect their children from developing cancer in infancy, and later on in life. The study was conducted at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. The team used laboratory mice, and found that those who received a supplement of a key phytochemical found in certain vegetables – namely green cruciferous ones – provided very significant protection from leukemia and lymphoma as well as lung cancer in middle age. "There's strong epidemiologic evidence that infant cancers can be caused by exposure of the fetus to carcinogens, either during pregnancy or by nursing," said lead researcher David Williams. "Among all childhood deaths in the U.S., cancer is second only to accidents as the leading cause, and the fetus and neonate are sensitive targets for toxic carcinogens. It would be important if we could affect this through maternal diet." The researchers, however, do not recommend pregnant women take supplements of the compound, as it has been linked to birth defects when taken in high dosages during the first trimester. They do, on the other hand, encourage all pregnant women to eat a diet rich in cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale and other leafy greens and cabbages.
Source: MedicalNewsToday.com
December 26, 2006
Pregnant Women With HIV At Risk for Anemia and Hypertension
HIV positive women are much more likely to have anemia and high blood pressure during pregnancy. The findings come out of a study conducted out of the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa. The study followed 212 HIV-positive pregnant women and 101 women who tested negative for the disease. "It has already been established that HIV and AIDS can exaggerate some of the problems normally experienced in pregnancy. But we believe that this is the first study to link being HIV positive and pregnant with higher levels of anemia and raised blood pressure," said lead researcher Candice Bodkin. HIV is also associated with:
- lower maternal weight
- urinary tract infection
- earlier delivery
- low birth weight babies
- growth retardation in babies
Source: xagena.it
December 24, 2006
Fish Oil During Pregnancy Boosts Baby’s Hand-Eye Coordination
Researchers have discovered that pregnant women who take fish oil supplements may be boosting the hand-eye coordination of their babies once they reach toddlerhood. In the study 98 women were given either fish or olive oil supplements daily from 20 weeks gestation to the birth of their babies. Once their children had reached two and half years of age, their language, behavior, reasoning skills and hand-eye coordination was assessed. Although there were no marked differences in language, the study did find that there were significant differences in hand-eye coordination, with the children born of mothers taking fish oil supplements scoring higher than those born of mothers taking olive oil supplements. These scores even held up when influencing factors such as the mother’s age and duration of breastfeeding were taken into account.
Source: MedicalNewsToday.com
