Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine did a study this year that showed that children conceived during the spring and early summer have a higher risk for a wide range of birth defects, including Down syndrome, cleft palate, and spina bifida AND later on these children scored lower during math and language tests than children conceived at other times. While the reported increase in birth defects was modest it still coincided with a groundwater pesticide level spike that occurs during the spring-early summer planting season.

Indiana University School of Medicine neonatology professor Paul D. Winchester, MD, the study author noted that “There appears to be a season of conception in which the risk of having a child with a birth defect is higher.” Winchester also notes that eating fewer pesticides could be a smart move,  “It would seem reasonable to reduce pesticide, nitrate and other contaminant exposures wherever possible. This is especially important during pregnancy, when we have such a critical period of development in the first few months.”

Combine this with the fact that pesticides may be passed on through generations and it starts looking like a greener pregnancy is a super keen idea, both for you and your baby.

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Blisstree

Eat Organic for a Healthy Baby

If I had a wave of anything remotely like nausea it would be when I thought about or walked into Italian restaurants. I kept this secret from my husband because one of our favorite places, Gianmarco, is Italian. Practically once a week while my bean-shaped son grew in my belly we dined at Gianmarco as I nibbled on pasta and quietly wondered if this would be the day I would finally find my pregnant self bottomed-up to the ceramic can in the ladies room. If I knew now what I didn’t know then, I would not have feared having to even leave the table, because one company has made morning sickness bags chic. They call them Morning Chicness Bags.

I swear to god this product is true! I am totally buying a pack so that when I have a friend who announces she is pregnant (because thanks to medical technology, it should not happen to me again) I can just gift her some of the colorful and lovingly decorated bags (with names like “Labor of Love” and “Bambooboo”). I suppose, if she manages not to use them they can double as gift bags for Easter treats. The bags, measuring 5 inches by 3 inches by 9.5 inches, are made of sturdy paper with leak-proof polyethylene lining and horizontal closure clip. A pack of 10 is only $7.50 plus shipping! (I wonder if they have an odor shield…) They’re also available at some retail locations, far, far from my state.

The bags are intended to replace airline vomit bags, plastic shopping bags, or whatever you women who suffered from morning sickness carried around to puke in. As I said, I wouldn’t know because I never threw up during pregnancy. And I’m glad for that, except it sure would be fun to walk around with those groovy puke purses! Who says I can’t do it anyway? Never know when I’ll catch a stomach bug from my glorious son!

Photos, Model heaving into Bambooboo, above, and Morning Chicness Bags design options, right, courtesy of www.morningchicknessbags.com

Post from: Blisstree

Cute Puke Bags make Morning Sickness Chic

Image: Photoxpress

Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. I have friends who are registered nurses and they tell me that swine flu is really bad and should be avoided at all costs. I even heard that the swine flu strain is mutating and that the vaccine, tamiflu is not working anymore.

If I were you and you’re pregnant, I’d be more careful as apparently, pregnant women are more at risk with swine flu.

Pregnancy weakens a woman’s immune system, so that she’s more likely to suffer pneumonia when she catches the flu. In earlier flu pandemics, infection also raised the risk of a premature birth.

Here are some tips to avoid contracting the virus:

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze (then throw the tissue in the trash!)
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
• And if you get sick, stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

Keep safe!

Post from: Blisstree

Pregnant Women more at risk with Swine Flu

IMG: Sxc.hu

The girl’s mother had allowed the boy to move into their home, but the DOCS failed to take any action despite her father’s repeated pleas with the staff.

Cops said that they were also unable to intervene because both children were under the age of consent, and they could have only started a criminal investigation if the boy was 18.

The girl’s father, who is separated from the mother, discovered she was pregnant after he took custody of her in March.

And now, the girl is halfway through her pregnancy.

Her father is angry that it was the news of her pregnancy that made government agencies to finally take notice of the situation.

What would you have done? Obviously this man’s hands were tied, the courts wouldn’t listen to him and he didn’t have custody to prevent this. When he finally got custody she was already pregnant. Now instead of planning first dates, prom and high school dances he’ll be preparing a baby shower, the birth or adoption. I haven’t read yet if they plan on adopting the baby.

Linda Burney, the NSW Community Services Minister has stated that the department should’ve done something before it came to this point. She has admitted they were in the wrong and should’ve intervened. She even states that the father of the 12-year-old did contact them back in March but nothing was really done.

Oh but get this, the 15-year-old boyfriend that got her pregnant has been banned to see her. Umm, I think the damage is already done, she’s already pregnant and can’t get pregnant again for at least a few more months. Any thoughts on this?

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12-Year-Old To Become a Mom

During a pandemic, children and pregnant women are at high risk of serious complications and even death if they become ill with the flu, according to the March of Dimes. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has developed extensive plans for minimizing the impact of the pandemic flu, and once a vaccine has been developed for the virus causing the pandemic, pregnant women and children from age 6 to 35 months would be given highest priority for receiving it.

For information on how to protect yourself, your unborn child and your young children visit these sites from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

Information for Concerned Parents and Caregivers

Guidance for Prevention and Control of influenza in the Peri- and Postpartum Settings

Photo, Flickr, honey-bee

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Swine Flu Precautions for Nursing, Pregnant

Researchers did not get into the specifics of why this happens, but with multiple births I’m sure the stress of handling so many babies at once certainly can add to things.

The study was out ” April 1 in the journal Pediatrics.” With Octomom in the news lately, it brings this information to the forefront. Postpartum is a serious disease and new moms should seek help from their doctor at the first sign of depression.

Image: sxc.hu.

Post from: Blisstree

Postpartum Depression for Multiple Births

Negative

I wrote that post from the perspective of actually being accidentally pregnant – as an actor would preparing for a role in a movie, I suppose. I tried to take on the thoughts and fears and excitement I would have felt. Those feelings were real. And for a moment – no, a while – I was actually a little disappointed not to be pregnant.

I had never questioned having an only child. My husband wanted another baby and I didn’t rule it out. But I never had the longing. And, sort of passively aggressively, I let time slip away until it became no longer plausible.

It does give me pause, at times, when my darling son asks if he can have a brother. (He wants an older one.) There are women who would give their life’s blood to carry a baby, yet each month I am preventing this well-working mechanism in my own body. Should I feel guilty for not giving my son a companion to share his 5-year-old dreams, a best friend for life? Am I selfish for wanting just one child?

According to OnlyChild.com, the percentage of women who have only one child has more than doubled in the past 20 years, making only-child families the fast growing families in this country. Figures recently released by the Office for National Statistics, the UK’s “statistics authority,” families with only one child now make up 46 percent of all families in Britain, a number that’s jumped four percent since last year. This only-child trend, affectionately coined “little emperors” by China which imposed a one-child family limit, has taken root in Britain, so say the experts, because of the need for mothers to work, the high cost of raising children, and the prevalence of family breakups and single parenthood.

Are my reasons as rational? Maybe not. Mine are more selfish. But it is a decision I made and, at this point, there’s no looking back.

Source: Daily Mail

JWJourney

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OK, I’m NOT Pregnant

The Public Health Agency of Canada’s Maternity Experiences Survey, based on interviews by Statistics Canada, involved 6,421 women. Virtually all women had at least one ultrasound, but the average was 3. If that’s the average, it means several women had more than 3. If you look at the comments in the article linked below, you’ll see that some women have them routinely once a month.

Although it’s fun to see your baby with ultrasound technology, the long-term effects of these tests aren’t known. They may seem harmless, but they are an intervention, which really shouldn’t be done unless there’s a good reason.

There are other interesting findings from the study as well. According to the CBC article, Canadian women receiving extra ultrasounds: maternity report , while women in the territory of Nunavut experienced more abuse, less folic acid before pregnancy, and postpartum depression, they were found to be more likely breastfeed exclusively for at least six months after birth.

Women in the rest of Canada reported over 25% had Cesarean sections, hospitals are still doing enemas, shaving, and using stirrups, and very few (4.1%) of women used midwives. On the bright side, 92.3% of low income women drank no alcohol compared with 88.2% of higher income women.

What was your experience like?

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Images: Newscom and iStock

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Pregnant Canadians, too many ultrasounds

According to the Ithica Journal, pregnant women who have migraines “are 15 times more likely than other women to suffer a stroke, twice as likely to have heart disease and three times more likely to have blood clots and other vascular problems during pregnancy.”

The study also found that women over 35 were more likely to experience migraines. The condition was also present in white more often than in other ethnic or racial groups.

Image from sxc.

Post from: Blisstree

Danger of Migraines During Pregnancy

Unfortunately, the world has changed significantly since the 70s. Now, sex without a barrier method of protection is like playing Russian Roulette. I don’t think we should even call barrier protection birth control. That’s a misnomer, in my mind. Those barriers are life-savers. They prevent the transmission of illnesses like HIV, which may develop into AIDS.

Of course, there’s also the age-old problem of some men not wanting to wear a condom. They don’t like it makes them feel, they say it takes away from the spur of the moment, the don’t like wearing them, and so on. In many cases, the women have no say and they give in.

Talk of a female condom has been around for years. But now the talk is a reality. Although an earlier version of the female condom has been around for a while, it had its critics. This one, the second generation is supposed to be less expensive and easy to use.

According to this press release issued by the Center for Health & Gender Equity (CHANGE):

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted regulatory approval to the FC2 female condom, a lower-cost, second generation product manufactured by the Female Health Company — a move widely praised by HIV/AIDS and women’s health and rights advocates globally.

“We join women around the world in applauding the FDA’s swift action to approve the FC2 female condom,” stated Serra Sippel, executive director of the Center for Health and Gender Equity. “The HIV pandemic among women requires increased investment in woman-centered prevention options, and FC2 approval is an important step forward in putting the power of prevention in women’s hands.”

Something like this can help women take charge of their lives; it can have a significant impact.

Every girl needs to know how to protect herself before she becomes sexually active. Hopefully, with new products like an affordable and easy-to-use condom, this will be easier to do.

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Images: Newscom.com

Post from: Blisstree

FDA approves new female condom