You have more influence on those first sounds coming from your baby than you might think! New research suggests that infants start learning elements of their first language in the womb. That’s long before they make their first coos.

According to a new study published in Current Biology, a baby’s first cries carry an accent. French infants don’t cry the same way as German infants. For the study, researchers compared recordings of 30 French and 30 German infants that were between two and five days old. The languages are very different since French words often have a stress at the end, …read more

We’ve written about pneumonia here at Blisstree, but most often we talk about seniors and their susceptibility to the illness (November 2: World Pneumonia Day). Sadly, pneumonia also claims the lives of many children around the world.
Save the Children is an organization that works to improve the health of children all over the world, including North America. In April of this year Save the Children Artist Ambassadors Gwyneth Paltrow and Hugh Laurie helped establish World Pneumonia Day, which took place on November 2, 2009. The goal of the day was to mobilize efforts to fight pneumonia, a neglected disease, that …read more

Find out how your city rates on women’s health issues like cancer rates, water quality and even sleeping well, plus more. SELF recently researched 100 metro areas in the US to give you an idea of how your city ranks up.
SELF analyzed lots of data in around 50 categories like disease and mortality rates, lifestyle factors, environmental indicators and community resources. They utilized Sperling’s BestPlaces with the help of experts who weighed in on the importance of different factors.

To find out where the most fit, happy and healthy women live, view the complete rankings listed straight through to 100, or …read more

Birth control bills may benefit women with asthma, while taking acetaminophen may be associated with a higher risk of developing asthma.
Two new studies, both published in the November issue of CHEST, analyzed women and asthma.

In the birth control pill study at McMaster University in Canada, researchers studied 17 women with asthma during their menstrual cycles. The study results revealed that women with asthma taking oral contraceptives had lower exhaled nitric oxide levels (eNO) than women who were taking the pill. eNO is a marker of airway inflammation associated with asthma. Researchers think that the pill just could have a potential …read more

As you know, I don’t typically write about the ancient practice of astrology. However, an opportunity came my way to share with you astrology tips for 2010 from leading astrologists who write for AOL.com and Tarot.com: Rick Levine and Jeff Jawer.

Levine is the founding trustee of the Kepler College for Astrological Arts and Sciences, a four-year educational institution in Seattle, WA. Jawer is a co-founder of the Association for Astrological Networking and the United Astrology Congress.
Levine and Jawer are the authors of Your Astrology Guide 2010. I don’t take astrology very seriously myself, but I have to admit that it …read more

Gluten-free doesn’t have to mean plain. As the number of people diagnosed with celiac disease grows to around 2 million in the US, so do healthy, gluten-free food options.
I recently tried a couple of boxes of Nature’s Path organic and gluten-free cereals: Crunchy Vanilla Sunrise and Crunchy Maple Sunrise. (I received the boxes free for review.)

Both of these cereals are certified USDA organic. In addition, the Sunrise cereals are also vegetarian and free of trans fat. I’m not sure how you can get much healthier than this.
What’s inside? An organic blend of corn, rice, flax, quinoa, buckwheat and amaranth.
Both cereals …read more

Andrea Ivory knew she was fortunate when she survived breast cancer due to early detection. That made her think of all the women without health insurance who put off getting mammograms and breast exams.

She didn’t just think about it. Andrea started the Florida Breast Health Initiative. Since 2006, Andrea and her team of volunteers have knocked on the doors of around 20,000 homes. And they’ve helped provide more than 500 mammograms to Miami area residents.

Andrea and the Florida Breast Health Initiative volunteers spread the word that “Early detection is the best protection.” They devote the first three Saturdays of each …read more

In 1944, an Austrian pediatrician, Hans Asperger, wrote about some characteristics he was seeing in some people, such as clumsiness, repetitive routines or rituals, different speech patterns (monotone, overly formal), inappropriate social behavior, and difficulties with non-verbal communication.
Over the years, not much notice was taken until the 1980s when a doctor in the United Kingdom, Lorna Wing, noticed children with similar characteristics and she named what she saw as Aspergers syndrome. Since then,  the disorder was studied more, and in 1994, Asperger syndrome was labeled as an autism spectrum disorder. With that, it was officially recognized in the “bible” of …read more

If you regularly hear annoying noise with electrical, musical, or even mechanical qualities, then you could be part of the 19% of Americans who suffer from tinnitus. The buzzing or chirping noise is often high-pitched and relentless. Yet, others can’t hear it.

What’s heard by tinnitus sufferers is called “phantom” noise since nothing external is causing it, and doctors often can’t hear the noises on exam either. According to Mayo Clinic, doctors can only hear a rare type of tinnitus caused by a muscular issue, blood vessel problem or an inner ear bone condition.
Despite the fact that tinnitus is so widespread, …read more

Yes, there is thimerosol in the H1N1 injectable vaccine. Yes, you are being encouraged to have the H1N1 vaccine to prevent the spread of influenza. Yes, there is a very tiny amount of mercury in thimerosol. NO, this does not cause autism.
Several years ago, some doctors made a claim that the vaccines given to children caused autism. As some parents of children with autism wanted to be able to identify a specific cause for their children’s disability, they latched on to the theory that there was a connection between the vaccines and autism. The problem is, the very doctor who …read more