Researchers know that obese pregnant women and their babies are at greater risk of pregnancy complications. We talked about that last month (Get to Your Ideal Weight Before Conception), but new research shows that maternal weight may affect babies throughout their lives in many ways.
“If there ever was a maternal hex, obesity might be it,” said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal, “and as it turns out, even after the weight comes off, the biggest loser isn’t a mother, but her child.”

The Duke University study, involving rats, revealed that maternal obesity causes cellular programming in the womb that …read more

Researchers now say they’ve confirmed that maternal age is linked with a significantly elevated risk of autism in children. And the father’s age may not matter as much as previously thought.
The research from the University of California – Davis was published online today in the February issue of the journal Autism Research. The study is important since it’s one of the largest to quantify how each parent’s age (separately and together) impacts the risk of autism in children.

The risk of having a child with autism increased by 18% for each five-year increase in maternal age. This means that a mom …read more

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can help reduce symptoms of menopause for women, but those using estrogen-only HRT may be more at risk for developing asthma.
The finding came from a new, large-scale study published in the journal Thorax. Participants included 57,664 women taking part in a French study. Every two years between 1990 and 2002, the women, born between 1925 and 1950, were asked about their use of HRT and development of asthma symptoms.

None of the women in the study had asthma when their menopausal symptoms started. Almost 9.4% of women in the study with natural menopause and 28% of women …read more

No, it’s not a magical Frosty the Snowman type thing, but cold weather can make you gain weight. And that weight gain, however small, may creep up on you over the years, putting you at risk for obesity.
There are several different ways that cold weather may contribute to gaining weight, and once these methods are exposed and swimming around in your thoughts, you may avoid them.
For the skinny on weight gain in the winter, read Tom Venuto’s article below. He’s the author of The Body Fat Solution, a book which takes a look at weight gain from many different angles …read more

Women who get sutures rather than staples to close the wound after a cesarean, a major abdominal surgery, may have fewer side effects and post-op doctor visits.
“It seemed to me that I was seeing more patients return with complications after a cesarean birth when staples were used instead of sutures, but I couldn’t find any studies that supported a recommendation for the use of either method,” said Suzanne Basha, M.D.

Dr. Basha and colleagues at Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, Pa. studied more than 400 patients (219 suture and 197 staples) undergoing cesarean delivery. After collecting wound complication data, researchers …read more

Even when mothers-to-be do everything they should (or shouldn’t), some still end up giving birth prematurely. A recent study from the National Institutes of Health reveals why.
Scientists have found genes in both the mother and fetus responsible for premature birth, a leading cause of infant death in the US. The research was presented earlier this week at the 30th Annual Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) meeting.

Roberto Romero, MD, Chief of the Perinatology Research Branch at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development led a team of physicians and scientists who studied a large number of genes involved in …read more

A new poll by the Harvard School of Public Health reveals that almost half of Americans think the H1N1 flu outbreak is history. The poll was conducted January 20-24, 2010.
My guess is that so many Americans think H1N1 is over since it hasn’t been in the news much lately. Yet, the flu is still claiming lives. CDC estimates that between 39 million and 80 million cases of H1N1 occurred last year between April and December.
Researchers believe that if perceptions that H1N1 is over spread, people who currently say they intend to get the vaccine may decide not to get …read more

New research has been unveiled today that shows acupuncture during pregnancy is a promising treatment for depression.
“Depression during pregnancy is an issue of concern because it has negative effects on both the mother and the baby as well as the rest of the family,” said Dr. Schnyer, one of the study authors.

Is depression during pregnancy a common problem?
Around 10% of pregnant women suffer from major depression, and almost 20% have increased symptoms of depression during pregnancy. Even though rates of depression in pregnant women are similar to rates among non-pregnant women the same age and women who’ve just given birth, …read more

If you’re gaining weight, but haven’t changed your eating habits and you’re still exercising, the cause may be something your doctor hasn’t checked.
Some women may go years before being diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a metabolic disorder that may lead to infertility. Around 5 million US women are affected by PCOS.

Andrea Dunaif, MD, of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said that some women will go to as many as four doctors before being diagnosed. She notes that women may be told that there’s nothing wrong with them or that they’re fat. Symptoms of PCOS, caused by excess levels …read more

Excessive Internet use has been associated with depression, but it’s a chicken and egg question. Do depressed people use the Internet too much, or do people become depressed from excessive Internet use?
“What is clear, is that for a small subset of people, excessive use of the Internet could be a warning signal for depressive tendencies,” said Dr. Catriona Morrison from the University of Leeds.

Morrison is the lead author of a new study examining the link between Internet usage, depression and addiction. It’s the first large-scale study of Western young people to take up the subject. Researchers found that people who …read more