Pregnancy May Protect Against MS

Pregnancy May Protect Against MS, Study Says -- New research suggests that pregnancy may decrease women's risk of developing multiple sclerosis.

"Even one pregnancy was associated with nearly a halving of risk [of developing MS symptoms]," said study author Anne-Louise Ponsonby, head of the environmental and genetic epidemiology and research group at Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia. The team also found that women who were pregnant two or more times had only one-quarter of the risk of developing MS symptoms as those who were never pregnant.

The study was published online March 7 in the journal Neurology.

Previous research has found that pregnancy in women who already have MS -- an autoimmune disorder -- is linked with lower rates of relapse.

Ponsonby's team found an association between pregnancy and a lower risk of MS symptoms, not a direct cause-and-effect link. They say, however, that this association may help explain why the incidence of MS in women has inched up over the past few decades, as more women delay pregnancy or have fewer babies or none at all.

The researchers evaluated information on 282 Australian men and women, aged 18 to 59, who had MS symptoms -- which can include fatigue, numbness, balance or walking problems -- but had not been diagnosed with the disease. The researchers looked at both the number of live births and pregnancies lasting at least 20 weeks in the women. They also recorded the number of children born to men. They compared those statistics to 542 men and women without MS symptoms.

No link was found between the number of children men had and their risk of MS symptoms. There was an association with women, however: the risk of developing MS symptoms decreased as the number of pregnancies increased.

The researchers couldn't say exactly why pregnancy may lower MS risk, but they speculated it could be the increase in estrogen during pregnancy or the effect pregnancy has on inflammatory genes involved in MS.

The study was funded by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and other organizations.

Women are more likely than men to develop MS. Having a close relative with MS also increases your risk. About 400,000 people in the United States have MS, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

The new data supports information already known about MS and pregnancy, said Karen Blitz-Shabbir, director of the Multiple Sclerosis Care Center at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System in Manhasset, N.Y.

"It is generally accepted that pregnancy is 'protective' in that it reduces the relapse rate during pregnancy," Blitz-Shabbir said. "While these study results should be replicated, it again shows us favorable effects of pregnancy in women. This may help us frame future studies looking into hormonal treatment or other treatments that may alter the disease course." ( HealthDay News )

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How Smoking Affects Pregnancy And Your Baby

How Smoking Affects Pregnancy And Your Baby - Many people know about the negative health effects associated with smoking. Unfortunately, a lot of women have tried to quit and have been unsuccessful. Smoking during pregnancy has a tremendous impact on the health of both the mother and the developing baby.

Although some women are able to quit cold turkey once they learn they are expecting, others will continue to struggle with the addictive properties of nicotine. Taking the time to learn just how dangerous smoking can be and the negative effect it can have on both the mother and the baby is sometimes all that is needed to help kick the smoking habit altogether.

Why is it Dangerous?

Everyone knows that smoking is bad for your health. Nicotine is an addictive chemical that cause a plethora of health conditions. While most expectant mothers would never eat a muffin that was labeled “cancer-causing muffin”, many women continue to pick up a cigarette and smoke during their pregnancy, despite warnings about the dangers associated with smoking. But many people are often surprised when they learn that cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals. Of those, at least 60 have been identified as cancer-causing carcinogens. In addition to cancerous compounds, cigarette smoke contains chemicals such as lead, carbon monoxide and cyanide.

Both nicotine and carbon monoxide are dangerous on their own. But when these two compounds are combined, as they are in cigarettes, they are even more dangerous. These two toxic compounds are the leading cause of smoking-related complications during pregnancy. The nicotine narrows the blood vessels in the mother’s body and the umbilical cord, which restricts the amount of oxygen that gets transported to the baby. Instead of being surrounded by oxygen to breathe, the baby struggles to bring in enough. Compounding the problem, tiny particles of carbon monoxide are picked up by the red blood cells that are responsible for transporting oxygen throughout the body. For every bit of carbon monoxide that is picked up by the red blood cells, an equal amount of oxygen is left behind. This further decreases the amount of oxygen being delivered to the baby. The increase in blood volume during pregnancy combined with pregnancy hormones and a growing fetus pushing on the lungs makes breathing difficult during pregnancy. Smoking perpetuates the problem, decreasing the amount of oxygen available to both the mother and the baby.

How Can it Affect the Pregnancy?

Women who smoke while they are pregnant increase their risk for pregnancy-related complications. Pregnancy places a tremendous burden on a woman’s body. From the fluctuating hormones to the effects of weight gain, even the healthiest woman can develop complications during her pregnancy. Those that smoke are at a greater risk.

Smoking during pregnancy can cause a placental abruption. This occurs when the placenta, the baby’s lifeline during the pregnancy, separates from the uterine wall prior to delivery. The placenta will separate naturally during the labor and delivery process, but when it happens prematurely, the results can be disastrous. When placental separation occurs, it is a life-threatening emergency for both mother and baby.

Not necessarily life-threatening, but still very serious, Placenta Previa is another condition that occurs more frequently in women who smoke during pregnancy. The placenta normally attaches to the side of the uterine wall early in pregnancy. With Placenta Previa, the placenta instead attaches low in the uterus, either partially or completely covering the opening of the uterus. If the opening of the uterus is blocked by the placenta when it is time to deliver the baby, a cesarean section will have to be performed.

Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of having an ectopic pregnancy. When this occurs, the embryo does not implant in the uterus. Instead, it implants somewhere else, such as the fallopian tubes. When this occurs, the pregnancy must be terminated, as it cannot grow and thrive anywhere other than the uterus. If left untreated, ectopic pregnancy can be life-threatening.

Women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to experience unexplained vaginal bleeding, and premature delivery. Smoking during pregnancy more than doubles the risk of having a stillbirth.

How Can it Harm the Baby?

Women who smoke during pregnancy are exposing their unborn baby to a myriad of potential health problems both during the pregnancy and after birth. One of the most serious complications is premature delivery. A normal pregnancy lasts for 40 weeks. A baby is considered premature if he is delivered any time before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Women who smoke during pregnancy are up to 4 times more likely to have a baby born before 37 weeks than women who do not smoke. Premature babies are susceptible to a host of health conditions, including difficulty breathing, inability to regulate body temperature and low birth weight.

Babies who are born full term are still at increased risk of having a low birth weight if their mothers smoked during pregnancy, even if they were not delivered prematurely. Premature babies and those that are born with a low birth weight have a much higher chance of developing serious medical conditions, including permanent disabilities, mental retardation, behavioral problems, developmental disabilities and even death. Babies who are smaller at birth generally have smaller lungs and therefore babies. When this occurs, baby’s first days will likely be spent in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hooked up to breathing tubes or a respirator rather than in his mother’s arms. Even after transitioning out of the NICU, these babies will remain at increased risk for developing asthma and other breathing difficulties later in life.

Babies of mothers who smoked during pregnancy are at increased risk for being born with birth defects such as a cleft palate or cleft lip.

Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of giving birth to a baby with a heart defect. These babies are up to 70% more likely to have heart defects than babies who were not exposed to smoke while in the womb.

Babies who are born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy are up to 3 times more likely to die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

What About Second Hand Smoke?

Almost equally dangerous to babies is second-hand smoke. Second-hand smoke is the smoke that is burned at the tip of the cigarette and exhaled by the smoker. This type of smoke contains even more toxic chemicals than the smoke that is inhaled by the smoker. Babies who are exposed to second-hand smoke on a regular basis are much more likely to suffer from allergies, asthma, cancer and other health conditions. These babies have triple the risk of dying from SIDS than babies who are not exposed to second-hand smoke.

How Can I Quit?

There is no right or wrong way to quit smoking. What works for one individual might not work for another. Start by removing the temptation. Remove all of your ashtrays, lighters and matches from your home. Explain to any guests that smoking is off limits in your home. Ask your friends who smoke not to do so in your presence. Avoid places where smokers congregate such as bars and restaurants with smoking sections.

Avoid caffeine and choose non-caffeinated beverages instead. Caffeine can trigger your desire to smoke. Many people find that eating or sucking can mimic the motion of smoking. Try snacking on fresh fruits and vegetables of sucking on mints or lollipops when you feel the urge to smoke. Chewing gum can also help.

Enlist help from others. Ask your partner, a friend or a co-worker to quit with you. You can help support each other and offer encouragement along the way. Inquire about local support group groups in your area. Speak with your doctor about using smoking cessation aids that are safe during pregnancy. ( symptomfind.com )

READ MORE - How Smoking Affects Pregnancy And Your Baby

"Fertility switch" points to new treatments

"Fertility switch" points to new treatments: study - Scientists have discovered an enzyme that acts as a "fertility switch" and say their findings could help treat infertility and miscarriage and may also lead to new contraceptives.

A study in the journal Nature Medicine Sunday reports that researchers at Imperial College London found high levels of a protein called SGK1 are linked with infertility, while low levels of it make a woman more likely to have a miscarriage.

Enzymes are proteins that catalyze, or increase the rates of, chemical reactions.

Jan Brosens, who led the study at Imperial and is now at Warwick University, said its results suggested new fertility and miscarriage treatments could be designed around SGK1.

"I can envisage that in the future, we might treat the womb lining by flushing it with drugs that block SGK1 before women undergo IVF (in vitro fertilization)," he said in a statement.

"Another potential application is that increasing SGK1 levels might be used as a new method of contraception."

Infertility is a worldwide problem that experts estimate to affect between 9 and 15 percent of people of child-bearing age. More than half of those affected will seek medical advice in the hope of eventually being able to become a parent.

Around one in 100 women trying to conceive have recurrent miscarriages, defined as the loss of three or more consecutive pregnancies.

In this study, Brosens' team looked at tissue samples from the womb lining, donated by 106 women who were being treated either for unexplained infertility or recurrent miscarriage.

Those with unexplained infertility had been trying to get pregnant for two years or more, and the most common reasons for infertility had been ruled out.

The researchers found that the womb lining in these women had high levels of the enzyme SGK1, while the women suffering recurrent miscarriage had low levels of SGK1.

In further experiments using mice, the team found that levels of SGK1 in the womb lining decline during the fertile window in mice.

When the researchers implanted extra copies of an SGK1 gene into the womb lining, the mice were unable to get pregnant. This suggests a fall in SGK1 levels is essential for making the uterus receptive to embryos, they said.

The researchers said any future infertility treatment that blocks SGK1 would need to have a short-term effect, since low SGK1 levels after conception seem to be linked to miscarriage.

"Low levels of SGK1 make the womb lining vulnerable to cellular stress, which might explain why low SGK1 was more common in women who have had recurrent miscarriage," said Madhuri Salker of Imperial college, who also worked on the study.

"In the future, we might take biopsies of the womb lining to identify abnormalities that might give them a higher risk of pregnancy complications, so that we can start treating them before they get pregnant." ( Reuters )

READ MORE - "Fertility switch" points to new treatments

Trying for a baby? Then brush your teeth as gum disease affects fertility

Trying for a baby? Then brush your teeth as gum disease affects fertility - Oral hygiene helps women conceive two months faster

Women with gum disease took just over seven months to become pregnant, while their peers took five months

Women who want to have a baby should take good care of their teeth, claim experts.

Gum disease could significantly delay the chances of conceiving, fertility specialists have found.

In the first study of its kind, researchers found women with gum disease took an extra two months to get pregnant compared with those who had healthy teeth and gums.

It took around seven months on average for those with poor oral hygiene to conceive, but just five months for those who brushed and flossed their teeth properly.

Gum disease – or periodontal disease in its severe form – is caused by a build-up of plaque. It leads to bad breath and bleeding gums and, if untreated, causes cavities, receding gums and tooth loss.

Bleeding gums caused by failure to brush properly can allow up to 700 different types of bacteria to get into the bloodstream.

It is not clear how gum disease may trigger problems with conceiving, but infected gums may release inflammatory chemicals, which activate the immune system and inflame the lining of the womb. This could affect implantation of a fertilised egg.

Experts at the University of Western Australia in Perth who carried out the study said the delay was similar to that posed by being obese.

The team from the University of Western Australia also confirmed previous studies that suggest age, weight and smoking all impact on a woman's ability to conceive

Lead researcher Professor Roger Hart said: ‘For the first time periodontal disease has been linked with inability to conceive.

£38 fertility test beats the calendar

'Women should be encouraged to see their dentist to have any gum disease treated before trying for a baby.

'It is easily treated, usually involving no more than four dental visits.’ More than a quarter of pregnant women have gum disease, he added, and there is evidence it is linked with miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth.

The researchers questioned almost 4,000 women who were 12 weeks pregnant. A total of 26 per cent were confirmed to have gum disease.

They found delays in conceiving among those aged 35 and over, smokers and obese women – already known risk factors. But there was a higher level of gum disease – one in three – among the women who took more than a year to get pregnant.

Of those who had healthy gums, only one in four took longer than a year, the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology was told.

Professor Hart said there was also evidence gum disease in men impaired their sperm quality. ‘I would advise any couple wanting to start a family to visit a dentist first,’ he said. ( dailymail.co.uk )

READ MORE - Trying for a baby? Then brush your teeth as gum disease affects fertility

We need to fight the myth of 'too posh to push’

We need to fight the myth of 'too posh to push’ - Soaring caesarean section rates have more to do with saving lives than women’s fear of labour

Are affluent middle-class women swallowing up precious NHS funds by insisting on caesarean sections? Are the “too posh to push” brigade following in the footsteps of celebrities like Posh Spice and Patsy Kensit in their desire to keep their nether regions unscathed by normal, messy childbirth? Do we, in fact, need psychiatric help to overcome our pathological fear of labour?

Certainly, that seems to be the case if you read the draft of the latest guidelines on caesarean sections produced by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. According to Nice, women who are so afraid of giving birth normally that they want a caesarean section should be offered counselling by a mental health specialist, presumably to be helped to see the error of their ways; or as the watchdog puts it, to help them “address their fears in a supportive manner”. It also points out that, since a normal birth is £800 cheaper than a pre-booked c-section, every 1 per cent reduction in the number of women having caesarean sections would save the NHS £5.6 million.

Yet there’s a problem here. While there certainly has been a dramatic increase in caesarean section rates – which now stand at about 25 per cent, more than double the proportion in 1980 – there is precious little evidence to support the myth that it’s the yummy mummies who are significantly driving up the rates. The last big national audit, undertaken by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 2004, showed that only about 7 per cent of all caesarean sections were undertaken at the mother’s request. The rest were (and are) carried out for compelling clinical reasons – such as infection, placental problems, or a baby being in the breech position.

Do we need help to overcome our pathological fear of labour?

Significantly, the audit also found that nearly two thirds of caesarean sections in England and Wales were emergency procedures, for the immediate health and safety of the mother or baby. Another study, conducted by British scientists in 2010, found that while there was a large variation in caesarean section rates around England, most of the differences were due to decisions taken in emergency situations, rather than mothers from Chelsea or the Cotswolds asking for surgery that they did not need.

So why are caesarean sections on the increase, and how can the numbers be reduced? Without more data, it is difficult to say. The fact that people are giving birth later in life is thought to be one factor: it is well established that older women have a higher chance of difficulties (such as placental problems) that require a caesarean section. Rising rates of obesity and diabetes may be another cause, since both increase the risk. And changes in clinical practice – for example, the continuous monitoring of babies during labour – may lead to more suspicions (not always warranted) that the baby is in distress, which can result in emergency surgery. This ties in to the fear of litigation: a c-section is less likely to get you sued if there are any doubts.

Some have claimed that the rise of caesarean sections is due to a growing fear of natural childbirth – but we should remember that being afraid of the pain and loss of control involved in the labour process is entirely understandable, particularly for women who have had a previous traumatic experience. As doctors’ anecdotes suggest, if you’ve already been through a long and exhausting labour, at the end of which you had a harrowing emergency operation, it’s small wonder that you might ask for a caesarean section the second time around.

But this ignores the fact that this procedure is not, as some may hope, a convenient way to avoid the pain and exhaustion of labour. It is a major operation, which involves a longer stay in hospital and a higher risk (albeit a low one) of maternal bleeding, infection and blood clots; it also usually involves a six-week recovery period with no driving, shopping or exercise.

The fear of labour, and the loss of confidence many people have, can be managed with support, and with good information about other options, be they epidurals or hypnotherapy. To that end, it’s significant that the one-to-one care traditionally provided by midwives, both before and during birth, is fast disappearing – even though it’s the one factor that research has shown to reduce the likelihood of caesarean sections.

Undoubtedly, giving more information to women to help them weigh up the risks and benefits of both approaches to childbirth can only be a good thing – and it must be better to talk through your deep-seated fears with a sympathetic counsellor, as Nice suggests, than battle it out with a reluctant consultant.

But while counselling may help, it’s unlikely to make a major contribution to bringing down caesarean section rates. And when surgeons report that common operations such as hip replacements are being delayed – and even closer to home, when midwives are complaining that the labour wards are in crisis – you have to wonder where all the extra money for these perinatal mental health specialists would actually come from. ( telegraph.co.uk )

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Why couldn’t doctors treat our morning sickness?

Why couldn’t doctors treat our morning sickness? - One in three women suffers severe nausea in early pregnancy but many are routinely being denied medication

Charlotte Brontë is thought to have died of it in 1852, and many pregnant women still suffer such severe nausea and vomiting in the early stages of pregnancy that normal life becomes impossible.

Emily Williamson-Pound, 27, from Henley-on-Thames, was so ill from morning sickness in the first four and a half months of pregnancy that at one point she gave up trying to eat. By the time she gave birth to her daughter, Eloise, in January, she had lost almost two stone.

“I was sick all day, not just in the morning,” she says. “I stayed alive by drinking coffee with sugar. I honestly felt like I was dying.”

Emily Williamson-Pound was so ill from morning sickness in the first four and a half months of pregnancy that at one point she gave up trying to eat.

There will be some 25,000 hospital admissions this year for severe pregnancy sickness, according to the Department of Health – a threefold rise over the past 20 years. While nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy are normal (and theories abound as to the cause), they can leave a woman severely dehydrated and hospitalised on a drip for essential fluids and nutrients – a condition known as hyperemesis gravidarum.

Medication for serious morning sickness is available and is generally considered safe, but in Britain doctors are reluctant to prescribe it. The legacy of the anti-sickness drug thalidomide, which in the Fifties caused around 10,000 babies to be born with shortened limbs or none at all, means that a “low-risk” approach is denying women the treatment they need, according to some doctors, who are calling for easier – and earlier – access to medication.

“The condition is under-appreciated and under-researched,” says Dr Roger Gadsby, a former GP and Associate Clinical Professor at the University of Warwick, who co-wrote a review on the subject published last month in The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist. “Early treatment can be an effective way of preventing the onset of severe symptoms and can reduce the number of hospital admissions,” he says. “At the moment, women have to end up in hospital in order to be prescribed drugs. It’s only when they are admitted that the condition is taken seriously.”

Vicky Higgs, 30, from south London, who gave birth to twins earlier this month, was hospitalised when she was 16 weeks pregnant after severe vomiting meant she could not eat or drink for days. She was put on a drip and treated with two antihistamine drugs, cyclizine and promethazine, which have been shown to be effective for nausea and vomiting in pregnancy and are considered safe.

“It’s so frustrating that women go through absolute hell when they could so easily be given drugs to sort out the problem,” she says. “I’d seen countless midwives and doctors, but they hadn’t done anything to help me. Drugs weren’t mentioned until I was severely ill.”

Vicky was kept in hospital for five days and continued to take medication for several weeks. “I started to feel so much better. I was able to go back to work and also look after my 18-month-old son, Theo.”

For the relatively mild symptoms experienced by most women during early pregnancy, there is some evidence that traditional remedies such as eating ginger and dry toast can help. “Old wives’ tales such as not lifting your head off a pillow in the morning until you have swallowed a digestive biscuit work every bit as well as they have always done,” says Dr Peter Swinyard, national chairman of the Family Doctor Association.

He concedes that when considering prescribing for pregnant women, thalidomide is still at the back of his mind. “I prefer not to prescribe at all in pregnancy,” he says. “In all but the most extreme cases, where the woman and her unborn child are at risk, I’d advise her to endure it. When you remind a woman that she is carrying a baby in a very delicate state of formation, quite often they come to an informed decision not to take anything either.”

No drug is safe beyond all doubt, and doctors’ guidelines advise the prescription of drugs in pregnancy only where the benefit to the mother is thought to be greater than the risk to the baby. Dr Gadsby agrees that nausea and vomiting in pregnancy rarely impact on the development of the unborn baby. “It’s only a risk to the baby if the mother’s life is in danger,” he says.

But what if you are so sick that you can’t look after your other children? Or if you are forced to take days off work? Dr Gadsby insists that pregnant women need more support for the condition. According to his review, almost a third of pregnant women suffer significant nausea and vomiting, while other research shows that one in 200 pregnant women develop hyperemesis gravidarum.

His research also shows that the condition can have a profound and destructive impact on women’s quality of life, causing depression and relationship difficulties with their partners. “Some women have such a bad experience that they are less likely to have another child, or they consider terminating subsequent pregnancies,” he says.

Emily agrees that she wouldn’t have wanted to take anything that put her unborn child at risk. However, she would have appreciated being better informed about possible medication when she was feeling “at death’s door”.

“I wouldn’t have wanted to take strong drugs in pregnancy unless I really had to, but I’d have liked to have at least discussed them with a doctor,” she says.

Vicky, who tried ginger and travel sickness bands to no avail, says doctors’ low-risk approach to medication is “crazy”. “They told me there was a small risk involved with antihistamines, but I decided to take them because I was desperate.”

There is no standard protocol for treating severe pregnancy sickness in Britain. In addition to some antihistamines, doctors use other anti-nausea drugs such as prochlorperazine. Unlike in Canada, where a licensed drug called Diclectin, which contains an antihistamine and a small dose of vitamin B6, is the initial treatment of choice for morning sickness, there isn’t a specific drug available here.

Diclectin was available in a similar format in Europe in the late Seventies and was called Debendox in the UK, but was withdrawn by its US manufacturer in 1983 because of defence costs against liability suits for alleged foetal defects. In fact, there is no evidence of a link between the drug and foetal defects and all legal cases that went to court were unsuccessful. However, an equivalent hasn’t been reintroduced in the UK.

Sue Macdonald, education and research manager at the Royal College of Midwives, agrees that there needs to be a change in attitude towards pregnancy sickness and women’s psychological wellbeing during pregnancy.

“It’s too easy to take pregnancy sickness for granted,” she says. But she warns that widespread treatment with drugs is not necessarily a solution. “Medication can be part of the conversation from the start, but it should always be the last resort. If you make a woman feel cared for, it can make all the difference as to whether or not she feels the need to take medication.” ( telegraph.co.uk )

READ MORE - Why couldn’t doctors treat our morning sickness?

Dieting while pregnant can lower your baby's IQ

Dieting while pregnant can lower your baby's IQ - Expectant mothers who diet during pregnancy are putting their babies at risk of low IQs and behavioural problems, scientists say.

A new study found that cutting back on vital nutrients and calories in the first half of pregnancy stunts the development of an unborn child's brain.

Lack of nutrients interfer with the way brain cells connect in the unborn babies

Although the study was carried out on animals, researchers says the same findings are likely to be true for women - and highlight the lifelong dangers to babies if their mothers don't eat healthily.

Author Dr Thomas McDonald said: 'This study is a further demonstration of the importance of good maternal health and diet.

'It supports the view that poor diets in pregnancy can alter development of foetal organs, in this case the brain, in ways that will have lifetime effects on offspring, potentially lowering IQ and predisposing to behavioural problems.'

Past studies have shown that severe diets, famines and food shortages during pregnancy can harm unborn babies.

But the new study looked at the sort of 'moderate dieting' typical of women in Britain and America.

The researchers compared two groups of baboon mothers at the a primate research centre in San Antonio.

One group was allowed to eat as much as they wanted during the first half of pregnancy - while the other group was fed 30 per cent less - 'a level of nutrition similar to what many prospective mothers' experience, the researchers said.

Cells did not divide as much as they should and connections between neurons were not made.

Lack of nutrients interfered with the way brain cells connected in the unborn babies and altered the expression of hundreds of genes - many involved in cell growth and development, the researchers report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr McDonald said foetal nutrient deficiency was a special risk for both teenage mothers and women who get pregnant later in life.

Pregnant women are advised not to diet if they are pregnant

In teenage pregnancies, the developing foetus can be deprived of nutrients by the needs of the growing mother, he said.

And stiffer arteries in older women reduce blood flow to the womb, reducing the flow of nutrients to the growing baby.

The scientists called for more research into links between maternal diet and their children's risk of autism, depression and schizophrenia later in life.

The study also challenges the widely held view that mothers can protect their unborn babies from poor diets in pregnancy, he said.

The baboon's brain developmental stages are 'very close' to those of human fetuses, the researchers said.

Dr Peter Nathanielsz, of the University of Texas Health Science Centre in San Antonio said: 'This is a critical time window when many of the neurons as well as the supporting cells in the brain are born.'

Guidelines from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists state: 'There is little evidence of harm in the first half of pregnancy - but in the second half concerns arise.'

However, it still advises women not to diet if they find they are pregnant.

Dr Patrick O'Brien, consultant and spokesman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said the study might not apply to women.

'All the studies in humans have not suggested that moderate dieting in the first half of pregnancy causes any problems,' he said.

'Our guidance is unchanged - that pregnant women should eat a healthy mixed diet and should avoid dieting, but also avoid "eating for two",' he added. ( dailymail.co.uk )

READ MORE - Dieting while pregnant can lower your baby's IQ

How obesity affects women in pregnancy

How obesity affects women in pregnancy - As the obesity epidemic spreads there are more cases of obesity in pregnancy. Figures in UK suggest that one in 20 pregnant women is obese. If a woman is obese in her first pregnancy she may well be heavier by the second and third pregnancy.

Women who are pregnant do not like to hear the word obese, and like the words clinically obese or morbidly obese even less. When doctors use these words women tend to feel hurt and defensive. Very often it is in pregnancy that a woman’s weight is discussed for the first time and mentioned in such terms. Pregnancy is also a time when a woman is very sensitive and pregnancy is supposed to be a happy time spent enjoying getting ready for a new baby. So if the doctor speaks bluntly about her weight naturally she will feel upset and sad and may be put off visiting her doctor. If doctors do need to talk to patients about their weight it is always easier to talk in terms of BMI. (Body Mass Index) as this medicalizes the problem and makes it easier.

Women need support and advice and do not need to feel judged by the medical profession when they are already feeling sensitive and nervous.

It is important to stress the positive things a woman can do such as eating a balanced diet and taking a daily walk or swim.

Many pregnant women feel that it is a time when they should relax but some gentle exercise is recommended as you need to be fit to go through labour. If you are not sure what exercise is right for you speak to your doctor. If you haven’t been active in sometime you will need to take it very gently.

How obesity can affect pregnancy

It is important to say at the start that most women who are obese go on to have healthy babies. This is because doctors are experienced in looking after women of all shapes and sizes and the body adapts.

There are some areas where there are difficulties, which should be noted. It can be more difficult to get a good scan when a lady is obese and also it can be more difficult to administer an epidural as there is more fat for the needle to go through. Babies can also be larger in obese women that can cause problems with delivery. That said, doctors have plenty of experience with all of this and most births in obese women are absolutely normal. Most are nice and easy and everybody is happy.

Rising rates of obesity mean that many women are obese with their first pregnancy and then fail to lose the extra weight gained and are heavier in the next pregnancy. However weight loss in pregnancy is not recommended but a healthy balanced diet is important for both mother and baby.

If you are overweight and thinking about starting a family go to see the doctor before you get pregnant to make sure you have a healthy strong body. You can also prepare for pregnancy by making sure your body has all the nutrients it needs to produce a healthy baby and protect the mother’s health. It is important to plan for pregnancy by eating well and taking exercise. This means positive healthy eating and not going on a crash diet that puts the body into a state of stress.

If you are in the best of health before pregnancy it will insure the best outcome for mother and child. ( arabnews.com )

READ MORE - How obesity affects women in pregnancy

Pregnant women, new mothers get more protections under healthcare law

Pregnant women, new mothers get more protections under healthcare law - Among the changes: expanding Medicaid's reach, preventive screenings, support services and insurance coverage requirements

By the time women reach 44 years old, roughly 85% have given birth. Yet even though pregnancy and childbirth are so commonplace, health insurance coverage and support services to keep mothers and babies healthy are often seriously deficient.

Some private insurers, for example, treat pregnancy as a preexisting condition and charge pregnant women higher premiums or refuse to cover costs associated with childbirth. Low-income women can get Medicaid coverage while they're pregnant, but they generally lose it 60 days after giving birth unless they're very poor.

The healthcare overhaul greatly improves this situation. Some of the biggest changes don't kick in until 2014, but here's what to look for this year and next:

Starting in the fall, all new health plans must cover certain preventive screenings and other services for pregnant women at no additional cost to the patient. Those include folic acid supplements, which reduce the risk of neural tube defects in developing fetuses, and counseling to help pregnant women stop smoking. Medicaid will also begin to cover smoking cessation counseling and drug therapy for pregnant women.

The law requires employers to provide time off for new mothers to express breast milk, as well as a place (not a bathroom) to do so. It also authorizes funding for research and treatment of postpartum depression.

Additional support services will include a pregnancy assistance fund, which will provide $25 million annually for 10 years for housing, childcare and other needs.

A much bigger chunk of money — $1.5 billion over five years — will be dedicated to expanding home-visiting programs in which nurses and other providers visit pregnant teenagers and young mothers. Among other things, the practitioners suggest ways to cope with the stress that inevitably comes with being a parent.

Studies of this model have shown that it results in better health for both mother and child, more stable relationships and lower rates of child abuse and delinquency. "Every mom wants to do the right thing for her kids, but so many don't know how," says Miriam Rollin, national director for Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a nonprofit anti-crime organization based in Washington, D.C.

One such mother was Stephenie Rounds, who today is a 26-year-old preschool teacher in Aurora, Colo. But at age 14, she says, she was "crazy" — a repeat runaway who drank and did drugs and got pregnant by her 19-year-old boyfriend.

She credits a program called the Nurse-Family Partnership with helping her get ready for the birth of her son. A visiting nurse helped Rounds quit smoking and enroll in a high school for pregnant teens. The nurse taught Rounds how to decipher what babies try to communicate when they cry and gave her emotional support when her ex-boyfriend returned to town and started dropping by. "She gave me the tools I needed to succeed," says Rounds, whose son Michael is now 11.

The bigger changes coming in 2014 include an expansion of Medicaid to cover adults with incomes up to 133% of the federal poverty level. Forty percent of pregnant women are covered by Medicaid, but many don't have health insurance before they become pregnant or after they give birth. Increasing the number of low-income women on Medicaid raises the odds they'll be healthier overall and have successful pregnancies, says Jocelyn Guyer, co-executive director of Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families.

Also in 2014, many health plans will be required to cover maternity and childbirth services as part of an "essential health benefits" package detailed by the federal government. And insurers won't be allowed to charge women who are pregnant higher rates, or refuse to cover them or their childbirth costs.

Some of the new and expanded initiatives, such as the funding for postpartum depression and break time for new mothers to express breast milk, have been on the wish lists of advocates and lawmakers for some time. But another factor may have played a role during the debate that preceded the new law.

"The dynamic around abortion was so controversial," says Guyer, "people working on the issue wanted to be sure that pregnancy and maternal support services were ensured." ( latimes.com )

READ MORE - Pregnant women, new mothers get more protections under healthcare law

Morning Sickness May Signal Healthier Pregnancy

Morning Sickness May Signal Healthier Pregnancy - New research confirms that women plagued by morning sickness in early pregnancy are less likely to miscarry.

But women who don't experience nausea and vomiting during their first trimester shouldn't be alarmed, Dr. Ronna L. Chan of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, one of the study's authors, told Reuters Health.

"Not all pregnant women who go on to have successful pregnancies experience nausea and vomiting early on or at all," she said by e-mail. "In addition, pregnancy symptoms can vary from one pregnancy to the next, even for the same woman."

From 50 percent to 90 percent of women have morning sickness in early pregnancy, Chan and her team note in the journal Human Reproduction, and previous studies have found that women who have these symptoms are less likely to miscarry.

To investigate the relationship in more detail, Chan and her colleagues looked not only at the presence or absence of these symptoms, but how long the symptoms lasted, in more than 2,400 women living in three US cities.

"Our study had several advantages over some of the earlier studies because we recruited pregnant women very early in their pregnancies or when they were trying to become pregnant, so we were able to follow them over the course of their pregnancies and collect data regarding the timing and occurrence of nausea and vomiting early on," the researcher explained.

Eighty-nine percent of the women had some degree of morning sickness, while 53 percent had vomiting as well as nausea. Eleven percent of the women miscarried before 20 weeks.

The women who had no nausea or vomiting during their first trimester were 3.2 times as likely to miscarry as the women who did have morning sickness, Chan and her team found.

This relationship was particularly strong for older women; women younger than 25 who had no morning sickness were four times as likely to miscarry compared to their peers who had nausea and vomiting, while miscarriage risk was increased nearly 12-fold for women 35 and older with no morning sickness.

And the longer a woman had these symptoms, the lower her miscarriage risk, the researchers found; this association was especially strong among older women. Women 35 and older who had morning sickness for at least half of their pregnancy were 80 percent less likely to miscarry than women in this age group who didn't have these symptoms.

Still, because of the nature of the study, the authors could not prove that there was any cause-effect relationship between morning sickness and a healthier pregnancy, just that the two were linked.

A number of theories have been put forth to explain why morning sickness might signal a healthier pregnancy, Chan said. "Some postulate nausea and vomiting during pregnancy is a mechanism to help improve the quality of a pregnant woman's diet or a way to reduce or eliminate potentially harmful substances from the mother in order to protect the fetus," she explained.

While these ideas are "plausible," the researcher said, she thinks the symptoms reflect a pregnant woman's sensitivity to the sharp rise in certain hormones key for sustaining pregnancy that occurs during the first trimester. ( foxnews.co.uk )

READ MORE - Morning Sickness May Signal Healthier Pregnancy

Mother produces so much breast milk that she is selling it online - at £15 for four ounces

Mother produces so much breast milk that she is selling it online - at £15 for four ounces. Many mothers struggle to produce enough breast milk to feed a growing baby.

But when Toni Ebdon gave birth she found herself with so much she decided to bottle it up and sell it on the internet.

Miss Ebdon got the idea when a friend laughed that she had enough breast milk to open her own dairy.

Money-making scheme: Mother-of-one Toni Ebdon has been selling her excess breast milk over the internet

Although it was meant as a joke, Miss Ebdon took the idea to heart - and put her excess breast milk up for sale on the internet.

Three months later, she has sold 30 ounces - or one and a half pints.

She has ten regular customers who pay £15 for 4oz - 237 ml - of her breast milk.

'I haven't made loads of money but I intend to carry on selling it until it dries up,' she said.

After giving birth to baby David, Miss Ebdon said she found herself with so much breast milk that her breasts became heavy and painful.

She started using a breast pump to filter off the excess and stored it in the freezer before putting an ad on the website Gumtree to see if anyone wanted to buy it.

Miss Ebson had expected that mothers who could not breastfeed themselves would be the only ones interested.

But to her surprise, she has been inundated with emails from men.

'I tend not to ask too many questions or pry into people's private lives,' Miss Ebdon, a single mother, said.

'All communication prior to the sale is done via email. Then I meet the customer in person to hand over the milk.

'They can have it fresh or store it in the freezer for up to one month.'

For sale: Toni's milk has been bought by mothers who can't breast feed and men keen to gain the health benefits

Many of the men say they want to drink the breast milk to maintain good health and fight off illnesses.

Studies have shown breast milk can be used to maintain general good health and could even be a miracle cure for adult illnesses including cancer and diabetes.

It contains antibiotic properties which helps ward off illnesses, as well as alpha-lactalbumin, which can help in the battle against cancer.

Breast milk also contains the acne-fighting property lauric acid, as well as oligosaccharides which can help cure chronic diarrhoea.

The 26-year-old said she found it hard to make ends meet after giving birth to baby David in March this year.

'Because I'd only been in my job for a few months before I gave birth, I wasn't entitled to full maternity pay,' she said.

'My baby's father is still on the scene but we're not living together and he doesn't have the means to support us financially.'

It takes Miss Ebdon said it took her between 15 minutes and an hour to produce an ounce of breast milk.

So far, her biggest order has been for 12oz - nearly two thirds of a pint.

Miss Ebdon said she always fed her baby first to ensure he got the best milk, but added: 'There's plenty more to come.'

The health support worker fell pregnant in June but split up with partner Gareth Ebdon, 29, shortly afterwards.

'I'll certainly continue selling my milk for as long as is possible, and if I had a second child I would do the same,' she said.

'But next time I think I'd use an electric pump, as it's much quicker.'

Miss Ebdon's advert has now been removed by Gumtree.

A spokesman for Gumtree.com said: 'This ad contravened our listing rules and was immediately taken down from the site.

'We actively encourage everyone who uses Gumtree to help keep the site safe for all. If anyone is troubled by an ad they can use the "report the ad button" on every page so that our team can immediately investigate it.' ( dailymail.co.uk )

READ MORE - Mother produces so much breast milk that she is selling it online - at £15 for four ounces

Baby Factory mother has 14th child taken into care

'Baby Factory' mother has 14th child taken into care. A mother of 14 who has seen all of her children taken into care has today revealed she has had a contraceptive implant fitted in a bid to win them back.

Dubbed the ‘human baby factory’ Theresa Winters last year defiantly vowed to continue having babies until she was allowed to keep one.

However, the 37-year-old has now pledged to stop reproducing to prove to social services that she can be trusted to look after her children, who were taken away over fears of neglect.

Ms Winters and partner Toney Housden, also 37, saw their 14 baby, a boy, handed to a temporary guardian just a week after he was born in November.

'Baby factory': Theresa Winters has seen all her 14 children taken into care

She stormed out of the five-minute hearing in tears but has now said the ruling sparked her decision to get a contraceptive implant a week later.

Despite four children being diagnosed with disabilities, Ms Winters smoked throughout all her pregnancies.

One son died of rare brain condition Pheo Syndrome at 18 months old.

Ms Winters has been expecting every year of her adult life except 2004 and lives in a one-bedroom council flat with Toney in Luton, Bedfordshire. They receive benefits totalling over £1,000 a month.

Now she has pledged to take the first step to reuniting her family by trying to contact her eldest child who will turn 18 in August.

Ms Winters said: ‘I've decided I'm not having any more.

‘I've had an implant put in to stop me getting pregnant.

‘I can't have kids for three years but I can have it taken out. It's not worth it, having your kids taken away from you.

‘Ive been called every name under the sun and we want the end of it. I just want it all to lie and rest.’

Ms Winters slammed social services, claiming she and Toney were ‘treated like murderers’ after the birth of their fourteenth child.

She said: ‘He was a gorgeous little boy.

‘I came out and he stayed in hospital. We weren't allowed there without a social worker being present.

‘He was given a temporary guardian - some random person we'd never met before.

‘We met her in court for five minutes and that's the end of it, no appeal. It was a case of here we go again.

‘I was angry, I was annoyed and I was crying. Nobody helps us.

‘They're saying we've got these problems and we need help but social services should pay for our counselling.’

Tragedy almost struck in December when the six-week-old baby boy contracted meningitis and the couple were allowed to visit him at Luton and Dunstable hospital.

But he pulled through and is now still living with his guardian.

Ms Winters said she would now put all her efforts into finding her eldest daughter, who she last saw in 1995 when the tot was just two years old.

She added: ‘My concentration will be on finding her. I don't know where she is and the last photo I had of her was when she was four.

‘I won't give up on any of them. It's long shot but if I catch up with my kids they'll know the truth. All of my children are going to be told the truth.’ ( dailymail.co.uk )

READ MORE - Baby Factory mother has 14th child taken into care

Five Surefire Pregnancy Clues

Five Surefire Pregnancy Clues. There are times that you are wondering whether you may be pregnant or not. It may be difficult to tell at times especially if you have not been pregnant. There are signs and symptoms that are very common to all pregnant women and these signs have long been unfailing and proven to be manifested by pregnant women.

However, you must remember that these signs are not just clues for pregnancy. They may be also signs for other illnesses. It is still best to consult a physician or take the pregnancy test once you have experienced these symptoms.

Here are five sure signs that will indicate whether you are about to become a mom or not:

1. If you missed your menstrual period, better take extra care.

Once you missed a cycle for your menstruation, it may be a sign that you are pregnant. This is the first symptom that will indicate that you are positive of pregnancy. However, some say that they even experience pregnancy signs even before they miss their period for that cycle.


2. You may also experience a feeling of tenderness on your breasts and nipples.

Most of the time, they may also feel like they are swollen. One physical change that you may experience during pregnancy is the feeling you may experience with your breasts.

They may also seem heavier and the size becomes a little bigger once you are pregnant. This is an early symptom during pregnancy and may be experienced two weeks after the baby is conceived. This is due to the increased level of progesterone and estrogen hormones in preparation for the production of milk in your breasts.

3. Fatigue is one major symptom experienced during pregnancy.

A woman usually feels stressed out during pregnancy especially during the early stages. This is because the body of a pregnant woman works extra hard in the excretion of more hormones and production of more fluids and blood to carry the nutrients to the fetus. The increase in progesterone level, which is a natural depressant, also explains why pregnant women experience sleepiness all the time.

4. Pregnant women also experience nausea, which at often times causes vomiting.

This also explains the morning sickness that is experienced during pregnancy. This symptom is manifested during the first 56 days of pregnancy. However, nausea starts on the second week after the baby is conceived.

This symptom, although called as morning sickness, may be experienced anytime of the day. The increasing level of estrogen that is produced in the placenta causes the stomach to digest slowly and emptying it may take a longer time. This then results to an upset stomach, which explains why pregnant women vomit.

5. Spotting is also a sure sign that you may be pregnant.

You will see that there is a slight bleeding and you may oftentimes feel cramps on your abdomen. You will see small spots of blood during the early stages of pregnancy.

This may happen around 11 to 14 days after the egg cell has been fertilized. This is because the fertilized egg begins to stick to the lining of your uterus. The spots of blood are in a lighter red color compared to the usual color of blood you see during menstruation. The cramps on the other hand, are due to the enlargement of the uterus in preparation for the growing fetus. The cramps are similar to the cramping experienced during menstrual periods.

Now that you know those pregnancy hints, dealing with them is another story. Though they may sound a bit daunting, there are ways to make them more manageable.

Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_23611_61.html

READ MORE - Five Surefire Pregnancy Clues

Women Opting for Permanent Birth Control

Women Opting for Permanent Birth Control. A nonsurgical method has been steadily growing in popularity since 2002. Find out why. Women who are looking for cheap, quick, noninvasive methods of permanent birth control, an option other than hospital-based tubal ligation, are turning to Essure.

The nonsurgical method has been around since 2002 and has grown steadily in use as more doctors are trained to perform it.

During the relatively quick procedure, often done in the doctor's office, a tiny coil is placed inside each fallopian tube, triggering a reaction that scars the tubes and prevents eggs from reaching the uterus, where they could be fertilized.

"Women are looking for something like this. They want a very simple procedure that is very effective, and they don't want to go to a hospital," says Dr. Charles Cash, an Oakwood Hospital and Medical Center obstetrician/gynecologist who has implanted Essure since early 2003.

Some 290,000 women worldwide have undergone the Essure procedure since 2002, according to the company. Last year, 88,000 procedures were done and this year, the company expects the number to grow to at least 105,000.

Essure - made by Conceptus Inc. of Mountain View, Calif. - and Adiana, a competing product that works in a similar way and is awaiting Food and Drug Administration approval, are nonhormonal and irreversible.

Through the '70s, tubal ligation and vasectomy were equally common among married and once-married men and women. But tubal ligation has become much more prevalent since the '80s, occurring 1 1/2 -2 times as often as vasectomy, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Doctors say women are less reluctant than men to undergo a permanent procedure.

Karen Hill, 47, of Dearborn, Mich., had the Essure procedure in April 2008 in Cash's Dearborn office.

Hill works full-time in billing for a dental office, has two children, 22 and 18, and "didn't want any more surprises." She said she had no side effects. She's so pleased with the results that she's referred friends, including a friend whose husband, like hers, did not want a vasectomy.

"We both took one for the team," Hill said.

Dr. Roger Smith, a University of Michigan obstetrician-gynecologist, prefers intrauterine devices (IUDs) to Essure because he believes that "for most people an inter-uterine device is a better choice."

They're safer in the long-term, he says, and IUDs can be removed and are cheaper.

"The way I counsel people is by asking, 'Are you sure you want this done?' ... And if not an IUD, why not a vasectomy? Both are proven, easy, cheap and compared to Essure, they are a better choice for a couple."

Dr. Susan Hendrix, an obstetrician/gynecologist at the Detroit Medical Center, said she tries not to steer women to one or two choices. "I pretty much talk about everything," she says.

Hendrix, an unpaid consultant to Hologic Inc., manufacturer of Adiana, said she performs the Essure procedure in the hospital because she considers it a safer place to administer intravenous anesthesia and pain drugs, as are given for the procedure.

Insurance typically pays for the full cost when performed in the hospital, except co-pays and deductibles, she said.

She takes issue with publicity for Essure that attributes a rise in permanent birth control to the recession. "If anything, the recession causes baby booms," she said. "It doesn't cost much to have sex." ( healthkey.com )

READ MORE - Women Opting for Permanent Birth Control

Smoking Bans Good for Non-Smokers

Smoking Bans Good for Non-Smokers. Report could get more states to pass laws to curtail secondhand smoke, experts say Bans on smoking in public places really do work at reducing heart attacks from secondhand smoke, a major study finds.

Smoke-free policies can reduce the risk of heart attack by up to 47 percent and significantly reduce the likelihood of other heart problems, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Institute of Medicine (IOM).

The report also found compelling evidence that even a brief exposure to secondhand smoke can trigger a heart attack.

"We did conclude a cause-and-effect relationship exists between heart disease and secondhand smoke exposure," Dr. Lynn R. Goldman, chairwoman of the IOM committee, said during a press conference Thursday.

Also, sufficient evidence exists to support a cause-and-effect relationship "between exposure to secondhand smoke and heart attacks or acute coronary events," said Goldman, a professor of environmental health sciences at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Moreover, the more secondhand smoke you are exposed to, and the longer you're exposed to it, the greater the risk for heart problems or heart attack, Goldman said.

In the United States, about 43 percent of nonsmoking children and 37 percent of nonsmoking adults are exposed to secondhand smoke. Despite efforts to decrease exposure to secondhand smoke, about 126 million nonsmokers were still breathing others' smoke in 2000, according to the report.

In 2006, a U.S. Surgeon General's report confirmed the link between involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke and heart disease, and it determined that smoke-free policies were an inexpensive and effective way to reduce exposure.

But whether smoking bans actually reduced heart disease has been an ongoing debate, according to the IOM.

This new report puts that issue to rest, said Danny McGoldrick, vice president for research at Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Not only does it document that smoke-free laws result in fewer heart attacks, it may also help get more states and localities to pass smoke-free legislation, he said.

"If policy makers are paying attention to the science, and this is one more piece of evidence that says 'you can actually save people's lives, save health-care costs,' then those states that have yet to act should do so," he said. "How many dramatic findings do you need before you are finally going to act to protect everybody's right to breathe clean air?"

To reach its conclusions, the IOM reviewed published and unpublished data and heard testimony about the association between secondhand smoke and heart problems.

Studies showed that smoking bans cut heart attacks by anywhere from 6 percent to 47 percent. Given the wide range, the IOM could not precisely determine the risk reduction, but said the benefits were obvious.

Other studies concluded that breathing secondhand -- or "environmental" -- smoke increased risk for heart problems by 25 percent to 30 percent, the report found.

While there was no direct evidence that brief exposure to secondhand smoke could trigger a heart attack, indirect evidence supported this conclusion, the study found.

Data on smoke from other pollution sources suggest that even a relatively brief exposure to particulate matter can cause a heart attack, and particulate matter is a component of secondhand smoke, the report noted.

"This report makes it increasingly clear that smoke-free policies are having a positive impact in reducing the heart attack rate in many communities," Dr. Clyde Yancy, president of the American Heart Association, said in a prepared statement.

"There's no question that secondhand smoke has an adverse health impact in workplaces and public environments. We must continue to enact comprehensive smoke-free laws across the country to save lives and reduce the number of new smokers," he said.

Dr. Stanton Glantz, a professor of medicine and director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco, welcomed the findings.

Because the IOM is cautious and conservative, the report should be taken seriously, Glantz said. "This should shut up the people who have been whining and saying the evidence isn't there," he said.

"Not only do you get an immediate reduction in risk of heart attacks when you put these smoke-free policies into effect, but the effect grows over time," he said.

Glantz said he expects that the findings will influence policy and get more places to enact smoke-free laws. "If they want to prevent heart attacks, they should," he said. [ healthday.com ]

READ MORE - Smoking Bans Good for Non-Smokers

Ways to Teach Your Kids How to Play Alone

Ways to Teach Your Kids How to Play Alone. The alone time you crave is good for your kid, too. Here's how to make it happen.. Admit it: Sometimes, you wish your kid would magically disappear. Not forever — just for half an hour so you can read the paper in peace or chat with a (grown-up) friend. But it's hard separating from your child, and not only because he clings to your leg whenever you try to leave the room: You don't want to miss a beat of his development, you might secretly relish being wanted so much, and, most of all, you probably feel at least a little guilty about "abandoning" him. "Many parents believe that they should constantly engage with their children, but that mentality leaves no time for relaxation — and creates stress that your kids pick up on," says psychologist Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D., coauthor of Einstein Never Used Flash Cards. In fact, training them to play on their own is one of the greatest gifts you can bestow. "It's the downtime for scribbling, making a car out of a cardboard box, or exploring the backyard that fosters the skills your child needs to be successful and fulfilled: creativity, critical thinking, and confidence," Hirsh-Pasek says.

Show Them How It's Done

The first step in teaching your child to be okay with being alone is showing him how fun it can be. This process begins even before he can crawl. "To a certain extent, being alone is a learned behavior, and if you never leave your baby, he won't learn to settle himself," says Cynthia Chandler, Ph.D., assistant professor of early childhood education at Black Hill State University in Spearfish, SD. "Putting your child in a playpen or crib with a few toys while you hang out nearby or even leave the room will plant the seeds of self-soothing and focus." Rattles, stacking rings, and other easy-to-grasp objects can keep a 6-month-old busy for up to 20 minutes — enough time for you to grab a cup of coffee.

Once your little one can scoot around, your alone time needs to happen in viewing (and pouncing) distance of him. Happily, toddlers find the world so fascinating, they'll play enthusiastically for 15 minutes or more with colorful scarves or wooden spoons. As they discover their joys and passions, share yours: Sometime around your kid's second birthday, start talking out loud about the things you love to do alone and why. "Our children gain so much from their parents' being people with interests," Hirsh-Pasek says. "When they see you dancing, they'll twirl and leap. When there are readers in the house, they'll appreciate books."

Some children take naturally to solo play; others require more guidance to get their imaginations rolling. "One of my twins gets lost in her dolls while her sister needs me to set her up with an art project or a book," says Victoria Loveland-Coen, 47, of Chapel Hill, NC. Gradually increase the amount of time that you leave your child alone. Try setting a timer and explain that she has to stay in her room until it dings. "Offer positive reinforcement, like, 'You did such a great job building towers on your own.' You want her to internalize your confidence that she can be self-sufficient," says Michele Borba, author of The Big Book of Parenting Solutions.

Create Kid Space

"The best way to encourage your child to lose herself in independent activities is to create secure, baby-proofed play areas in your home and yard that encourage experimentation," says psychologist Margaret Paul, Ph.D., coauthor of Do I Have to Give Up Me to Be Loved by My Kids?

Michelle Workman, 39, a Los Angeles interior designer, created a wondrous playroom for her two sons, complete with oversize stuffed animals, a fake tree, and a built-in desk and toy boxes. "I covered the space in a thick, dark green shag rug with a pad underneath so heads and elbows are cushioned against falls," she says. "Saturday mornings, we put snacks in the room for them and buy ourselves some extra lounging time." You don't have to dedicate a whole room to your tots — even a low kitchen drawer full of Tupperware can be a treasure trove. "I keep a basket of toys and books in each room," says Evanston, IL, mom of four Liz Hletko, 39. "When I go into another room for mommy time, the kids have basket time." Rotating out the toys, books, and supplies in your bins about once a month will keep your child from getting overwhelmed and make the train set or dinosaurs you stashed away for four weeks exciting again. According to experts — and moms — kid-space essentials include building blocks; Duplos and Legos; costumes; and crayons, paper plates, and other art supplies. "Open-ended toys stretch your kid's creativity, so they'll keep your kid occupied much longer," Borba says.

Keep Them Engaged

Chandler recalls giving her elementary-school students a homework assignment to place a cookie six inches from an anthill and time how long it took for the critters to devour it. "The parents couldn't believe how long the kids sat there, watching," she recalls. You can often keep children busy with little projects like lying on a blanket doodling the shape of the clouds. In addition to science experiments (visit naturerocks.org for more), arts and crafts are ideal for keeping kids occupied. "When I need 45 minutes of uninterrupted meal-prep time, I set my kids up to make construction-paper place mats with crayons and stickers," says 42-year-old Suzy Martyn, a mom of four in Cypress, CA.

While experts say there's nothing wrong with occasionally plunking your kid in front of the TV for 30 minutes, your goal is helping your child discover pastimes that require his active participation. "Children who always depend on someone or something else, like television or video games, to stimulate them have a hard time taking responsibility for their own well-being as adults," Paul warns. "Encouraging your child to develop passions makes him better equipped to handle life's challenges."

Surrender to Sloppy

Most kids love little more than a big mess, and making one can occupy them for hours. "I dug a hole in the yard, gave my daughter the hose, and told her to make a mud puddle," says Bethel, CT, writer Jen Matlack, 39. "She squashed around for a whole afternoon while I gardened." Soil-encrusted clothes and tornado-like clutter may be rough on those of us with neatnik tendencies, but they're worth the cleanup. "Making a mess encourages kids to experiment and learn," Paul says.

From lining the playroom with an old shower curtain so your child can finger paint with abandon to letting him co-opt all the pillows in the house to build a killer fort, figure out ways to make your child's creative chaos tolerable for you. "We got rid of all the knickknacks so the kids can build castles in the dining room," says Julie Parrish, 35, a mother of three in West Linn, OR. "Yes, our house is messier than our friends' homes, but I was able to study for an MBA in the evenings, and my husband and I get to sit down after dinner for a game of Scrabble while the boys play." Carving out time for yourself isn't really about being organized; it's about relinquishing control now and then — and allowing your kid to do what he does best: play! [ msn.com ]

READ MORE - Ways to Teach Your Kids How to Play Alone