Mom, Daughter Pregnant Raises Issues

View the Original article

U.S. women in 20s less likely to get pregnant or have abortion

"background-image:url('http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/d62wOiGX4PodGbWkv6xZXQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9MzA5O2NyPTE7Y3c9NDUwO2R4PTA7ZHk9MDtmaT11bGNyb3A7aD0xMzE7cT04NTt3PTE5MA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2012-06-20T040935Z_1_CBRE85J0BK200_RTROPTP_2_USA.JPG');" width

View the Original article

Fewer Stillbirths Among Pregnant Women Vaccinated Against Flu

Yahoo! News Search Search Web HomeVideoPhotosGMAYear in ReviewOddComicsTravelOpinionTrending NowVitalityWho Knew?WeatherU.S.U.S. VideoGMAEducationReligionCrimes and TrialsThe LookoutSept. 11LocalContributor NetworkYear in ReviewWorldWorld VideoMiddle EastEuropeLatin AmericaAfricaAsiaCanadaAustralia/AntarcticaThe EnvoyBusinessVideoExclusivesToday's MarketsStocksPersonal FinancePress ReleasesMarketplaceNewsmakersEntertainmentVideoClinton ConcertCelebrityTVMoviesMusicReviewsFashionBooksArtsTheaterDear AbbyComicsOdd NewsSportsVideoNFLMLBNBANCAAFNCAABSoccerCyclingNHLTennisGolfBoxingMotor SportsMMAExtremeTechBlogTech It UpBest in TechGadgetsWirelessAppleSocial MediaSecurityOpen SourceGamingAppsUpgrade Your LifePoliticsDestination 2012The TicketThe SignalRemake AmericaThe IssuesElection MapWhite HouseCongressThe CourtsWomen and PoliticsPress ReleasesVideoScienceScience VideoWeather NewsSpace / AstronomyAnimal / PetsDinosaurs / FossilsBiotechEnergyGreenHealthVideoWeight LossCancerSexual HealthMedications/DrugsParenting/KidsSeniors/AgingDiseases/ConditionsVitalityBlogsThe UpshotThe CutlineThe LookoutThe SideshowThe TicketAround the WorldKatie's TakePower PlayersThis Could Be BigNewsmakersTrending NowLocalPopular SearchKeywordNews Search Featured»VideosPhotosTrending NowKatie's TakeTech it up!VitalityWho Knew?Power PlayersRemake America   Discover Yahoo! With Your Friends

Explore news, videos, and much more based on what your friends are reading and watching. Publish your own activity and retain full control.

To get started, firstLogin with Facebook YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY prev next

View the Original article

Breathing Smog While Pregnant May Worsen Asthma in Offspring

background:url(http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/a/5b/a5ba32682eb601fb573b57542c19b9c1.png);width:115px;height:25px;margin-left:50px;margin-top:7px

View the Original article

Many pregnant women may not get STD tests

"background-image:url('http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/tFFwek02Drhpxq8fe7s5BQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9Mjc1O2NyPTE7Y3c9NDUwO2R4PTA7ZHk9MDtmaT11bGNyb3A7aD0xMTc7cT04NTt3PTE5MA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2012-05-17T153357Z_1_CBRE84G178O00_RTROPTP_2_SPAIN.JPG');" width

View the Original article

Excess weight in pregnant women can have negative health Implications for offspring in adulthood

ScienceDaily (May 13, 2012) — That overweight during pregnancy can lead to overweight children and adolescents has been known for some time, but new research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and in the US indicates that excess weight before and during pregnancy can have long-lasting health consequences for the offspring of such mothers even later in life.

See Also:Health & MedicineDiet and Weight LossObesityPregnancy and ChildbirthTeen HealthFitnessDiseases and ConditionsReferenceBody mass indexOverweightNutrition and pregnancyCellulite

Investigators at the Hebrew University-Hadassah Braun School of Public Health and Community Medicine and the Departments of Medicine and Epidemiology at the University of Washington, Seattle, have found a direct correlation between this maternal overweight and higher tendencies in their adult children towards overweight and other life-risking factors, such as high blood pressure and excess sugar and fat levels in the blood.

The research -- the results of which were published recently in the journal Circulation -- was based on analysis of clinical information on 1400 people who were born in Jerusalem between the years of 1974-76. The data provided information, among other things on their birth records, including the weights of their mothers before and during pregnancy and the weight of the child at birth. The researchers further gathered current clinical data on the examined group, all at the age of 32, including their weight, blood pressure and sugar and fat levels in the blood, plus measurements of body mass index (BMI) -- a measure of body fat based on height and weight -- as well as hip width.

.The results of the research showed a clear influence of the overweight of the mothers on the overweight of their children, affecting in turn other risk factors in adulthood. Therefore, it may be concluded that avoiding overweight in adulthood could potentially reduce those other risk factors associated with pre-pregnancy and pregnancy overweight.

Thus, for example, the children of mothers who gained more than 14 kilograms (31 pounds) during pregnancy were measured to have a higher BMI than those who were born to mothers who did not gain more than nine kilos (20 pounds) during pregnancy. In terms of hip measurements, the adult children of overweight pregnant mothers had hip widths nearly ten centimeters more, on average, than those who were born to mothers who were not overweight.

Similar comparisons were made regarding sugar and fat levels in the blood, all indicating that those born to overweight mothers had detrimental characteristics regarding their health and life expectancies as compared to those born to mothers who had not gained excessive weight.

Additional factors could also have an influence on the phenomenon, including analogous genetic traits of the mother and child or environmental influences during pregnancy, and these would be worthy of further investigation, say the researchers.

"We know now that events occurring early in life to fetuses have long-lasting consequences for the health of the adult person," said Dr. Hagit Hochner, the leading researcher on the project.

Added Prof. Orly Manor, who also was involved in the project: "In an age of an 'overweight epidemic' in the world, it is important to know the factors that are involved in leading to overweight and other health risks. This understanding makes it essential that we identify those early windows of opportunity in which we can intervene in order to reduce the risks of chronic illness later in life."

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

View the Original article

1 in 5 White Women Smoked While Pregnant

Print

One in five white woman have smoked cigarettes while pregnant, according to a new government study released today.

The report, conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, showed that 21.8 percent of pregnant white women ages 15 to 44 had smoked a cigarette within 30 days of when the survey was conducted.

Those numbers contrasted with 14.2 percent of black women and 6.5 percent of Hispanic women of the same age.

“When pregnant women use alcohol, tobacco, or illicit substances they are risking health problems for themselves and poor birth outcomes for their babies,” SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde said in a statement. “Pregnant women of different races and ethnicities may have diverse patterns of substance abuse. It is essential that we use the findings from this report to develop better ways of getting this key message out to every segment of our community so that no woman or child is endangered by substance use and abuse.”

The rate of alcohol use during pregnancy among black and white women was about the same: 12.8 percent and 12.2 percent respectively. Only about 7.4 percent of Hispanic women reported drinking alcohol while pregnant.

Black pregnant women were more likely to use illegal drugs than white and Hispanic pregnant women: about 7.7 percent of blacks, 4.4 percent of whites and 3.1 percent of Hispanics reported using drugs at least once in 30 days prior to the survey.

A mother’s smoking habit is one of the key risk factors for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), according to Dr. Ari Brown, author of the book “Baby 411.”

“A mom who smokes has less circulating oxygen in her body and thus, so does her unborn baby,” Brown wrote in the book. “This is called fetal hypoxia. There is also less blood flow to the uterus and placenta, and therefore to the baby. Lastly, nicotine goes right through the placenta and circulates in the bloodstream of the fetus.”

Smoking increases the risk of a small fetus who doesn’t grow properly, a placenta that implants in the cervix, a placenta that pulls from the uterine wall prematurely, preterm birth and low birth weight.

As for alcohol, Brown wrote in her book that the latest research shows that much smaller amounts (one to two drinks a day) may adversely affect a child’s birth weight, attention, behavior and IQ. And fetal alcohol syndrome is the number one preventable cause of intellectual disability in children.

“Bottom line: don’t drink. Good news: most women actually lose their taste for alcohol during pregnancy, so most pregnant women won’t be craving a margarita with Mexican food anyway,” he said.

 

 

SHOWS: Good Morning America 

View the Original article

Hong Kong to slam door on pregnant mainland Chinese

Reuters – 2 hrs 15 mins ago HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong may bar mainland Chinese mothers from giving birth in public hospitals next year to ease over-crowding in local maternity wards, the city's health chief said on Tuesday.

Since it reverted from British to Chinese rule in 1997, Hong Kong has benefited from its deepening integration with China. Yet the unfettered access of mainland Chinese to public services in the densely populated city has also caused social strains.

"Right now, we expect that in 2013, all public hospital obstetric services may be reserved for local pregnant mothers," Hong Kong's Health chief York Chow told reporters.

The comments came after the financial hub's leader-elect, Leung Chun-ying, said private hospitals should bar mainland Chinese mothers and that their newborns will no longer be able to claim permanent residence in the city.

"If they apply now and prepare to come to Hong Kong next year to deliver their babies, in all likelihood, their babies will not have permanent residency status in Hong Kong because once I assume office, I will surely work on this," Leung told Hong Kong's Cable Television in an interview on Tuesday.

Leung, a property surveyor and Beijing loyalist was chosen in March to succeed the bowtie-wearing Donald Tsang by a 1200-member, largely pro-Beijing election committee, in a scandal-tainted contest that protesters denounced as a "small circle" affair puppeteered by Beijing's leaders behind the scenes.

Leung's tough stance on the mainland mothers signals a move toward a more populist agenda once he takes office on July 1, that has included pledges to provide more land for public flats and to make housing more affordable.

NO SPECIFICS

Leung did not say if the city would pass laws or use other methods to stop the children of mainland parents from gaining the right of abode, or permanent residency, in Hong Kong.

The pledges by authorities to tackle the hot-button issue come after street protests by local mothers, heated online debates and provocative advertisements in local newspapers denouncing mainland Chinese visitors as "locusts", including mothers crowding out Hong Kong's maternity wards for months.

In 2010, of the 88,584 newborns in Hong Kong, around a third, or 32,653 were born to mainland women, up from 620 babies in 2001.

The influx has spawned an industry of agents shuttling Chinese mothers across the border, hiding them in illegal 'inns' before birth, partly to circumvent China's one-child policy and also to gain the right the live in one of the world's most developed, wealthiest cities.

A broad provision in Hong Kong's mini-constitution grants Hong Kong citizenship to any Chinese born there.

"Everyone should know Hong Kong society already has a clear consensus about this matter. One, delivering babies of couples with no residency right is not the way we want to develop our healthcare industry. Two, such offspring are not the solution to the problem of our ageing population," Leung said.

Chow, the city's health secretary, said that he was in touch with Leung and respected his view of suspending the quota system, but a final decision had yet to be made.

Private hospitals that increasingly rely on maternity services said a sudden policy change would have a major impact.

"Can we change our mode of operation? Yes we can, but not suddenly. If we are given say three years, we can make a long- term plan," said Alan Lau, chairman of the Hong Kong Private Hospital's Association.

But Henry Yeung, president of the Hong Kong Doctors' Union, said blocking automatic permanent residency would ease the crowding at maternity wards.

"This move will return maternity beds to local mothers. Before this trend, private hospitals managed to survive."

(Additional reporting by James Pomfret; Editing by Ed Lane and Daniel Magnowski)

View the Original article

Health Tip: Talk to Your Doctor Before You Are Pregnant

HealthDay – 57 mins ago (HealthDay News) -- The foods you eat, your health habits and the medicines you take could ultimately harm your unborn baby -- even before you become pregnant.

So, experts recommend discussing your health with a doctor before you try to conceive.

The Womenshealth.gov website mentions these discussion points:

Your birth control options and family planning.Taking folic acid supplements.Any needed screenings or vaccines, as well as managing any chronic health conditions.Options to improve your general health, including losing weight, becoming more active or quitting smoking.Suggestions for staying healthy, avoiding illness and reducing your exposure to potential hazards.Your family history and any problems during previous pregnancies.

View the Original article