Healthy BabyBlog / Health + Nutrition

Baby Blog is site dedicated to providing you with articles and information geared to every stage of your baby’s development. Pregnancy, Newborn, Baby and Toddler.

New Way To 'stop' Premature Birth

A drug used to treat cancer can stop contractions and may prevent premature labour, researchers say.

The Newcastle University team tested the drug Trichostatin A on tissue taken from 36 women undergoing a caesarean. The researchers said the therapy worked by increasing the levels of a protein that controls muscle relaxation. One expert said with rates of premature births rising - there are 50,000 a year in the UK - a new treatment was badly needed.

» BBC [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

Obama Declares Swine Flu a National Emergency

He is clearing the way for legal waivers to allow hospitals and doctors offices to better handle a surge of new patients.

» Rx Blog [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

Swine Flu Fears

A first-grade student in Vacaville, Calif. who died Sunday has tested positive for the H1N1 swine flu virus, officials announced Thursday. The student, whose identity was not released, began feeling ill with flulike symptoms Oct. 15, while attending school, Faulkner said the family told authorities. She was taken to a Vacaville hospital emergency room on Sunday and died that evening.

» BabyBlog [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

Swine Flu Shots Revive a Debate About Vaccines

People who do not believe in vaccinating children have never had much sway over Leslie Wygant Arndt. She has studied the vaccine debate, she said, and came out in favor of having her 10-month-old daughter inoculated against childhood diseases. But there is something different about the vaccine for the H1N1 flu, she said.

Swine Flu (H1N1 Virus)“I have looked at the people who are against it, and I find myself taking their side,” said Ms. Wygant Arndt, who lives in Portland, Ore. “But then again I go back and forth on this every day. It’s an emotional topic.”

» NY Times [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

Swine flu is present 'in virtually the entire country,' CDC expert says

Pandemic H1N1 influenza "is here . . . in virtually the entire country," Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. Swine flu is widespread in 37 states now, up from 27 states last week, she said.

The figures suggest that a leveling-off observed last week was an aberration. Some reports have suggested that certain places hit particularly hard in the spring, such as New York City, might not suffer as severely this winter. The CDC has been looking at 50 such locations, and many are seeing significant increases in flu activity now.

» LA Times / CDC [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

Coping With Depression During Pregnancy

About one in eight women take an antidepressant at some time during pregnancy, reports Roni Rabin in today’s Science Times. But is it safe? Some new research shows that antidepressant use during pregnancy may be linked to certain problems in newborns. A new review of the medical literature concludes that treatment decisions for depression during pregnancy must be made on a case-by-case basis.

» NY Times [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

Worldwide, nearly 1 in 10 babies is premature

Nearly 1 in 10 of the world's babies is born prematurely, and about 1 million infants die each year as a result of premature birth, according to a report released Sunday by the March of Dimes. The problem is concentrated in poor countries, with the vast majority of the nearly 13 million preemies born each year in Africa and Asia, the report says.

» LA Times [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

But What Will Parenthood Mean For Your Yuppie Fitness Routine?

Parenthood these days: It is full of challenges, or so we hear! As a parent, will you be able to successfully continue jogging? And what about your tennis game, and the peer pressure that goes with it? Parenting is hard!

It's not like you just have children and then don't have to worry about your fitness routine and whether the changes induced in it by parenthood would be good fodder for any fake trend stories in the NYT. You do have to worry about such things! You think jogging while pushing a stroller is just as easy as regular jogging, except while pushing a stroller? The paper of record has like a thousand words of filler that say you're wrong:

» Gawker [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

Swine flu appears unusually deadly for pregnant women

One hundred expectant mothers infected with the pandemic H1N1 influenza were hospitalized in intensive care units in the first four months of the outbreak, and 28 have died, federal officials say.

In a reminder that the new strain of H1N1 influenza may be more dangerous than originally thought, federal health officials reported Thursday that 100 pregnant women infected with the virus were hospitalized in intensive care units in the first four months of the outbreak, and 28 have died.

"What we are seeing is quite striking," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center on Immunization and Respiratory Disease at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. She is helping direct the government's response to the pandemic.

» LA Times [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

Cooling 'cuts baby brain damage'

Babies who are starved of oxygen at birth have a much lower risk of brain damage if they are given mild hypothermia, major research suggests.

More than 300 babies were involved in a trial carried out at 33 hospitals in the UK and in five other countries. Researchers found full-term babies who suffered oxygen loss at birth were 57% more likely to survive without brain damage if their bodies were cooled.

» BBC [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

CDC.GOV: Seasonal and Novel H1N1 Flu: A Guide for Parents

These actions will protect against the new H1N1 too!

[ PDF ] Seasonal and Novel H1N1 Flu: A Guide for Parents
[ PDF ] Information about the Flu -including the new H1N1 Flu

Gene therapy for the unborn

Successful trials raise hopes for end to inherited human disorders. Scientists are on the verge of ridding inherited diseases from future generations with a new technique for swapping genes between unfertilised human eggs before the resulting IVF embryos are implanted into the womb.

The technique has been successfully tested on laboratory monkeys and researchers believe it is now safe enough to apply for clinical trials on the many thousands of women at risk of giving birth to babies with some of the most debilitating inherited disorders.

Such a procedure would break new ground and raise fresh ethical concerns over the direction of IVF research because it would lead to permanent changes to the genetic make-up of children that would be passed on to subsequent generations of the same families.

» The Independent UK [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

CDC Report: US Considers Promoting 'Universal Circumcision'

In an effort to reduce the spread of HIV, public health officials are considering the promotion of “universal circumcision” for all baby boys born in the United States.

“We have a significant HIV epidemic in this country, and we really need to look carefully at any potential intervention that could be another tool in the toolbox we use to address the epidemic,” Kilmarx told the newspaper. “What we’ve heard from our consultants is that there would be a benefit for infants from infant circumcision, and that the benefits outweigh the risks.”

This fact sheet summarizes information in four areas of male circumcision: 1) male circumcision and risk for HIV transmission; 2) male circumcision and other health conditions; 3) risks associated with male circumcision; and 4) status of HIV infection and male circumcision in the United States.

An official draft of the proposed recommendations by the CDC is due out by the end of the year. In the meantime, the CDC is hosting its National HIV Prevention Conference in Atlanta this week.

[ PDF ] Male Circumcision and Risk for HIV and Other Health Conditions Implications for the United States

Autism Rate Now at One Percent of All US Children?

A pair of federally funded studies on autism rates is about to make news -- big news -- and it isn't good: It would appear that somewhere around one percent of all US children currently have an autism spectrum disorder. The rate is even higher among six to 11 year olds and among boys, according to data from at least one of the new studies.

If you are an expectant parent, or planning to have a child soon, you might want to sit down before absorbing these staggering statistics, recently released by the National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH), which is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the US Department of Health and Human Services.

» Huffington Post [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

Could breastfeeding be as good for the mother as the child?

I began to wonder if nursing could be as good for the mother as the child. I soon found out that it was. No, it wasn't quite erotic (but dudes, it is for many moms, which may be why she's negging you to go nurse) but it felt easy and natural. In the hospital I had a lactation consultant who came only once but taught me what I needed to know. My colostrum came in on time and my daughter latched well. After I came home, there were a few brief periods of pain but they passed within days on their own.

» Huffington Post [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

WHO: Pandemic influenza (H1N1/Swine Flu) in pregnant women

31 JULY 2009, Research conducted in the USA and published 29 July in The Lancet has drawn attention to an increased risk of severe or fatal illness in pregnant women when infected with the H1N1 pandemic virus.

Several other countries experiencing widespread transmission of the pandemic virus have similarly reported an increased risk in pregnant women, particularly during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. An increased risk of fetal death or spontaneous abortions in infected women has also been reported.

Increased risk for pregnant women

Evidence from previous pandemics further supports the conclusion that pregnant women are at heightened risk. While pregnant women are also at increased risk during epidemics of seasonal influenza, the risk takes on added importance in the current pandemic, which continues to affect a younger age group than that seen during seasonal epidemics.

» World Health Org [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

Morning sickness tied to higher IQ later in life

Morning sickness, the bane of many a pregnant woman's existence, may have an unexpected benefit - a higher IQ for the baby later in life.

A small study out of Canada of 121 children ages 3-7 found that the children whose mothers had morning sickness had higher scores on language, memory, and IQ tests. The study was based on 45 children whose mothers had taken diclectin for morning sickness, 47 whose mothers had suffered morning sickness but not taken the drug, and 29 whose mothers had no nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.

In addition, mothers who took the drug diclectin, which is prescribed for morning sickness, had children with the highest scores.

Morning sickness, while certainly uncomfortable for the mother, has been previously linked to lower rates of miscarriage, stillbirth and preterm delivery.

» Journal of Pediatrics, July 2009. [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

Smart Mama, Scary Book

What's so disturbing about a new green parenting guide?

"So go get Smart Mama if you're worried about toxins and your kids. I'm not going to discourage you. It does have some great info on making homemade cleaners. I just need to caution you to treat the book the way a lawyer treats a hostile witness. For every fact that makes you want to jump off the couch and escape with your son to an island paradise—like the 38 million homes in America that still have some lead paint or the 82 percent of children who are exposed on a weekly basis to chemicals that can harm the brain—go to the internet and get some context. Check the March of Dimes Web site, as well as the one from the American Academy of Pediatrics or WebMD. Call your kids' doctor. Ask lots of questions. Just don't buy every cock and bull story about the sun exploding in your living room due to too much television watching by children under the age of 2. If you don't do your homework and you're anything like me, it'll just put your sanity at risk."

» Newsweek [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

Organic food is no healthier, study finds

"A small number of differences in nutrient content were found to exist between organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs, but these are unlikely to be of any public health relevance."

"Our review indicates that there is currently no evidence to support the selection of organically over conventionally produced foods on the basis of nutritional superiority."

» British government's Food Standards Agency [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

H1N1 (Swine flu) 'hits pregnant women harder'

Pregnant women are four times more likely than the general population to need hospital treatment for H1N1 swine flu, data from the US suggests.

The findings suggest pregnancy does increase the risk of complications without speedy anti-viral treatment. It also underlines the need to ensure pregnant women are made a top priority when a vaccine becomes available.

What should I do if I get sick?

• If there is H1N1 flu in your community pay extra attention to your body and how you are feeling.
• If you get sick with flu-like symptoms, stay home, limit contact with others, and call your doctor. Your doctor will decide if testing or treatment is needed. Tests may include a nasal swab which is best to do within the first 4-5 days of getting sick. Like regular flu, H1N1 flu may make other medical problems worse.
• If you are alone at any time, have someone check in with you often if you are feeling ill. This is always a good idea.
• If you have close contact with someone who has H1N1 flu or is being treated for exposure to H1N1 flu, contact your doctor to discuss whether you need treatment to reduce your chances of getting the flu.

How should I feed my baby?

• Flu can be very serious in young babies. Babies who are breastfed do not get as sick and are sick less often from the flu, than do babies who are not breastfed.
• Breastfeeding protects babies. Breast milk passes on antibodies from the mother to a baby. Antibodies help fight off infection.

Is it ok to breastfeed my baby if I am sick?

• A mother’s milk is made to fight diseases in her baby. This is really important in young babies when their immune system is still growing.
• Do not stop breastfeeding if you are ill. Breastfeed early and often. Limit formula feeds if you can. This will help protect your baby from infection.
• Be careful not to cough or sneeze in the baby’s face, wash your hands often with soap and water.
• Your doctor might ask you to wear a mask to keep from spreading this new virus to your baby.
• If you are too sick to breastfeed, pump and have someone give the expressed milk to your baby.
  

» CDC [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

Obesity Prevalence Among Low-Income, Preschool-Aged Children

Childhood obesity is a leading public health concern that disproportionately affects low-income and minority children. Those children who are obese in their preschool years are more likely to be obese in adolescence and adulthood. A Healthy People 2010 objective is to reduce to 5% the percentage of children and adolescents who are obese. To analyze progress in reducing childhood obesity, CDC examined data from 1998-2008. The findings indicated that obesity prevalence among low-income, preschool-aged children increased steadily from 12.4% in 1998 to 14.5% in 2003 but subsequently remained essentially the same, with a 14.6% prevalence in 2008.

» CDC [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

[ PDF ] Obesity Prevalence Among Low-Income, Preschool-Aged Children

CDC Prevention and Control of Seasonal Influenza with Vaccines, 2009

This report updates the 2008 recommendations by CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) regarding the use of influenza vaccine for the prevention and control of seasonal influenza. The 2009 seasonal influenza recommendations include new and updated information. Highlights of the 2009 recommendations include a recommendation that annual vaccination be administered to all children aged 6 months--18 years for the 2009/10 influenza season.

» CDC [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

[ PDF ] Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, July 24, 2009

Nosefrida Nasal Aspirator

When your child has a cold with a runny stuffed nose, it can be frustrating when they can not blow their own nose. Congestion interferes with sleep, feeding and makes for an overall cranky child, and parent too. Nosefrida is a plastic tube with a filter that the parent uses with their own mouths to get the mucous out of their children’s noses.

The study concluded that the nasal aspiration device Nosefrida effectively reduces the accumulation of mucous in the nose, improves feeding and reduces sleeping problems in children suffering from upper respiratory infection.

» nosefrida.com [ Contribute: submit link / submit article / submit company ]

Babies and the common cold

Do you feel as if you're constantly wiping your baby's nose? You probably are! The common cold strikes most healthy babies at some point — often repeatedly. Most colds last a week or two, but some linger even longer. In the meantime, there's plenty you can do to help your baby beat the common cold.

Your baby's immune system will need time to conquer the cold. Since colds are caused by viruses, antibiotics won't help. If your baby is younger than age 3 months, call the doctor at the first sign of illness. For newborns, a common cold can quickly develop into croup, pneumonia or another serious illness.

When the common cold becomes something more serious

Most colds are simply a nuisance. But it's important to take your baby's signs and symptoms seriously. Again, call the doctor at the first sign of illness if your baby is younger than age 3 months. If your baby is age 3 months or older, call the doctor if he or she:

• Isn't wetting as many diapers as usual
• Has a temperature higher than 103 F for one day
• Has a temperature higher than 100 F for more than three days
• Seems to have ear or sinus pain
• Has yellow eye discharge
• Has a cough for more than one week
• Has thick, green nasal discharge for more than two weeks
• Has any signs or symptoms that worry you

Seek medical help immediately if your baby:

• Refuses to nurse or accept fluids
• Coughs hard enough to cause vomiting or changes in skin color
• Coughs up blood-tinged sputum
• Has difficulty breathing or is bluish around the lips and mouth

The common cold typically spreads through infected respiratory droplets coughed or sneezed into the air. The best defense? Common sense and plenty of soap and water.

• Keep your baby away from anyone who's sick, especially during the first few days of illness. If you have a newborn, don't allow visits from anyone who's sick. If possible, avoid public transportation with your newborn.
• Wash your hands before feeding or caring for your baby. When soap and water aren't available, use hand wipes or gels that contain germ-killing alcohol.
• Clean your baby's toys and pacifiers often.
• Teach everyone in the household to cough or sneeze into a tissue — and then toss it. If you can't reach a tissue in time, cough or sneeze into the crook of your arm.

» mayoclinic.com [ Contribute: submit link / submit article / submit company ]

Summer conception date affects baby's development

Dr. Winchester and colleagues linked the scores of the students in grades 3 through 10 who took the Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress (ISTEP) examination with the month in which each student had been conceived. The researchers found that ISTEP scores for math and language were distinctly seasonal with the lowest scores received by children who had been conceived in June through August.

Why might children conceived in June through August have the lowest ISTEP scores? "The fetal brain begins developing soon after conception. The pesticides we use to control pests in fields and our homes and the nitrates we use to fertilize crops and even our lawns are at their highest level in the summer," said Dr. Winchester, who also directs Newborn Intensive Care Services at St. Francis Hospital in Indianapolis.

"Exposure to pesticides and nitrates can alter the hormonal milieu of the pregnant mother and the developing fetal brain," said Dr. Winchester. "While our findings do not represent absolute proof that pesticides and nitrates contribute to lower ISTEP scores, they strongly support such a hypothesis."

Babies born in the spring could be less intelligent becuase of the effect of pesticides

A study of more than 1.5 million children clearly showed that those conceived in the summer - when pesticide use is at its highest - are less clever than other youngsters. It is thought that spring babies may fare less well at school because they receive the most exposure to pesticides during the first few months of pregnancy - a critical time for brain development.

» thisislondon.co.uk

Listening to a Fetus's Heartbeat

A device the size of an iPod could give women with high-risk pregnancies a way to monitor the health of the fetus.

Discerning the heartbeat of a baby still in the womb is a bit like making out a murmur in a crowded room. However, researchers at the University of Nottingham have designed a fetal heart monitor that can accurately distinguish a fetus's heart rate from its mother's and from surrounding noises. What's more, they've made the device noninvasive, small, and easy to use in the home. Scientists have also enabled the monitor to transmit heart-rate data to the Internet, where doctors can remotely analyze and watch particularly high-risk pregnancies.

» Technology Review » Monica Healthcare

U.S. infant mortality rate edges down to new low

U.S. infant mortality declined slightly in 2004 to the lowest level on record, but the rate for babies born to black mothers was more than double that of whites, federal health officials said on Wednesday. The infant mortality rate, tracking deaths up to age 1, was 6.78 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2004 compared to 6.84 in 2003, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report.

The report, "Infant Mortality Statistics from the 2004 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set" includes a new analysis tracking preterm birth- related infant deaths. The analysis, first published in the October 2006 edition of Pediatrics, found preterm birth contributes to nearly twice as many infant deaths within the first year of life than previously estimated.

Tooth Decay In US Preschool Kids On The Rise

According to a new report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), tooth decay has increased in preschool children while oral health continues to improve among older Americans.

The report says that tooth decay in primary teeth (baby or milk teeth) in children aged between 2 and 5 has gone up from 24 per cent in 1988-1994 to 28 per cent in 1999-2004.

The CDC report does not suggest any reasons for this decline in oral health among the very young, but media reports are speculating that the rise in drinking bottled water as opposed to fluoridated tap water could be partly to blame.

[ PDF ] view full report
» How to Look after Your Teeth (Children's University of Manchester)

For Infant Immunity a Bit of Dirt Called Good

Cleanliness can be overdone, according to investigators here, at least when it comes to exposing the developing immune systems of infants to allergens. The researchers believe they have confirmed the so-called hygiene hypothesis -- that early exposure to allergens prevents the later appearance of allergy.

In a study of nearly 600 infants younger than a year, those exposed to high levels of fungi in the home were significantly less likely to have bouts of recurrent wheezing than those who had lower exposure, reported Yulia Iossifova, Ph.D., of the University of Cincinnati, and colleagues, in Allergy.

» MedPage