Eating sweets early in pregnancy can mean obese baby

Here's some new advice for moms-to-be: Watch your intake of sweets, including cakes, cookies and soda, early in your pregnancy to lower your risk of having a baby who is too heavy. Expectant mothers who consumed more sweets and sugar-sweetened beverages during the first trimester of their pregnancies were more likely to have obese babies than those whose intake was lower, a new study shows. "There is something about the exposure to sweets in utero that may lead to heavier babies," says Suzanne Phelan, an associate professor of kinesiology at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo. The risk factor is independent of the mother's weight gain during pregnancy or starting weight, she says. Phelan and colleagues at Cal Poly and Brown University in Providence examined food intake during pregnancy of 285 expectant women. They also reviewed the records of babies' weights at birth and 6 months old. Findings presented Sunday at the Obesity Society meeting in Orlando:

•Normal-weight expectant moms who drank sugar-sweetened beverages in the first trimester were at a higher risk of having large babies than the women who didn't consume much of them.

•Overweight and obese women who were consuming more than 20% of their calories from sweets (desserts, candy, soda) had more than two times the risk of having an overweight or obese baby at birth and at six months than heavy women consuming less than 20% of calories from sweets.

"Moms-to-be need to limit their intake of sweets early on in their pregnancy to potentially decrease their baby's risk of obesity," Phelan says.

Previous research has shown that women who pack on too many pounds during pregnancy increase their chances of having high birth-weight babies who become overweight or obese later in life, she says. Also, women who weigh too much at the start of their pregnancies are at a greater risk of having heavy babies at the onset and then heavy children later on.

To view this article in full visit: http://yourlife.usatoday.com/parenting-family/pregnancy/story/2011-10-02/Eating-sweets-early-in-pregnancy-can-mean-obese-baby/50637776/1

Mother's Love May Keep the Doctor Away

      An extra dose of motherly nurturing insulates children from lifelong health problems associated with poverty, a new study says. The study found that people whose parents did not finish high school were 1.4 times more likely to develop a condition called metabolic syndrome by middle age than children raised by college-educated parents. Metabolic syndrome is a precursor to diabetes and heart disease. However, among people from less-educated households, those who said they had a very nurturing mother were less likely to develop metabolic syndrome, according to the study published Friday (Sept. 23) in the journal Psychological Science. A nurturing mother in a more educated household had no effect on the likelihood that her adult children had developed metabolic syndrome.Parents' education can be a more reliable indicator of a child's home life than family income, said Lisa Berkman, director of the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies. Families may fall into low income because of unlucky circumstances such as illness, but still have some of the protective benefits education seems to bring to households.Researchers "often look at education, because it makes a stronger case," said Berkman, who was not involved with the new study. Low income and lack of education are often tied to poor health, but the study suggests that the connections between socioeconomic status and chronic health conditions are not as clear as the effects of genetics and lifestyle, the researchers said. Still, it was striking to see a disadvantaged childhood could manifest in physical disease, said Margie Lachman, a co-author of the new study. "It [childhood experience] shows up under the skin and in the body as an important risk factor," said Lachman, who is the director of the Lifespan Initiative on Healthy Aging at Brandeis University.

Education is not the whole story

       A team of researchers mined data from a subset of 1,200 participants in the decade-long National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) looking for correlations between socioeconomic status as a child and the risk of metabolic syndrome as an adult. The adult participants filled out questionnaires about their parents' behaviors, and researchers checked their blood pressure, blood sugar, stomach fat and other signs of metabolic syndrome. Previous results from MIDUS showed adults' education levels influence their risk for disability, memory and cognitive reasoning problems, said Lachman, one of the principle investigators on the MIDUS study.

"But not everybody who has low education does poorly in these areas," Lachman said. The study showed that parents' education level was not the single determining factor in children's health: half of children in the least-educated households grew up to develop metabolic syndrome by middle age, but 31 percent of children from college-educated households developed metabolic syndrome, too. And adults from a disadvantaged household who went on to earn higher degrees were still more likely to develop metabolic syndrome than those raised in more-educated households. Nurturing, the results implied, could be one difference that explains why some people go on to live healthy lives despite their circumstances, and others don't. The researchers measured parental nurturing with survey questions such as "How much did she/he understand your problems and worries?" or "How much time and attention did she/he give you when you needed it?" The researchers said that this type of study cannot prove why or how a nurturing mother protects her children's health over the long term.  Yet previous studies have shown "nurturant caregivers imbue children with the sense that the world is a safe place and others can be trusted," the authors from the University of British Columbia and the University of California Los Angeles wrote in the discussion. "These beliefs may enable disadvantaged youngsters to read less threat into their social worlds, with a consequent reduction in the wear-and-tear such vigilance can place on bodily systems," they wrote.

Fathers' nurturing was found not to have an effect in the study, and authors hypothesized that either mothers have a unique contribution to children's health, or that gender roles during the participants' childhood after World War II could have influenced the results.

To view this article in full: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/09/30/mothers-love-may-keep-doctor-away/

Pre-pregnancy Fitness, Are You Ready for a Child?

Pregnancy is a big step, you not only have to be ready financially, but physically too.
It takes its toll on your body, so before you even think about it you need to ensure that your body is in near-perfect condition to house a child for the next nine months.
Yet a new study has revealed today that one in five women are obese at the start of their pregnancy, 17 per cent still smoke during and 10-15 per cent suffer from depression or anxiety during the pregnancy.
Based on the view that antenatal care is struggling to keep up with today's lifestyle habits and resulting pregnancy health problems, Tommy's is launching a new health campaign - Tommy's Five Point Pregnancy Plan - in order to reach every mum-to-be in the UK with help and advice on five essential health areas for pregnant women:

1. nutrition
2. weight management
3. exercise
4. smoking
5. mental health

A recent survey indicates that women are still confused over calorie comsumption during pregnancy, with 40 per cent thinking you should eat an extra 500 calories a day, or not knowing exactly hoe many more they should eat. An extra 200 calories - the equivalent of two small slices of bread - is all that is recommended and only in the last 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Consequences of being overweight during pregnancy can be very serious - this includes, miscarriage, birth defects, gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, complications in labour, long-term health problems for the baby and stillbirth. Obese mothers are twice as likely to experience a stillbirth as mothers within the normal weight range.
Jacqui Clinton, health campaigns director for Tommy's, says: "Poor diet, obesity, lack of physical activity, smoking and mental health problems can all impact on the healthy development of the baby. However, we know changing behaviour and certain habits can be hard, so we want out Five Point Pregnancy Plan to provide support for pregnant women."
The research also found that one in six women don't take an essential folic acid supplement when planning a pregnancy and more than half of women didn't take a vitamin D supplement at all during the nine months - even those that did were unsure about the benefits of it.

To view this article in full please visit:  http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/parenting/parenting-1366.html

Is Permanent Birth Control Right for Me?

Choosing permanent birth control is a significant decision and you should reflect, inform yourself, and discuss it with those closest to you prior to committing to permanent birth control. Once you have explored your options and discussed the procedure in detail with your doctor, you can move forward and have the procedure with confidence.

Permanent birth control may be right for you if you:

• Are certain you do not want any more children
• Want to stop worrying about unplanned pregnancy forever
• Want the most effective permanent birth control available
• Want to stop managing your temporary birth control method
• Would like to stop taking hormone-based birth control
• Want to avoid the incision, scarring, burning, radiofrequency energy, silicone or risks of other permanent birth control procedures
• Are concerned about the risks of general anesthesia
• Want more spontaneity in your sexual relationship
• Want confirmation that you’re protected from unplanned pregnancy

You should delay your decision if you:

• May want to have children in the future
• Are pregnant or think you might be pregnant
• Have been pregnant during the past six weeks
• Have an active or recent pelvic infection
• Feel pressured by someone else to have the procedure
• Are going through major life changes, such as a divorce
• Are managing serious health problems

Please contact our office to schedule a consultation if you are serious about getting a permanent birth control procedure, at 561-793-5657.

West Palm Beach Permanent Birth Control Doctor, Wellington Permanent Birth Control Doctor, Loxahatchee Permanent Birth Control Doctor, Royal Palm Beach Permanent Birth Control Doctor, West Palm Beach Essure, West Palm Beach Adiana, Wellington Essure, Wellington Adiana, Loxahatchee Essure, Loxahatchee Adiana, Royal Palm Beach Essure, Royal Palm Beach Adiana, Lake Worth Essure, Lake Worth Adiana, Boynton Beach Essure, Boynton Beach Adiana, Lake Worth Permanent Birth Control Doctor, Boynton Beach Permanent Birth Control Doctor

Pregnant This Summer? Beat the Heat

Hot, humid -- and heavy with child. Pregnancy can make the summer seem hotter. But following a few simple guidelines can keep you cool.

It's hot, it's humid, and you're pregnant. True, that can be a recipe for misery, but there are ways to cope. 

"I always have tremendous sympathy for women whose babies are due in the summer or early fall," says Debra Gilbert Rosenberg, LCSW, author of the recently released The New Mom's Companion: Care for Yourself While You Care for Your Newborn 

"Heat and humidity, while unpleasant for most people, take a greater toll on pregnant women."

'Heat Intolerance'

Adelaide Nardone, MD, an ob-gyn in Providence, Rhode Island, and medical advisor to the Vagisil Women's Health Center, explains that when you're pregnant your body temperature is already a bit higher than normal, so added heat from the outside temperature is bound to make you feel uncomfortable.

"Pregnant women already have some degree of heat intolerance," says Nardone, who advises moms-to-be to pay attention to the heat warnings. If the heat index (meaning how hot the temperature feels because of the combination of heat and humidity) is in the 90s, that's a good day to be indoors as much as possible with the air conditioning turned on. A cool, damp washcloth applied to the back of your neck, your forehead, or the top of your head is also a good way to keep your body temperature down.

If you perspire heavily because of the heat, make sure you drink plenty of fluids, Nardone adds. Water's good, but so are orange juice, milk, and sports drinks, which replace electrolytes that are being sweated away

She cautions that too much water can be as much of a problem as too little, leading to a condition called water intoxication. "Over-hydration with water can dilute your electrolytes even more, and can cause fatigued muscles, cramps, and in severe cases, unconsciousness," Nardone tells WebMD.

If you're thirsty, adds Rosenberg, you're already dehydrated, so make sure you drink throughout the day. 

Keep Cool

Ann Douglas, author of The Mother of All Pregnancy Books, has these tips:

• Swim. Not only does swimming cool you off, it helps to take some of the weight off your sciatic nerve. (Even ocean swimming is fine; just make sure the waves don't knock you down.)
• Wear breathable fabrics so you won't sweat; this will keep you cooler and help prevent heat rash that can develop under your breasts and abdomen, a common problem for pregnant women.
• Carry a water-filled squirt bottle so that you can mist yourself when you start to feel warm.
• Exercise at the cooler times of day and avoid exercising to the point overheating.

When it comes to exercising, says Nardone, always check with your health-care provider before starting, or continuing, an exercise regimen. 

Breathing is also an important factor in keeping cool, Nardone adds. Breathing lets off heat, so make sure you have a good breathing pattern (some people breathe either too rapidly or too slowly), and if you're having a problem breathing because of allergies or asthma, for example, stay indoors.

Hyun-Joo Lee, MD, an ob-gyn at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, has her own suggestions for keeping your cool while pregnant:

• Avoid direct mid-day sun, because pregnant women are more prone to sunburn than non-pregnant women.
• Drink one eight-ounce glass of water or electrolyte replacement liquid for each hour you are outdoors in hot weather.
• Avoid vigorous outdoor activities during the hot hours of the day.
• Use a high SPF sunscreen. If you have fair skin, use SPF 30 or 45. (Increased melanin production can lead to the "mask of pregnancy," so make sure your time in the sun is limited and don't head out without sunscreen or, better yet, sunblock.)
• Get indoors at the first sign of weakness, fatigue, dizziness, lightheadedness, or excessive thirst. Lie down and drink some cool water or electrolyte replacement liquid. If you don't feel better soon, call your doctor.

Another common problem in summer pregnancies is leg swelling -- called physiologic edema, Lee tells WebMD. "If the second half of pregnancy occurs during the summer months, the degree of leg swelling can increase dramatically." 

Lee offers a list of dos and don'ts for women who experience leg swelling while pregnant: 

To finish reading this article on WebMD, please click: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=52172

ABC News Features Dr. David Adler and Dr. Gregory Latchaw Regarding NovaSure Procedure

Felicia Rodriguez, anchor at WPBF in West Palm Beach, recently sat down with Dr. Adler and Dr. Latchaw to discuss NovaSure, an in-office procedure that can help cure their heavy bleeding with little downtime, also known as endometrial ablation. Endometrial ablation is a procedure that destroys a thin layer of lining of the uterus. This stops the endometrium from building up each month and then sloughing off, resulting in menstrual bleeding. It's a great alternative to a hysterectomy and endometrial ablation treats heavy menstrual bleeding, which in turn reduces menstrual cramps.



For more information on NovaSure, please visit: http://comprehensiveobgyn.net/novasure.asp

The Stir's CafeMom: How to Make an Overdue Pregnant Mom Crazy

Fun blog post by The Stir's cafe mom blog on the overdue pregnant mom, enjoy!

The Stir: How to Make an Overdue Pregnant Mom Crazy

We've all seen her. Maybe walking down the street or sitting in the OBGYN's office. The overdue mama-to-be. Chances are she's not a happy-camper, as there is no way to get comfortable when you are over 40 weeks pregnant. Near impossible to find a position that is even halfway decent. She is beyond ready to get her baby out of her body and into this world.


Aside from offering a place for her to sit down, what do we, as a society, do when we see an overdue pregnant lady? We ask her a bunch of questions that, really, she doesn't want to answer. We pester her with unwanted advice. Basically, we drive her crazy. And remember, she can't move very fast, so she's trapped.

I was that overdue mama-to-be. I went past my due date by 5 days, in a perpetual state of semi-labor (had minor contractions at night for those days). When people saw me, it was as if my belly had some tractor beam on it, pulling them to me, the whole time yabbering on and on. I know it all came from a good place, from a kind place, from people who cared, but it drove me cra-zy.

If I had to answer when my due date was one more time, I thought I would have pummeled the waitress at the local diner. At least 83 random women offered advice, helpful hints on how to get labor going: eat spicy food, walk around, have sex. Seriously, when you can barely breathe because the kiddo is nestled up under your rib cage, the last thing you want to do is tell the mail lady, yes, I have tried shtupping my hubby twice a day to get this baby out, but it hasn't worked (not that I tried that -- the last thing I felt like doing was the hanky-panky).

The best part about being overdue (yes, that's sarcastic)? Once you are past your due date, it seems that all elements of social etiquette are dropped -- strangers feel it is okay, for some reason beyond comprehension, to ask how much weight you have gained. I knew I was big, I knew I could barely move, but that was still none of their business. I had more folks ask me just how many pounds I had gained in those 5 days I was overdue than in all of the other days combined.

So what should you do if you encounter an overdue pregnant lady? Stop, take a deep breath, tell her to "hang in there" ... and move on. Yup, keep on walking. There's nothing to see there, folks, just move along.

Was your baby overdue?

SOURCE: http://thestir.cafemom.com/pregnancy/119826/how_to_make_an_overdue