The UK Department of Health is promoting a petition to add vitamin D testing to routine antenatal blood checks, citing research that deficiency in pregnancy may cause lasting in-utero damage. The article pushes back, noting testing and supplements are a revenue source for business.
Section archive
Pregnancy
- All desks
- Abortion
- Accutane
- Acetaminophen
- Acid Reflux
- Acidic Foods
- Acne
- Acrylamide
- Acupuncture
- Additives
- ADHD
- Adiposity
- Advisories
- Aerobic Exercise
- Aflatoxin
- Agave
- Agent Orange
- Aging
- Agriculture
- AIDS
- Air Pollution
- Airline Passengers
- Airport
- ALA
- Alcohol
- Alcoholic Beverage
- Alerts
- Allergy
- Alli
- Aloe Vera
- ALS
- Alternative Medicine
- Aluminum
- Alzheimer's
- Amalgam
- AMD
- Ampyra
- Amygdala
- Anal Cancer
- And
- Anemia
- Angiogenesis
- Animal Protein
- Animals
- Anorexia
- Anthocyanins
- Anthrax
- Anti-Angiogenesis
- Anti-Obesity
- Antibacterial
- Antibiotic
Vitamins
Should Pregnant Women Avoid Using Cell Phones?
Chinese researchers exposed pregnant rats to cell phone radiation and reported significant neurological differences in fetal brains, concluding a certain dose causes harm. Earlier work tied handset use two or three times a day in pregnancy to more hyperactivity and conduct problems at school age.
Vitamins
Low prenatal vitamin D linked to high risk for type 1 diabetes in children
Norwegian researchers compared 109 women whose children developed type 1 diabetes before age 15 with 219 control mothers, and found those in the lowest quartile of serum vitamin D more than twice as likely to have an affected child. They call for a randomized trial.
Supplements
Pregnant women's diet linked to risk of breast cancer in their daughters
Two mouse trials presented at the Era of Hope conference found daughters of mothers fed omega-3-rich canola oil in pregnancy had gene expression profiles tied to lower breast cancer risk, and daughters of mothers given methionine, choline, folate and B12 grew fewer, slower tumors.
Cancer
Research links diet during pregnancy to breast cancer risk reduction in female offspring (PR)
Research presented at the Era of Hope conference suggests an expectant mother who eats more omega-3 fatty acids, or methyl nutrients such as methionine, choline, folate and vitamin B12, may reduce her daughter's later breast cancer risk. Some findings go further and hypothesise prevention.
Drug
Medication Use During Pregnancy
For National Birth Defects Prevention Month, CDC urges women who are pregnant or planning to be to discuss every prescription, over-the-counter and herbal product with a doctor and never to start or stop one alone. Thalidomide and isotretinoin cause serious birth defects.
Environment
Chemicals found in pregnant women may hurt babies
UCSF researchers screened 269 pregnant American women for 163 chemicals and found 99 to 100 percent carried PCBs, organochlorine pesticides, PFCs, phthalates, PBDEs and others, with BPA in 96 percent. Several were at levels other studies have linked to harm in children.
Disease
Autism risk increases with back to back pregnancies
A Pediatrics study of first and second-born sibling pairs from California birth records for 1992 to 2002 found shorter intervals between pregnancies, especially under a year, associated with higher autism risk in the second child.
Advisories
Holiday Food Safety During Pregnancy
CDC holiday food safety advice for pregnant women: wash hands often, cook meat until well done, reheat hot dogs and deli meats until steaming, skip unpasteurized milk and soft cheeses, and avoid eggnog unless it is alcohol-free and made with pasteurized eggs.
Drug
Pregnant Women Need a Flu Shot!
Pregnancy alters the immune system, heart and lungs, making severe flu illness, hospitalization and even death more likely, and raising the chance of miscarriage or preterm birth. A flu shot protects the mother and her baby up to 6 months old; the nasal spray is not for pregnant women.
Disease
Here is why having a baby reduces breast cancer risk
Drawing on material from the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute, the piece argues that an early full-term pregnancy converts cancer-prone type 1 and 2 breast lobules into cancer-resistant type 3 and 4, and that more menstrual cycles mean higher risk.
Lifestyle
Who says breast cancer patients should avoid pregnancy?
A meta-analysis of 14 studies covering 1,244 cases and 18,145 controls found women who became pregnant after a breast cancer diagnosis were 41 percent less likely to die of the disease, leading the authors to conclude pregnancy does not compromise survival.
Food
Light drinking is Okay for pregnant women or not?
A study of 11,513 children found those born to light drinkers were no more likely to have behavioral or intellectual problems at age 5, and scored somewhat better, while children of heavy drinkers fared worse. The authors stress observational work cannot prove drinking is harmless.
Environment
Don’t Ever Drink This During Pregnancy…
Mercola cites an Indian study in which anemic pregnant women who avoided fluoride in water and food had less anemia and fewer preterm and low-birth-weight babies than those who did not. He argues fluoride is a poison whether added to water or naturally present.
Healthcare
Pregnancy Related Deaths Declining Globally
A report from WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA and the World Bank finds maternal deaths fell 34 percent, from about 546,000 in 1990 to 358,000 in 2008. The 2.3 percent annual decline falls short of the 5.5 percent needed to meet the Millennium Development Goal by 2015.
Environment
Pesticide, flame retardant linked to ADHD
A study in Environmental Health Perspectives of 300 Mexican-American children found higher organophosphate pesticide exposure during pregnancy was significantly associated with attention problems at age five. A Harvard study is also cited linking prenatal organochlorine exposure to ADHD.
Environment
Prenatal pesticide exposure linked to high ADHD risk
In a study of more than 300 children near Salinas, California, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, mothers' urinary organophosphate pesticide metabolites during pregnancy were significantly associated with attention problems at age five, though not at age 3.5.
Lifestyle
When to have another pregnancy after a miscarriage
A BMJ study of more than 30,000 Scottish women found those who conceived within six months of a miscarriage had better outcomes than those who waited longer, with a live birth rate of 85.2 percent versus 73.3 percent among women who waited over 24 months. WHO advises waiting at least six months.
20 stories