Weight-Loss Surgery Helps Obese Moms' Pregnancies, Newborns
Women who underwent dramatic weight loss after bariatric surgery had fewer pregnancy and delivery problems and fewer newborn complications than obese pregnant mothers, according to a recent study.
The investigation, which analyzed the data from 75 clinical studies, discovered that pregnant women who had undergone weight-loss surgery (laparoscopic adjustable band surgery) experienced fewer complications than obese women. In particular, 0 percent of weight-loss women suffered from gestational diabetes, versus 22.1 percent of obese women, and 0 percent of weight-loss women had pre-eclampsia (pregnancy-induced high blood pressure), versus 3.1 percent of obese women. Also, women with bariatric surgery had less weight gain than the others.
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Pregnancy and LASIK Don't Mix
When a woman is pregnant or breastfeeding, her hormonal balance shifts dramatically. This causes her body to retain more fluid. And when this happens, her eyes' lenses swell, too, making a correct diagnosis to fix her vision problems with LASIK surgery all but impossible.
When the lens swells, it changes how a woman sees, making her more nearsighted, farsighted or astigmatic. But when her pregnancy is over, and when she stops lactating, her hormones - and her eyes' lenses - return to normal. If a LASIK diagnosis is performed on a woman during the period when her lenses are distorted, the readings will be invalid for her normal bodily state.
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The Benefits of Flu Shots During Pregnancy
Despite the long-standing recommendation for pregnant women to receive a flu shot, three-quarters of women responding to a national survey were unaware or unsure of these recommendations. Additionally, only 20 percent of women who are currently pregnant plan to get a flu shot this flu season.
The survey, conducted on behalf of the National Women's Health Resource Center, also revealed that some women even question whether the flu shot itself can pose a health risk to the baby.
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Is It Safe to Drink Small Amounts of Alcohol During Pregnancy?
The National Institute For Health and Clinical Excellence (or NICE) recently claims that pregnant women can drink up to 1.5 units of alcohol (or one and a half small glasses of wine) without harming the unborn child. This comes after the Department of Health advises that expectant mothers should abstain from drinking entirely. So between these contradicting sets of advice, where is the truth?
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Colic Reflux
14 month old Cateyann entered the world when she was only 36 weeks old, a preemie, she weighed 6 pounds 10 ounces. It was crucial for Cateyann to gain weight…but, as weeks and then months passed, she not only didn’t put weight on, Cateyann began losing pound after pound.
“It was a constant stress every day for my husband and I worrying about how much she ate, is she going to eat today? We would be weighing her every night to make sure she didn’t lose any weight,” says Danielle, Cateyann’s mother.
Feeding time was extremely stressful for the family because Cateyann would refuse to eat any solid foods, spitting out every spoonful. “She didn’t care that she didn’t eat, she could go all day long. Typically with a baby you think they would let you know they were hungry by the way they were acting and she would act fine you would never know that she hadn’t eaten for the entire day,” says Danielle.
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Prematurity Awareness
There’s a one in eight chance that if you’re having a baby, you will delivery prematurely. This staggering statistic is the reason why today is Prematurity Awareness Day. The goal: help women learn how to protect themselves and their unborn babies.
The problem still has doctors shrugging their shoulders. It’s not a well understood problem. But there are things women can do to reduce their risk for delivering prematurely, and avoid the complications the baby can suffer as a result.
“In the beginning everything was fine, the first three months I wasn’t sick or anything, once I reached four months that is when my nightmare started.” Regina Victor-Elisma had already had two miscarriages, and this latest pregnancy was no picnic. But she felt fortunate to deliver successfully, even if it wasn’t normal. “They put her on the incubator without oxygen and took her to the nice, a round seven ounces, one pound seven ounces,
recalls Regina.
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PREMATURITY AND DEVELOPMENT
A study just released shows many will have developmental issues that play out during the school years. This is an example of how technology and medical advances have improved outcomes but created new sets of problems.
More and more children who are born prematurely survive, but it comes with a price: developmental abnormalities ranging from hearing and sight problems to cognitive deficits.
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PAINFUL PERIODS
Can high levels of stress increase the risk of having painful periods? New research by Chicago researchers says it can.
Jessica Lindstrom is 27 years old, and although she’s totally healthy, sometimes her body turns on her at the time of the month. Her periods are agonizing. “I have intense lower back pain, nausea, and stomach irritation. There’s also pain when tightening the lower abdomen,” says Jessica.
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PREEMIES HEALTH RISK
Every minute, a baby is born prematurely. Many of these babies are of extremely low birth weight.
Now, new research shows infections which are common in these infants are associated with poor development overall.
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MATERNAL AGE
What is the maximum possible maternal age, after which having a baby is simply out of the question?
This is the question being raised in a major medical journal, especially in light of advanced maternal ages among women. More and more women are having children past the perceived ideal age.
It’s quite striking how the demographic of motherhood has changed dramatically in the last decade. The number of births among women between the ages of 35 and 39 increased 36% and among women 40 to 44, it jumped a whopping 70%! Now even 50 is not considered a too severely advanced maternal age. There were 263 births in this age group in 2002.
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