Dr. John's Health Matters
Welcome to Dr. John's Health Matters blog.
The articles posted here are from various sources who are duly acknowledged. I would appreciate being immediately notified, if any copywritten material needs to be removed. This blog is not intended to replace the qualified advice of a licensed health practitioner. Readers should exercise their own judgment. Enjoy, subscribe, participate and tell others :)
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Posts tagged "mother"
Wednesday, Sep 2nd, 2009 ↓Chewing gum improves recovery from c-sections →
Sept 2, 2009 (Presstv.com)—Sugar-free chewing gums can help new mothers retrieve their normal bowel function following a cesarean section, a new study finds.
Similar to other abdominal surgeries, constipation and bloating due to slowed intestinal function is a regular complaint in women undergoing C-sections.
According to the study published in BJOG, chewing gum helps these women recover their normal bowel activity and shorten their hospital stay.
Chewing one stick of gum for 15 minutes every two hours sets off a nervous response, leading to the release of certain hormones that stimulate bowel activity.
Egyptian researchers concluded that chewing gum is a safe and inexpensive method to lower the complaint rate in women who have had a C-section.
PKH/HGH
Tags: chewing gum c-section new mother bowel function cesarean abdominal constipation bloating intestinal function bowel
Home birth with midwife safe as hospital →
Aug 31, 2009 (Cbc.ca)—Giving birth at home with a registered midwife can be as safe as a hospital birth for the infant and the mom, according to a Canadian study released Monday.
Midwives provide round-the-clock care for women during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum in hospitals, birthing centres and at the homes of women.
The rate of deaths was about two per 1,000 for planned home births involving midwives as well as deliveries in hospitals involving either midwives or doctors, the researchers found.
“Women planning birth at home experienced reduced risk for all obstetric interventions measured, and similar or reduced risk for adverse maternal outcomes,” such as electronic fetal monitoring and postpartum hemorrhage, Dr. Patricia Janssen from the University of British Columbia and her co-authors wrote in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
For full article, see link above.
Tags: pregnant birth safety midwife hospital infant mom mother delivery fetal monitoring postpartum hemorrhage
Seizures up premature birth: Study →
Aug 24, 2009 (Presstv.com)—Women experiencing seizure attacks when pregnant are more likely to give birth to a premature or small infant, a new study finds.
Despite controversial studies regarding the impact of seizures on the newborn, the new study revealed that seizures are what contribute to the increased risk of complications in infants.
According to the study published in the Archives of Neurology, babies born to have low birth weight (weighing less than 2,500 grams) and be small for gestational age (having a birth weight below the 10th percentile for age).
Scientists claim seizures lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes through various mechanisms. Trauma caused by the attacks may rupture fetal membranes, increasing the risk of infection and early delivery.
Seizure attacks may also result in contractions in the uterus, leading to tension and acute injury, and subsequently to premature birth.
“Neonates born pre-term, of low birth weight and small for gestational age may be predisposed to diseases during infancy and later life, highlighting the significance of proper intervention strategies for prevention,” the authors stressed.
Scientists therefore urged physicians to control seizure attacks before pregnancy, improve sleep quality in women and teach them required strategies for coping with stress.
Tags: premature infant baby seizure mother small newborn complication birth weight pregnancy infection risk uterus tension injury sleep stress
Moms-to-be Warned Over Use Of Fetal Heart Rate Monitors →
Aug 21, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—Mums-to-be are being advised not to use personal monitors (Doppler devices) to listen to their baby’s heartbeat at home over fears that they may lead to delays in seeking help for reduced fetal movements.
In a recent article in the British Medical Journal, Dr Thomas Aust and colleagues from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Arrowe Park Hospital, Wirral describe the case of a 27 year old woman who presented to their labour ward 32 weeks into her first pregnancy with reduced fetal movements.
She had first noted a reduction in her baby’s activity two days earlier but had used her own Doppler device to listen to the heartbeat and reassured herself that everything was normal.
Further monitoring by the antenatal care team was not reassuring and the baby was delivered by Caesarean section later that evening. The baby remained on the special care baby unit for eight weeks and is making steady progress.
A hand-held Doppler device assesses the presence of fetal heart pulsations only at that moment, and it is used by midwives and obstetricians to check for viability or for intermittent monitoring during labour, explain the authors. In untrained hands it is more likely that blood flow through the placenta or the mother’s main blood vessels will be heard.
For full article see link above.
Are We What Our Mothers Ate? →
July 21, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—Mothers’ health in the days and weeks prior to becoming pregnant may determine the health of offspring much later in life, according to results of studies reported at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Reproduction, which takes place July 18 to 22 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh. These studies demonstrate that maternal nutrition, protein intake and level of fat in the diet may cause epigenetic changes in the developing fetus that can have long-term health consequences.
Too Much of a Sweet Thing? Maternal Diabetes and Embryo Development
The time between ovulation and conception may be a critical one for maternal and fetal health, according to Kelle Moley, M.D., Washington University School of Medicine. In mouse studies, she found that subtle differences in maternal metabolism had long-lasting effects. Indeed, when Dr. Moley transferred embryos from a diabetic mouse into a non-diabetic mouse shortly after egg implantation, she noted neural tube defects, heart defects, limb deformities and growth defects in offspring. These findings indicate that we may need to re-direct our ideas about maternal health to the time prior to pregnancy, she says.
For full article see link above.
Tags: diet nutrition pregnancy mother infant baby protein fat diabetes embryo development growth defect
Anti-Epilepsy Drug Risk On Cognitive Function For Unborn Children →
July 21, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—Interim results of a study being conducted by scientists at the University of Liverpool suggest that children aged three years and younger, who are born to women taking the anti-epileptic drug sodium valproate whilst pregnant, are likely to have an IQ of six to nine points lower than average.
The research, in collaboration with Emory University in the US and the Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, tested more than 300 three-year-olds in the UK and US, whose mothers took one of four anti-epilepsy drugs (AEDs) whilst pregnant. The preliminary findings suggest that children exposed to the drug sodium valproate had lower IQ results than children exposed to other AEDs, regardless of the mother’s IQ. The results also took dosage, duration of pregnancy and mother’s consumption of folic acid whilst pregnant, into account.
Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology at the University, Gus Baker, said “Our research looked at how exposure to sodium valproate and other AEDs in the womb affected children’s everyday life – in particular their IQ, memory and language abilities from one to six years of age.”
For full article see link above.
Tags: children child IQ intelligence memory pregnancy epileptic drug sodium valproate mother language risk
Childhood Cancer Risk Rises With Mother's Age →
July 15, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—Research from the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota indicates that a baby born to an older mother may have a slightly increased risk for many of the cancers that occur during childhood.
“Our finding shows that although the absolute risk is low, advancing maternal age may be a factor and explain why, after other factors are adjusted for, some children get cancer,” said Logan Spector, Ph.D., assistant professor of pediatrics and cancer epidemiology researcher. Spector and Kimberly Johnson, Ph.D., post doctoral fellow in pediatric epidemiology, led the research team on this study. The results are published in the July 2009 issue of the journal Epidemiology.
For full article see link above.
Tags: child children childhood cancer risk mother age maternal leukemia lympoma tumor neuroblastoma
Chemical In Common Consumer Products (Phthalates) May Play A Role In Pre-term Births →
July 6, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—A new study of expectant mothers suggests that a group of common environmental contaminants called phthalates, which are present in many industrial and consumer products including everyday personal care items, may contribute to the country’s alarming rise in premature births.
Researchers at the University of Michigan School of Public Health found that women who deliver prematurely have, on average, up to three times the phthalate level in their urine compared to women who carry to term.
For full article see link above.
Tags: pregnancy phthalates mother environment contaminant industrial consumer product premature birth
Child’s ADHD Diagnosis Is Tied to Mother’s Health Status →
Dec 15 08 (therapytimes.com) The probability of having one’s child receive an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis involves a mother’s own medical conditions and her use of health services prior to having the child, a new study finds. What is not clear, however, is whether the effects are due to biological, environmental or psychosocial factors – or some combination of these. The study appears in the January issue of the journal Medical Care.
