Interesting Correlation Between Infant Growth and Season Of Birth

Pregnancy and Delivery:  Seasonal Variations

Many women who struggle to get pregnant are happy to have their pregnancy whenever it happens to come along.  However, there are a number of sources out there that talk about when a baby is born during the year can have an affect on different aspects of their life.  I found this interesting article about how the season of birth may affect infant growth. Read More:

"The season in which a baby is born may influence the baby's birth weight as well as how quickly the baby gains weight during the first four months of life. A study published in the May issue of the Journal of Nutrition found significant differences among U.S. ethnic groups, with lower birth weights and lower rates of weight gain for black infants born in autumn, compared to other seasons.

"To our knowledge, this is the first description of seasonal variation in infant weight gain in a western society. Previous studies have focused on birth weight or on infant growth in low-income countries where food intake is directly linked to agriculture and the seasons," said Nicolas Stettler, M.D., a pediatric specialist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and a co-author of this study."
from: 
aphroditewomenshealth

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Having A Baby Over 40 Rewards and Tips

Pregnancy Over 40, A Child Over 40

Having a baby over the age of 40 has been a great experience for me. But, like having children at any age, there are rough spots as well.
See also: www.getpregnantover40.com for more articles on pregnancy and motherhood over 40 
  From my experience it has been very positive.  Since I worked so many years before having a child and only teach part-time now, I have the time to devote to raising my daughter.  I also have the maturity to help her navigate the whole growing up process.  This article gives more tips and advice:


From the article:

Tips:

The maturity that goes with being an older mom brings many advantages, often including less stress on a marriage, more certainty about one’s identity, and more ease about childrearing. However, many moms are surprised to find that there are also some concerns and issues that they may face:

Some Issues That Older Moms Are Likely to Face:

Struggle with her identity – going from having a full-time career to being a mom
Isolation – Her same-age peers are at different stage of life, so she sometimes feels left out, and there’s a sense of different priorities than fellow (younger) mothers
Stress – High expectations of what being a mom is going to be like. Her baby is incredibly important to her, a major investment because she’s waited so long, so there can sometimes be stress associated with the need for everything to be perfect, and for everything to be done right.
Fatigue – sometimes, though not always, fatigue can be greater with older moms
What can an older mom do?

Make sure you ask for help from your partner and your friends and family – and from professionals if you can afford to get help.
Talk with other older moms. Find a network of friends who are going through motherhood at the same stage of life, so you don’t always feel left out or disconnected. (See web site below)
Exercise to stay in shape and make it easier to keep up with your kids; eat right, and get enough sleep! 
from:  (www.montekids.org)

Nosebleeds in Pregnancy

Pregnancy and Nosebleeds

I've known a number of people who were susceptible to nose bleed whether they were pregnant or not. 
See: www.getpregnantover40.com for more on pregnancy over 40 
Pregnancy leads to an increased blood supply in the body - so if you're prone to nosebleeds, pregnancy can exacerbate this condition. This article explains what you can do if you get a nosebleed:

From the article:

Yes, nosebleeds do tend to occur more often during pregnancy. Pregnancy can cause the blood vessels in your nose to expand, and your increased blood supply puts more pressure on those delicate vessels, causing them to rupture more easily. Although it's unpleasant and inconvenient, an occasional minor nosebleed is generally harmless.

You're especially likely to get a nosebleed when you have a cold, sinus infection, or allergies, or when the membranes inside your nose dry out, as they do in cold weather, air-conditioned rooms, airline cabins, and other dry environments. Trauma and certain medical conditions, such as high blood pressure or a clotting disorder, may cause nosebleeds as well.
from: www.babycenter.com

The Importance of Drinking Water In Pregnancy

Pregnancy Over 40:  The Benefits of Drinking Water

Drinking enough water in pregnancy is so important. I made it a point to start drinkng water in the morning so I could get all of my water in during the day.
See also: www.getpregnantover40.com for more on foods for fertility and pregnancy 
 Here is an article that explains the importance of getting enough water in pregnancy. However, they do recommend stay away from tap water. Read more:


How is water good for your body and your baby?

* By flushing out your system, it helps get rid of unnecessary sodium and prevents Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs).
* It hydrates your body; pregnancy hormones are making you retain water and drinking more water helps fight that.
* Water facilitates the flow of nutrients through the blood to the baby.
* Did you know that the amniotic sack replenishes itself every hour, using approximately a cup of water stored in the mother’s body? This protects the baby, so help keep the sack wet!
* Your blood volume doubles and thickens during the eighth month of pregnancy; drink water to prevent hypertension and cardiovascular diseases.
* You’ll have healthier skin and less acne.
* Drinking eight glasses of water a day helps prevent constipation and hemorrhoids. Trust us, you want to prevent this.
* Drinking water may alleviate morning sickness (NVP).
* Drinking water during your third trimester helps prevent premature birth
from: 
www.pregnancy-info.net

Uterine Cells Produce Estrogen In Pregnancy

Estrogen Produced In Uterus

Ovaries produce estrogen right? Well yes, but according to this article, the uterus may be the newest endocrine gland.
See www.getpregnantover40.com for more on pregnancy, fertility and miscarriage 
Surprisingly, the uterus has been found to produce it's own estrogen which helps to support a pregnancy. Read more:

CHAMPAIGN, lll. – For decades, scientists assumed that the ovary alone produced steroid hormones during pregnancy. In a new study in mice, however, researchers demonstrate that once an embryo attaches to the uterine wall, the uterus itself actually synthesizes the estrogen needed to sustain the pregnancy.

This is the first time that the uterus has been identified as an endocrine organ, said University of Illinois veterinary biosciences professor Indrani Bagchi, who led the study with doctoral student Amrita Das. Their findings appear this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
from:
news.illinois.edu

Pregnant? Go Easy On Licorice

This article has moved.
SEE ALSO: FOODS FOR FERTILITY AND PREGNANCY (getpregnantover40.com)
 

Calcium Helps Prevent Pre-eclampsia

Pre-eclampsia And Calcium

Calcium was one of the supplements I took when I was pregnant. I had heard that it was a good idea to either take a calcium supplement or eat calcium rich foods because the baby needs calcium to build their bones and they'll take it from the mother's bones if she doesn't get enough through her diet. Well, it turns out, calcium has other benefits too - like preventing pre-eclampsia. Read more:

Calcium supplementation during pregnancy can reduce the incidence of pregnancy complications, more specifically preeclampsia related, reports a study published by American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
See www.getpregnantover40.com for more on fertility and pregnancy foods
Preeclampsia, a pregnancy-related complication characterized by elevated blood pressure and proteinuria (high levels of protein in the urine). Swelling of the feet, hands and legs is usually seen. If left unattended, the condition can worsen further resulting in seizures. Under worst conditions, it can result in death of the pregnant mother and the baby, before, after or during childbirth.

About 8,300 pregnant women, about their 20th week of pregnancy were recruited for the study. All the women had inadequate level of calcium supplementation owing to a poor diet (<50 1000="1000" 1300="1300" a="a" about="about" basis="basis" br="br" calcium="calcium" daily="daily" diet="diet" either="either" intake="intake" is="is" it="it" mg="mg" of="of" on="on" or="or" pregnant="pregnant" receive="receive" recommended="recommended" supplements.="supplements." that="that" the="the" through="through" to="to" women="women">
The study participants from Vietnam, Argentina, Egypt, India, South Africa and Peru were randomly provided with either calcium tablets (1500 mg of calcium carbonate) in a chewable form or a placebo.

Both the control and experimental group had comparable rates of preeclampsia (4.5 Vs 4.1% respectively). The incidence of complication related to preeclampsia, was however found to be lower in those who had consumed the calcium supplement. Furthermore, young women on calcium supplementation were found to have a reduced risk of premature delivery. 
from: www/bio-medicine.org

Modern Pregnancy Myths, Miscarriage

Pregnancy Over 40, Miscarriage, Folklore or Fact

Gender selection, what causes miscarriage and what's safe in pregnancy... there's much folklore and sometimes little fact about what's true and what isn't.
See: www.getpregnantover40.com for more on pregnancy, miscarriage and fertility
 Here's an article that addresses common pregnancy myths. Read more:

Explaining What We Don't Understand
Young feels the same sentiment fueled the study about cereal and the baby's gender.

"There's sort of a bias that comes into this," said Young. "Human beings like a rational explanation; they don't like a random cause."

However, that same search for an explanation may fuel myths about miscarriages, too. Moore said many women, and doctors, have trouble explaining what happened in a miscarriage.

"At this point, science can't give us a clear explanation for why one in nine pregnancies end in miscarriages," said Moore. "In most cases the cause is just unknown, and doctors assume that most likely it was some sort of genetic abnormality."

Just like pregnancy and gender, misconceptions abound about what causes a miscarriage or an early labor.

Spicy food, exercise, any sex at all and sleeping on your back are all popular misconceptions about troublesome labor, or danger to the baby.

Moore once had a patient who preemptively ended a pregnancy because she was convinced she had damaged the baby.

"She had chest X-rays and later found out she was pregnant and then had an abortion because she thought she had caused damage to the baby," said Moore. "Then, tragically, she had complications with the abortion."

While it's not a great idea to get X-rays during pregnancy, Moore said the fetus was likely OK.

"If a fetus is exposed to enough radiation to cause damage, it probably would be major damage like the Hiroshima bomb or Chernobyl," she said.

Moore thinks the myths about miscarriage and damage might be the most damaging.

"It's the opposite of the miracle explanation," said Moore. "As a result of many of these myths, many women suffer from tremendous guilt that they may have done something wrong." 
from:
abcnewsgo.com

Ultrasound In Pregnancy: Are There Risks? Are They Safe?

Do Ultrasounds Contribute To Pregnancy Complications?

When I was pregnant, I had at least 6 or 7 ultrasounds because of my age and past history of miscarriage.
See www.getpregnantover40.com for more pregnancy over 40 articles 
I was never told that there could be risks associated with the ultrasound itself. I found this article (below) about some of the risks that might be associated with ultrasound. It's really scary...none of this information is given to patients. Read more:

Obstetricians in Michigan (Lorenz et al., 1990) studied fifty-seven women who were at risk of giving birth prematurely. Half were given a weekly ultrasound examination; the rest had pelvic examinations. Preterm labour was more than doubled in the ultrasound group–52 percent–compared with 25 percent in the controls. Although the numbers were small the difference was unlikely to have emerged by chance.

 from (www.drbenkim.com)

How Much Does Your Baby Remember In Utero?

Your Baby Before Birth

I remember playing one of my CD's frquently when I was pregnant and my daughter now loves it.

See also: www.getpregnantover40.com for more pregnancy articles 

Did she remember it from when she was inside me - or does she just like the music? This article talks about some studies done on whether or not babies can remember sounds in utero:

From the article:

Hepper has investigated just how much of what we hear in the uterus can be remembered. In one famous experiment, he showed that newborns seemed to respond to the theme tune of the Australian soap opera Neighbours if their mothers had watched it during pregnancy. Newborns born to mothers who watched Neighbours stopped crying and became more alert when the tune was played to them, while newborns of mothers who hadn't watched the programme showed no reaction. Other tunes, or the same tune played backwards, elicited no response from either group of newborns (Lancet, DOI: 10.1016/s0140-6736(88)92170-8).

Just that vibration again
More recently, Jan Nijhuis of Maastricht University Medical Centre in the Netherlands and his colleagues investigated just how long fetal memories could persist. They held a vibrating probe against the bellies of pregnant women, to which fetuses generally respond by wriggling. If they are exposed to the vibrations every 30 seconds, however, they eventually get used to them and stop responding (it generally takes 10 to 12 stimulations), through a process called habituation – much as people living close to a railway track eventually stop noticing the sound of passing trains.

Nijhuis investigated how long this habituation lasted. He found that in a 30-week-old fetus, the "memory" of the vibration lasted around 10 minutes. It improves as fetuses get older, however, so a 38-week-old fetus seemed to retain some memory of vibrations felt at 34 weeks (Child Development, DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01329.x).

from: 
newscientist.com

Estrogen in Pregnancy and Child's future fertility

Pregnancy Over 40 and Hormones

I found an interesting study done by the University of Maryland School of Medicine which found that low estrogen levels in pregnancy could affect the fertility of the offspring.
See: www.getpregnantover40.com for more on pregnancy hormones 
 Although this study was done on baboons, it may translate to humans. Read more:

A team of researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and the Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk has shown that low estrogen levels during pregnancy can impair fetal ovary development and reduce the number of follicles (eggs) a female is born with.

"Low estrogen levels during pregnancy mean the female baby will be born with fewer eggs," says Dr. Gene Albrecht Ph.D., professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and co-investigator for the study. Because women are born with all of the eggs they will ever have during their reproductive life, the findings may help to explain adult fertility problems and the early onset of menopause.
from:  (www.umm.edu)

Big Babies Born To Heavier Moms

Pregnancy Over 40 and Weight Gain

I guess it seems logical that heavy mothers have bigger babies. However, according to the article below, women with higher BMI (body mass index) do have a higher incidence of larger infants.
See Also: www.getpregnantover40.com for more information on pregnancy over 40 
There may also be a concern that women who go into a pregnancy with a heavier weight can pass insulin resistence on to their child which could lead to a lifetime of weight problems and obesity. Read more:


Lead author of "Maternal weight characteristics influence recurrence of fetal macrosomic in women with normal glucose tolerance", Rhona Mahony examines the relationship between maternal weight and recurrence of fetal macrosomia in non-diabetic women delivering a second infant following first macrosomic pregnancy and finds that increased body mass index (BMI) elevated the risk of a recurrent macrosomic pregnancy.

Out of the 111 women who delivered a first macrosomic baby, about one-third gave birth to a second macrosomic infant. These women who had a second large baby were heavier at the start of the pregnancy compared to women without recurring macrosomic babies.

Another factor that increases the risk of recurrent macrosomic pregnancy is excessive maternal weight gain during pregnancy. 

from: 
medical news today

Is Your Husband Pregnant Too? What is Couvade Syndrome?

Pregnancy Over 40 and Couvade Syndrome

Couvade Syndrome may also be referred to as "Sympathetic Pregnancy". This is when your husband starts feeling pregnant just like you.
 My site: www.getpregnantover40.com for more on pregnancy over 40
 I must say, my husband didn't experience this even to the slightest degree. Sometimes I wish he had...especially since I had such terrible morning sickness...but then who would have done my grocery shopping? Read more:

Some people have doubted the reality of couvade syndrome. These doubters say that the weight gain that the father may experience is caused by the eating habits of the mother, nerves, or other changes that pregnancy makes in one's life.The vomiting? Of course, that is blamed on nerves, too.

What do the dads have to say about this? They don't know what to think about vomiting, weight gain, and changes in sexual appetite. How can you tell everyone at work that you need to lie down because you have morning sickness?!? And, of course, they would stop vomiting if they could.

This is something that has been researched and found to be quite real. Some men are more susceptible to couvade than others. For instance if you and your partner have experienced infertility or if you were adopted, you could be more likely to experience couvade syndrome.
from:  Couvade Syndrome

PREGNANCY OVER 40: GETTING PAST THE NEGATIVE INFORMATION

Don't let all the negative and discouraging information get you if you are pregnant over 40 or trying to conceive over 40

Are you pregnant over the age of 40? Are you trying to conceive over the age of 40?  Not only did I run into a lot of negative information when I was trying to conceive, but I also had to endure a lot of negative "warnings" after I became pregnant with my daughter.  After years of infertility, failed fertility treatments, and finally the natural conception of my daughter, I had to nagivate the attitude of "she's old, she must be high risk" of the OB/GYN community.  Now granted, I was 44, and had a multitude of surgeries and fertility problems behind me, but a number of my problems were caused by the fertility treatments themselves.  I had a completely normal pregnancy and a normal delivery, but the well-meaning medical personnel just couldn't accept that I was a normal pregnant women who just happened to be 44.  As a result, I had every test in the book, multiple ultrasounds, consultations with perinatologists and on and on.  As hard as they tried, they just couldn't find anything wrong!

READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON PREGNANCY OVER 40 HERE (getpregnantover40.com)

Folic Acid Testing: Importance In Pregnancy

Folic Acid In Pregnancy

Most of us know that folic acid is essential to start taking before you plan on becoming pregnant.
See Also: www.getpregnantover40.com for more on preventing complications and miscarriage
This article explains how a woman can be tested for folic acid and the different ways the test may be done. Read more:

A folic acid test measures the amount of folic acid in the blood. Folic acid is one of many B vitamins. The body needs folic acid to make red blood cells (RBC), white blood cells (WBC), platelets, new genetic material (DNA) in cells, and for normal growth. Folic acid also is important for the normal development of a baby (fetus).

Folic acid can be measured in the liquid portion of blood (plasma). This reflects a person's recent intake of folic acid in the diet. Folic acid is found in foods such as liver; citrus fruits; dark green, leafy vegetables (spinach); whole grains; cereals with added B vitamins; beans; milk; kidney; and yeast.

Folic acid may also be measured as the amount in the red blood cells. This test may be a better way than the plasma test to measure the amount of folic acid stored in the body. The amount of folic acid in red blood cells measures the level when the cell was made, as much as 2 months earlier. This level is not usually affected by the amount of folic acid in your diet each day. It is a more accurate way to measure the body's level of folic acid.

Women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant need extra folic acid to make more red blood cells and maintain normal growth of their baby. Women who do not get enough folic acid before and during pregnancy are more likely to have a child born with a birth defect, such as a cleft lip or cleft palate or a neural tube defect, such as spina bifida.
from: 
http://www.webmd.com/diet/folic-acid

PREGNANT AT 50, IT HAPPENS

Pregnancy Over 40, Pregnancy Over 50

On my other infertility-fertility blog, I just posted a story about a woman who became pregnant naturally at the age of 53! 

Read more about my pregnancy at 49 at www.getpregnantover40.com 

 In this article, CNN discusses women who choose to become pregnant over the age of 50 and some of the societal attitudes.  Read more:

From the article:

"Fifty was the cutoff for my doctor, but they agreed to give us one more try," she said. She had her daughter in January.
Dardick said she never planned to have a baby at 51, but feels that she made the right decision, despite the judgments others may have.
"The word selfish has come into my mind. But for any parent, having a child is selfish. No matter what your age is, once you have that child, you owe that child everything. I live the best, healthiest life I can."
Doctors say society's views of aging needs to change.
"The 40 and 45-year-old of today is not the 40-year-old of the past; the 50-year-old [today] is not the same of the past," said Dr. John Jain, a physician at the Santa Monica (California) Fertility Clinic who has treated age-related infertility for 15 years. "They're eating healthy. A woman who is 45 is barely halfway through [her] life."
from: CNN

Pregnancy High Fat Diet May Lead To Obesity In Child

Pregnancy Over 40,Watch Your Fat Intake

It seems like everyone worries about what to eat when you're pregnant.

Visit www.getpregnantover40.com for more pregnancy over 40 articles 

 More and more research is showing that what you eat can have longterm consequences for your child. This article talks about the connection between a high fat diet in pregnancy and obesity in the child. Read more:

"We've shown that short-term exposure to a high-fat diet in utero produces permanent neurons in the fetal brain that later increase the appetite for fat," says senior author Sarah F. Leibowitz, who directs the Laboratory of Behavioral Neurobiology at Rockefeller. "This work provides the first evidence for a fetal program that links high levels of fats circulating in the mother's blood during pregnancy to the overeating and increased weight gain of offspring after weaning."

from:  (www.news.medical.net)

Smoke Exposure Damages Prenatal DNA

Smoke Exposure When Pregnant, How It Hurts Your Baby

We all know you shouldn't smoke when pregnant. However, this article talks about more than just the usual complications of smoking.

See www.getpregnantover40.com for more articles on environmental toxins and fertility and pregnancy 

 It can actually change your unborn baby's DNA.  I recall back when I was younger, pregnant women would be seen smoking all the time.  It's almost unthinkable now, but there are still women who smoke while they're pregnant. Read more:

The new study found that fetal exposure to maternal smoking was linked to differences in DNA methylation, an epigenetic mechanism.

Epigenetics is the study of how chemicals that attach to DNA can switch genes on and off, which leads to differences in gene expression without changing basic genetic information, according to background information in a USC news release about the study.

While epigenetics plays a role in cancer research, little is known about how epigenetic changes may be caused by environmental exposures.

In the new study, the researchers used data from the USC Children's Health Study, which examined respiratory health among children in 13 Southern California communities, as well as information from a questionnaire on maternal smoking exposure. The findings are reported in the September issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

"This study provides some of the first evidence that in-utero environmental exposures such as tobacco smoke may be associated with epigenetic changes," said one of the lead authors, Carrie Breton, assistant professor in the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. "This could open up a new way for researchers to investigate biological mechanisms that might explain known health effects associated with maternal smoking," she stated in the news release.
from:  healthscout.com

Pregnancy and Asthma

Getting Pregnant And Having A Baby While Dealing With Asthma

If you're pregnant and are at risk for asthma, it can lead to serious pregnancy complications.
See www.getpregnantover40.com for more on pregnancy and fertility over 40
 Controlling asthma in pregnancy is especially important But there are things you can do with your doctor. Read more:

Asthma is the most common potentially serious medical condition to complicate pregnancy. In fact, asthma affects approximately 8 percent of women in their childbearing years. Well-controlled asthma is not associated with significant risk to mother or fetus. Uncontrolled asthma can cause serious complications to the mother, including high blood pressure, toxemia, premature delivery and rarely death. For the baby, complications of uncontrolled asthma include increased risk of stillbirth, fetal growth retardation, premature birth, low birth weight and a low APGAR score at birth.

...Pregnancy may affect asthmatic patients in several ways. Hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy may affect both the nose and sinuses, as well as the lungs. An increase in the hormone estrogen contributes to congestion of the capillaries (tiny blood vessels) in the lining of the nose, which in turn leads to a "stuffy" nose in pregnancy (especially during the third trimester). A rise in progesterone causes increased respiratory drive, and a feeling of shortness of breath may be experienced as a result of this hormonal increase. These events may be confused with or add to allergic or other triggers of asthma. Spirometry and peak flow are measurements of airflow obstruction (a marker of asthma) that help your physician determine if asthma is the cause of shortness of breath during pregnancy.

Fetal monitoring
For pregnant women with asthma, the type and frequency of fetal evaluation is based on gestational age and maternal risk factors. Ultrasound can be performed before 12 weeks if there is concern about the accuracy of an estimated due date and repeated later if a slowing of fetal growth is suspected. Electronic heart rate monitoring, called "non-stress testing" or "contraction stress testing," and ultrasonic determinations in the third trimester may be used to assess fetal well being. For third trimester patients with significant asthma symptoms, the frequency of fetal assessment should be increased if problems are suspected. Asthma patients should record fetal activity or kick counts daily to help monitor their baby according to their physician's instructions.

from 
www.acaai.org

Hair Spray, Hair Salons and Birth Defects

Pregnancy and Birth Defects From Salon Chemicals

I've often thought about the toxic smell of beauty parlors. There's one in the local indoor mall which you can smell long before you even approach it.

See Also: Environmental Threats To Your Fertility (www.getpregnantover40.com) 

 I frequently worry about the people who work in salons because they must breathe in the fumes all day. Apparently there's good reason to worry.  I've also known a number of hairdressers who decided to quit their jobs when they started trying to conceive. This recent article in newscientist.com talks about a link between hairspray and birth defects:

 from the article:

Paul Elliott from Imperial College London, and colleagues, interviewed 471 mothers whose sons had been born with the defect and 490 mothers of children not born with the disorder, to try to find out which chemicals the mothers had been exposed to: including exhaust fumes, printing ink, hairspray, or glues.

While the other substances did not return statistically significant results, the use of hairspray appeared to have a big impact. Of the 74 women who reported regular exposure to hairspray at work during the first three months of pregnancy, 50 gave birth to sons with the genital defect.

In contrast, the proportion of children born with the defect was much lower in women who did not report being in regular contact with hairspray - just 294 out of 618. Overall, the study found that women exposed to hairspray were 2.3 times more likely to have children with the defects.

The team suggests a group of chemicals called phthalates that are found within hairspray may be to blame.

from: 
  (www.newscientist.com)