BiggerMoms.com

Studies show that the diet of most North Americans is heavy in meat, and deficient in Omega’3 fatty acids.

Omega-3 fatty acids are unsaturated fats found in some fish such as salmon and herring and in smaller amounts in eggs and chicken.

“Omega 3 fatty acids are important for the baby’s developing eyes and brain,” says Dr. Sheila Innis, the study’s principal investigator, head of the nutrition and metabolism program at the Child & Family Research Institute at BC Children’s Hospital, and professor, department of pediatrics, University of British Columbia.

“During pregnancy and breastfeeding, fat consumed by the mum is transferred to the developing baby and breastfed infant, and this fat is important for the baby’s developing organs. Our next task is to find out why the typical North American diet puts mothers at risk. Then we can develop dietary recommendations to help women consume a nutritious diet that promotes optimal health for mums and babies.”

In a scientific study, babies born to women with a diet deficient of Omega’3’s, did not do as well on eye tests as babies born to mothers who weren’t deficient.

Source:
Typical North American Diet Is Deficient In Omega-3 Fatty Acids (ScienceDaily)

Imatinib, a drug used for treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia, can cause serious fetal malformations if taken while a woman is pregnant.

In a scientific study, of the use of Imatinib during pregnancy, sixty-three women (50%) delivered a normal infant and 35 women (28%) underwent elective termination, including 3 cases prompted by the identification of a fetal abnormality. Another 18 pregnancies ended in miscarriage.

The remaining 9 cases involved the delivery of an infant with abnormalities, including 1 case of stillbirth. The abnormalities included exomphalos, renal agenesis, hemivertebrae, and, in the stillborn infant, meningocele.

“Our study suggests that a concern about conceiving a child while taking imatinib is justified and that patients should be advised to avoid conception while on treatment,” lead author Dr. Seonaid M. Pye said in a statement. “In those patients who do become pregnant, balancing the risk of the fetus from taking therapy to the risk of the mother from interrupting therapy will be an individual decision.”

Source:
Imatinib Use During Pregnancy May Cause Serious Fetal Abnormalities (cancerpage.com)

A midwife in New Zealand has been found guilty of giving inadequate standard of care to a 23-year-old woman whose baby was stillborn.

The commission who looked into the incident said the midwife’s clinical documentation, information given, assessment and care were all inadequate.

It ordered that the unnamed midwife be disciplined and also recommended changes to the way midwives wrote up clinical records after events.

The commission said that in the last month of her pregnancy, the woman went to hospital with concerns about fetal movement and blood pressure.

The midwife had trouble finding the baby’s heart rate, but when she found it, it appeared normal and the woman was discharged from hospital when her blood pressure normalised.

Two days later the woman returned to hospital. Despite a history of abdominal pain the woman was discharged after being given a pain relief drug.

Later that day the woman returned to hospital, in labour. She gave birth to a stillborn boy. A pathology report estimated the baby had died 24 hours before its birth.

The commission said the midwife “failed to take appropriate action in relation to reports of significant pain, bleeding and reduced fetal movement".

Source: Midwife disciplined over care of pregnant woman (nzherald.co.nz)

An article was recently published outlining the foods you should eat during your first trimester.

Lots of carbohydrates, protein, iron, calcium, and fibers are what you need at this time. This is the time to substitute refined fats and sugars with diary products brimming with protein and calcium. If you are lactose-intolerant, go for beans, tofu, corn tortillas, fresh fruits, and dark green leafy vegetables. In addition to this, you need to drink about 6-8 glasses of water everyday, to fulfill your requirement of fluid during pregnancy. However, this doesn’t mean that you gulp down cups of tea, coffee, and soda. It’s plain water that’s healthy.

Read more: What Does Your First Trimester Diet Contain?

A growing number of obese women are undergoing stomach surgery to help them get pregnant.

Why?

Because some fertility clinics are refusing fertility treatment for any woman with a body mass index that is over 30.

Research shows overweight women are up to 50 per cent less fertile than those of normal weight.

Read Article: Obese women turn to surgery to get pregnant (Daily Mail)

Tips from Twin Tiers Moms for planning your pregnancy:

• Plan for your pregnancy: Whether this will be your first child or an addition to your current family, you need to start planning and think about how it would affect your existing lifestyle.
• A couple has to decide how many children they want to have and the spacing between them. Anywhere between two to four years seems to be an ideal thing.
• Quit smoking: Most women want to quit or want to cut down. There are medications women can take to safely cut down on smoking.
• Lose weight: If someone is overweight or is diabetic, they should adhere to a healthy diet and exercise plan.
• Take a folic acid supplement: A woman should take 400 micrograms of folic acid daily. It can be contained in a multivitamin or its own pill. However, the supplement should not replace a well- balanced diet
• Seek pre-screenings: If you or your spouse have a history of genetic defects in your families, it’s best to get any relevant tests to see what the risk would be for the baby to inherit a particular trait.

Source:
Planning to get pregnant? Read this first (Star-Gazette)

Eating for two? Here are the top food facts you need to know

8 dos and don’ts: Diet tips for pregnancy (MSNBC)

Multiple studies have shown that either underfeeding or overfeeding the fetus during pregnancy can affect how a child’s body will respond to food over a lifetime, increasing the risk for diabetes, heart disease and hypertension.

Read more:
Poor nutrition in utero, heavy child tomorrow? (LA Times)

The most common cancer in pregnant women is breast cancer.

Between 0.2 and 3.8 per cent of women are diagnosed with breast cancer during pregnancy or within one year of delivery.

A women is at a higher risk for developing breast cancer if she has never been pregnant, if her period starts at an early age or if she has her first pregnancy at a late age. However, there is also a slightly increased risk after a woman has a full-term pregnancy. Breast-feeding especially for prolonged periods of time lowers her risk.

Treatment for breast cancer is possible during pregnancy. Chemotherapy can cause birth defects if given during the first trimester. Treatment should be postponed until the second trimester if possible.

Surgery and radiation are possible during pregnancy. Radiation can affect the baby. The patient and her doctors should have careful consultation to determine the best treatment option.

Women can get pregnant again after being treated for breast cancer but, in some cases, especially in women over 30, the chemotherapy can cause an early menopause. Treatment may also increase her risk of miscarriage.

Early diagnosis is the best chance of a breast cancer cure for a patient.

Source:
Pregnant with breast cancer (Jamaica-Gleaner.com)

The researchers at the University of Utah are looking into the possibility that daily low doses of aspirin may help women who have lost pregnancies in the past carry a baby to full term.

The thought is that low-dose aspirin may improve pregnancy outcomes by improving blood flow to the reproductive organs and the placenta and helping to thicken the uterine wall.

“This could have a favorable impact on several aspects of reproduction, including implantation, early pregnancy loss, stillbirth, pre-eclampsia, small-for-gestational-age fetus, placental insufficiency, and preterm birth,” said Robert M. Silver, M.D., principal investigator for the EAGeR study, professor and chief of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine in the U’s School of Medicine.

The researchers are looking for women to join their study. If you are between 18 and 40 and have had one or two pregnancy losses and wish to become pregnant again may be eligible to participate in the study.

For more information: Low-Dose Aspirin Affects Women Seeking To Become Pregnant After Pregnancy Loss

I came across advice from a New Zealand doctor concerning a healthy diet during pregnancy:

“The “eating for two” myth should be discouraged, but women should be aware that an extra 350 kilocalories a day are needed, eg, two slices of wholemeal bread with butter, a 150g carton of yoghurt and an apple. The woman should also be advised to avoid undercooked meats, patés, soft cheeses, shellfish and raw fish, as well as unpasteurised milk, to omit the known sources of Listeria from the diet. I also generally advise against cold meats and stored prepared salads and suggest that reheated meals are piping hot. Although uncommon, Listeria is difficult to diagnose and can lead to foetal death.”

Source: Planning: before sperm meets egg (nzDoctor.co.nz)

After years of telling pregnant women to avoid eating peanuts, experts are now changing their mind.

In Britain, the surge in childhood nut allergies may correspond to the years when pregnant women avoided peanuts.

In other countries where children are weaned on peanuts, childhood nut allergies are practically non-existent.

Ministers have admitted that their guidelines - which state that babies may be at higher risk of developing a nut allergy if the mother or father have a history of asthma, eczema or hay fever - may be ‘entirely wrong and counter-productive.’

Britain has witnessed a surge in childhood allergies in the last decade, with up to 8% of youngsters experiencing a reaction before they go to school.

Source: Avoiding Nuts In Pregnancy ‘Causes Allergies’ (Sky News)

Often people with eating disorders will go into a form of remission while they are pregnant.

However researchers are now finding some women that are actually developing a binge-feeding eating disorder during pregnancy. And many of these women have never shown signs of an eating disorder before.

This story corresponds with recent news coverage indicating that pregnant women are overeating during pregnancy and that no one actually needs to “eat for two".

Women sometimes rationalize overeating by saying they’re eating to take care of their baby. But doctors say your baby makes it very clear what it needs, and it’s not a lot of food.

Any pregnant woman who is finding herself binging and feeling out of control with her eating should talk to her doctor.

Source:
Eating Disorders and Pregnancy (WHAM)

Vitamin D is important for the health of infants, children and adults. Inadequate intake of vitamin D by a pregnant woman may also have adverse effects on her baby, increasing the risk of low bone mineral density during childhood.

A current research study showed that even the women who were taking vitamins had inadequate amounts of Vitamin D in their bodies. After they gave birth, there were corresponding inadequate amounts of vitamin D in their breast milk.

Inadequate amounts of Vitamin D in babies has been linked to the risk of developing several other medical conditions, like asthma, type 1 diabetes and schizophrenia. Other research suggests the vitamin may provide some protection for adults against diseases like multiple sclerosis and several types of cancer.

The primary researcher believes the current recommendations for Vitamin D are outdated and should be increased to 1,000 IUs of Vitamin D or more.

Source:
Pregnancy & Vitamin D (HOI 19)

Doctors are warning that our society’s obesity rates are causing an infertility crisis among women.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) affects one in 15 women worldwide. PCOS occurs when women have excess male hormones which cause little cysts to grow on the ovaries. Symptoms include irregular or missed periods, infertility, excess hair, acne and insulin resistance which can make them more prone to diabetes.

Obesity has a substantial effect on the development of PCOS. Obesity doesn’t CAUSE PCOS, but it exacerbates the condition.

Other problems are pregnancy-related diabetes, abnormalities and a decreased chance of a natural labour.

Rather than treating women with PCOS with medications to improve their chances of conception, doctors say that just losing weight and increasing their fitness will increase their chances.

Source:
Infertility crisis looms in the west as obesity levels soar (The Guardian)