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• Wha? Smoking NOT Bad During Pregnancy?

  I've often complained about how pregnant women are given all kinds of conflicting information and told not to do all kinds of things, even when the evidence against such things is dubious. There seems to be an all-or-nothing approach to pregnancy dangers, which makes it hard for pregnant women to engage in any activity without feeling guilty or anxious (I suppose it's practice for new motherhood.) However, even I was pretty floored by a new study by the London School of Economics that says smoking during the first four months of pregnancy does almost no harm to the baby unless it is combined with other factors, and even after the first trimester the impact on birthweight is negligible. Um, excuse me? The study looked at birthweight, and the researchers basically said the greatest risks are to women...   Read More... Posted Feb 15 2008, 03:02 PM by Kelly Mills with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: pregnancy, research study, alcohol, cigarettes, smoking, miscarriage, health risks, low birthweight, health and kids, SIDS, fetus, poor diet, low socio-economic status, middle class

• Smaller Babies = A Hard-Knock Life

  Tinier-than-average babies may be cute, but they face a whole host of problems down the road, not only through infancy and childhood but as adults as well. Recent research performed by the National Institute on Aging suggests that babies born at less than 5.5 pounds face significant and lasting effects from the low birthweight which proves a link between birth weight, adult health and socioeconomic success. (My youngest son weighed 5 pounds 2 ounces...) 35 years of data on more than 12,000 people were analyzed to see how well-being and disadvantage are transmitted across generations within families. Kids with low birthweight scored significantly lower of tests, had a higher number of health problems in adulthood, and even earned less money that did their average-weight siblings, and in turn, these disadvantages were passed along to the subsequent generation. I don't even know what to say about this, other than do your best to take good care of yourself during pregnancy. Which I know you're already doing. But sometimes there are outcomes that we can't predict like my son's (Down syndrome), but I already know that his choices may be limited in adulthood and that his health will likely be affected. But many babies are just...tiny, with no medical or developmental reason. And they're the ones I most want to give a hug to just about now. Posted Jun 07 2007, 12:06 PM by Karen Murphy with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: health, pregnancy, babies, studies, low birthweight, socioeconomic status

• Small Babies May Become Depressed Teens

  Dear People Who Perform Research Studies, Honestly, I'm getting a little tired of you people.  Every day, practically, there's a new study about something, all of which seem to attempt desperately to make sense of various things by trying to provide links and clues as to why they happen.  Take depression, for example.  No one is sure why it happens, and about all they know is that it may be genetic, and it may happen more to women than to men (unless the men simply aren't reporting it, in which case it's anybody's guess), and it seems to be related to stress.  That's it.  That's about all anyone knows, for sure.  That I know of. So when I read about yet another new study that links low birthweight with depression in teens, my reaction is:  Prove it!   So you're saying that out of the 5.7% of girls who were born weighing less than 5.5 lbs, 38% experienced depression at least once between the ages of 13 and 16, while only 8.4% of those born at a normal weight experienced depression?  Yeah, AND?? Come back when you have a little more information, willya?  Until then, you're scaring people unnecessarily.  Love, Me  Posted Mar 08 2007, 08:15 AM by Karen Murphy with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: babies, depression, studies, low birthweight