Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Parenting | Health News RSS

Larger Than Average Baby Girls Have Increased Risk of Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among women in the United States. While all women are at risk for developing breast cancer some time in their life, certain factors have been linked to an increased chance of having the disease. Lifestyle choices such as smoking, drinking, lack of exercise and poor diet can be changed. However, other factors like a person’s age, race, genetics, or family history can’t be changed—no more than we can control our size at birth, which has now also been linked to an increase in breast cancer risk.

What You Don’t Know About SIDS Could Hurt Everyone

I have heard that the joy of being a parent far surpasses any other life experience and that the feeling is hard to describe in words but is more than made up for with smiles and tears. Even though I can’t begin to contemplate the feeling of motherhood, the loss of motherhood is even more devastating to think about. Every day an average of seven babies die of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome—known as SIDS—and every day seven sets of parents go from the best feeling in the world to the worst feeling in the world.

Pregnancy on the Rise, Abortion Rates Lowest in 30 Years

Forget that “it” handbag, those coveted shoes, or designer belt you’ve been eyeing, it seems the new accessory among the celebrity set these days is the glow of pregnancy. Everyone from Angelina Jolie to Jamie Lynn Spears, and most recently Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s teenage daughter are popping up pregnant and reveling in motherhood.

Flu Shots During Pregnancy Can Protect Your Infant

Mothers are given many pointers when trying to have healthy babies, such as eat right, reduce stress, take your vitamins, exercise etc. Now, you may want to add getting a flu shot to the list. Currently, only 12 percent of American expectant mothers get a flu shot that could possibly help to not only ward off the dangerous virus for the mother, but also for the baby.

Offspring of Older Men at Greater Risk for Bipolar Disorder

Men over the age of 30 who father children increase the risk for their offspring to develop bipolar disorder, commonly called manic depression. In addition, the risk for the condition increases with the age of a father, up to 37 percent when a new father reaches the age of 55.

Childbirth and Postpartum Cardiomyopathy (PPCM)

Epsom Salt Reduces Risk of Cerebral Palsy in Premature Newborns

There is a simple treatment for women at risk of pre-term delivery that can reduce the risk of cerebral palsy in their babies by nearly half. It was recently found through a decades-long study that mothers given an infusion of Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) decreased the risk for cerebral palsy in their newborns by 45 percent. Healthcare providers consider the treatment a way of stabilizing an expectant mother's blood vessels that in turn keeps sufficient oxygen supplied to the brain of the baby.

Researchers Find Link Between Pre-term Birth and Infection

Each year in the United States, more than half a million babies are born prematurely, before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy. Many pre-term births are induced labor or cesarean delivery due to pregnancy complications or health problems in the mother or fetus, the premature rupture of membranes (PROM), or infections such as vaginal or urinary tract. But the trigger of almost half of all preterm births remains unknown.

Breastfeeding for Smarter Babies

For years, new parents have been hearing that "breast is best," and each decade, more and more women choose lactation as the primary food source for their newborns. It appears that breastfeeding may now produce a generation of smarter, happier babies. Studies have shown that babies need touching and nurturing to develop and survive and breastfeeding supplies both needs on a regular basis.

National Vital Statistics Report: U.S. Infant Mortality Rates

In an effort to understand the overall differences in infant mortality rates among different ethnic, age-specific and socioeconomic groups, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention compiles information based on infant birth and death certificates for infants under one year of age in all 50 U.S. states as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam.