Mothers who over-indulge in a fatty and sugary diet during pregnancy may pass on their junk food cravings to their children, a new study suggests.
Group prenatal care, a new concept that is much like a pregnancy support group, is improving prenatal outcomes at no additional cost. Preterm births are reduced, breastfeeding success is raised, psychosocial function in mothers is improved, and patient satisfaction with their provider(s) is higher when pregnant women actively participate in a setting with women in the same delivery month. This model, which integrates care, support and childbirth education, is very interesting to me.
The maternal mortality rate is climbing in the United States for the first time in 30 years. It is important to realize, thought, that the rate of growth is very small and the risk of dying because of childbirth complications is still extremely low. According to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, the US maternal mortality rate is now 13 deaths per 100,000 live births, up from 12 deaths per 100,000. The suspected causes, according to the study, is the growing obesity epidemic and the rise of cesarean births of about three times higher than World Health Organization’s goal rates.
Hospital practices affect long-term breastfeeding success, a new study finds, and says that only 1 in 5 women experience all breastfeeding-friendly practices after delivery. These practices include initiating breastfeeding by 1 hour of delivery, “rooming-in” for infants with their mothers, feeding infants only breastmilk in the hospital without any supplementation, prohibiting pacifier use in the hospital, and providing a telephone number to call for breastfeeding support at discharge. I might add that giving away free formula gift packs is also not breastfeeding friendly, because a) it implies that the hospital is encouraging formula use; and b) it makes it too easy for a stressed-out new mother who is having breastfeeding issues to open a can of formula (therefore beginning the process of diminishing supply and increasing breastfeeding failure) instead of reaching out for lactation support. Earlier this year New York became the first state to ban free formula giveaways at hospitals unless patients specifically ask for them.
It turns out that air pollution is doing more than increasing our global temperature. Women who lived in regions with high carbon monoxide or fine-particle levels — pollution caused mainly by vehicle traffic — were approximately 10 to 25 percent more likely to have a preterm baby than women who lived in less polluted areas. This was especially true for women who breathed polluted air during the first trimester or during the last months and weeks of pregnancy.
Strangely enough, a woman who is cradling her baby on the right side might be showing signs that she is unduly stressed. I have no idea why this might be true.