“Exercise During Pregnancy Helps with Newborn Size - HULIQ.com” plus 4 more

Exercise During Pregnancy Helps with Newborn Size - HULIQ.com
Exercise During Pregnancy Keeps Newborn Size Normal - Austin American-Statesman
If I am pregnant or if I think I am pregnant, are a few drinks really ... - Asheville Citizen-Times
Pregnant mothers, quit smoking for kid’s future - Thaindian.com
Labour ministers accused of being 'soft' on alcohol warnings - Daily Mail

Exercise During Pregnancy Helps with Newborn Size - HULIQ.com

Posted: 21 Sep 2009 02:32 PM PDT

While not tied directly to gestational diabetes, exercise would certainly help in that area. The study, published in the October issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that the odds of delivering a too-big baby dropped by as much as 28% in women who exercised regularly in their second and third trimesters during their first pregnancy.

The Norwegian researchers reported that the number of too-big babies appears to be on the rise at the4 same time that the number of women exercising during pregnancy is on the decline. A heavier birth weight baby is known medically as fetal macrosomia.

A heavier birth weight poses a risk to both the baby and the mother. A weight of more than 8.8 pounds raises the risk of delivery problems, C-sections, postpartum hemorrhage and lower APGAR scores.

In women with first-time pregnancies, those who exercised at least three times a week had a 28 percent lower risk of a large birth weight baby. Those who continued exercising at 30 weeks had a 23 percent decreased risk of having a too-big baby.

The study could not determine why the benefits did not appear to apply to those who'd already had children. It's possible the risk factors are not modifiable in later pregnancies.

At any rate, the key finding of the study is this: pregnancy should not be an excuse to stop exercising. That's something that should be true, even if this study did not exist.

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Exercise During Pregnancy Keeps Newborn Size Normal - Austin American-Statesman

Posted: 21 Sep 2009 01:27 PM PDT

Exercise During Pregnancy Keeps Newborn Size Normal

MONDAY, Sept. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Along with keeping mom healthy, regular exercise during pregnancy helps prevent excessive newborn weight, a new study shows.

Published in the October issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Norwegian researchers found that the odds of delivering a too-big baby dropped by as much as 28 percent in women who exercised regularly in their second and third trimesters during their first pregnancy.

"Women often adopt healthier habits before and during pregnancy, like stopping caffeine use. This study suggests that adding exercise to that list may be icing on the cake," said Dr. Robert Welch, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at Providence Hospital in Southfield, Mich.

Known medically as fetal macrosomia, a heavier birth weight poses a risk to both the baby and the mother. If a baby weighs more than 8.8 pounds, the risk of delivery problems, C-sections, postpartum hemorrhage and low Apgar scores all increase, according to background information in the study. Larger birth weights have also been associated with an increased risk of obesity later in life, according to the researchers.

The study also reported that the number of too-big babies appears to be on the rise, while the number of women exercising during pregnancy is on the decline.

To measure what effect regular exercise has on newborn weight, the Norwegian researchers reviewed data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort study. That database included information on nearly 37,000 women, whose pregnancies lasted at least 37 weeks.

All of the women were pregnant with one child. Two-thirds of the women were normal weight, and 20 percent were overweight, but not obese.

Exercise information was gathered at weeks 17 and 30 of the pregnancies. In women who'd never been pregnant before, 43 percent said they exercised three times a week or more before pregnancy. In women who'd previously been pregnant, 32 percent said they exercised three times a week or more.

By the 30th week of pregnancy, 25 percent reported never exercising, and 19 percent said they exercised one to three times a month. Twenty-nine percent reported exercising one to two times weekly, while 24 percent said they were exercising three or more times each week.

Pre-pregnancy exercise didn't seem to make a difference in a baby's birth weight, but exercise during pregnancy did. In women who'd never been pregnant before, those who were exercising at least three times a week had a 28 percent reduced risk of a large birth weight baby, while those who were still regularly exercising at 30 weeks had a 23 percent decreased risk of having a too-big baby.

The effects of exercise didn't appear to be as consistently beneficial in women who'd already had children. When these women danced or participated in low-impact aerobics, they also reduced the likelihood of delivering a large baby, but when they swam or trained in fitness centers, the benefit disappeared.

Although the study wasn't able to address why this was so, Dr. Steven Allen, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at Scott & White Healthcare in Temple, Texas, said it may be that this may be a risk factor that's less modifiable in subsequent pregnancies, or "they may not have had enough exercise."

Allen said that while exercise during pregnancy is definitely a good idea, these findings might be different if done with a different population. For example, American women are likely more ethnically diverse and have different average body-mass index levels.

But, in any case, Allen said, "Exercise should be encouraged for everyone who's healthy enough to do it. Exercise shouldn't be discontinued just because you're pregnant."

Allen added that research in the United States has also shown that women who exercise are less likely to have preterm deliveries.

Welch cautioned that as women progress in pregnancy, they should avoid any exercise that has them lay flat on their back, because this can restrict blood flow to both baby and mom. Also, contact sports are out, as is anything where falling might be likely, such as horseback riding.

He said he tells his patients to keep their heart rate to no more than 120 beats per minute during exercise. This allows you to get an aerobic workout, but isn't so much that it might shunt blood away from the baby, Welch explained.

More information

Read more advice about exercise during pregnancy from the March of Dimes.

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If I am pregnant or if I think I am pregnant, are a few drinks really ... - Asheville Citizen-Times

Posted: 21 Sep 2009 09:06 PM PDT

Drinking alcohol during your pregnancy may cause physical and mental birth defects.

Many women are aware that heavy drinking during pregnancy can cause birth defects, but what you may not realize is that moderate or even light drinking also can harm the developing baby.

In fact: of all the substances abused alcohol causes more damage to the developing baby's brain than any of the illicit substances, including marijuana, cocaine and heroin (from a report to Congress from the Institute of Medicine, 96).

No level of alcohol use during pregnancy has been proved safe. Therefore, the March of Dimes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American College of Ob/Gyn, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Surgeon General recommend that pregnant women do not drink any alcohol including beer, wine, wine coolers and hard liquorthroughout your pregnancy and while nursing.

Because you may not know you are pregnant right away, if you are planning to become pregnant, you should abstain from drinking alcoholic beverages.

If women drink alcohol when they are pregnant, the alcohol passes swiftly through the placenta to the developing baby. In an unborn baby's immature body, alcohol is broken down much more slowly than in an adult's body. As a result, the alcohol level of your baby's blood can be even higher and can remain elevated longer than the level in the mother's blood.

The alcohol exposure may result in your baby suffering lifelong damage.

Drinking alcohol during your pregnancy can cause many birth defects, ranging from mild to severe, including: mental and/or learning disabilities, attention deficits, behavioral problems, motor deficits, memory issues, neurological problems and physical defects involving the heart, face and other organs. Consuming alcohol during your pregnancy also increases the risk of miscarriage, low birth weight (less than 5 1/2 pounds) and stillbirth.

The term fetal alcohol spectrum disorders is used to describe the many problems associated with exposure to alcohol during development. The most recognizable of these is fetal alcohol syndrome, a diagnosable condition that has a combination of physical and mental birth defects.

When you know what to avoid during your pregnancy, you can give your baby the best start in life.

This response is co-written by Dr. William Allen, clinical geneticist, and Leslie McCrory, coordinator of fetal alcohol prevention at Fullerton Genetics Center at Mission Hospital. FGC has North Carolina's only multi-disciplinary FASD diagnostic clinic. The team consists of a clinical geneticist, genetic counselor, occupational therapist, social worker and parent navigator. For more information, call the FASD Clinic at 213-0022 or 888-810-2800.

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Pregnant mothers, quit smoking for kid’s future - Thaindian.com

Posted: 21 Sep 2009 10:10 PM PDT

Sydney, Sep 22 (IANS) Women who quit smoking during the initial months of pregnancy are likely to ensure long-term benefits for their unborn children, says a new study, underscoring the benefits of giving up nicotine.
"Even if a woman was smoking in initial months of pregnancy, it was not too late to quit to improve the outcomes for her child. Our analysis revealed that there was an association between mothers who quit by four months gestation and a reduced risk of behavioural problems in the child," said study co-author Monique Robinson, doctoral student at the University of Western Australia (UWA).

She said the study showed that smoking throughout pregnancy resulted in a higher risk of behavioural problems in children than those kids whose mothers did not smoke or quit smoking before four months gestation.

"While significant inroads have been made in reducing smoking in the population, one in six women still smoke in pregnancy," Robinson said.

The analysis was drawn from data collected from more than 2,800 participants in the Raine Study. Behaviour was assessed among children aged two, five, eight, 10 and 14, according to an UWA release.

The findings will be published in the next edition of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

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Labour ministers accused of being 'soft' on alcohol warnings - Daily Mail

Posted: 21 Sep 2009 08:23 PM PDT

By Daniel Martin
Last updated at 2:12 AM on 22nd September 2009

Chief exec of Alcohol Concern Don Shenker says the Government are nervous and impotent

Ministers have been accused of colluding with the alcohol lobby to water down new warning labels on drinks.

Plans to warn mothers-to-be that alcohol 'can harm your baby' were rejected in favour of telling women to 'avoid alcohol when pregnant'.

This is despite evidence suggesting alcohol can damage unborn babies and leave survivors with birth defects.

Department of Health papers, which officials fought to keep secret, show how it opted for the milder warning.

The document said one of the 'pros' was this message had been 'provisionally accepted by the alcohol industry'.

Last night, Don Shenker, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, said: 'These papers highlight the intense nervousness and impotence this Government feels in squaring up to the drinks industry.

'Rather than standing up for the public health of consumers, it appears labelling warning options have been watered down to appease the drinks industry. When will the health of consumers start to come before the interests of the drinks industry?'

Every year in the UK, 7,000 babies are born with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, in which maternal drinking brings on hyperactivity and poor co-ordination.

The documents, which only emerged after a Freedom of Information request, reveal there were two main options for labels on bottles of wine and cans of beer.

The most stringent was: 'Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can harm your baby.'

But this was rejected as it was 'likely to be resisted' by the industry as too 'negative' or 'alarmist'.

Officials were also worried the message 'could be perceived as alarmist by women, especially by those who had drunk alcohol before they realised they were pregnant'.

Instead, it settled on the message: 'Avoid alcohol while pregnant or trying to conceive'.

This would be accompanied by the longer slogan: 'As a general rule, pregnant women or women trying to conceive should avoid drinking alcohol.

'If they do choose to drink, they should not drink more than one to two units of alcohol once or twice a week and should not get drunk.'

The report also states: ' Officials believe the difficulties of negotiating a voluntary agreement with industry should not be under-estimated. Our negotiating aim should be to include a message about pregnancy on labels, if at all possible.

'It is important not to jeopardise other elements of the provisional agreement by seeking too much in the wording on pregnancy.'

The weaker wording was agreed despite Britain signing up to an EU directive that women should be warned of the threat which alcohol poses to their babies.

The debate took place in 2006 and 2007 when the four chief medical officers tried to agree a uniform warning for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In contrast, the wording on alcohol labels in the U.S. is much stronger, stating: 'Women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects.'

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: 'We cannot say with confidence that drinking during pregnancy is safe.

'Therefore, our advice to pregnant women and women trying to conceive is to avoid alcohol. Our advice is clear so as not to confuse.

'The Government took into consideration the views of the industry on the short version of the message given that the inclusion of such messaging was voluntary.'

A spokesman for the Portman Group, which represents the industry, said women needed 'straight-forward and honest advice'.

He added: 'You only have so much space on a label but a complex message to get across.'