plus 3, Women develop emotion-reading superpowers during pregnancy - Newstrack India

Women develop emotion-reading superpowers during pregnancy - Newstrack India
Rodent of the Week: Germ exposure in pregnancy may benefit kids, study ... - Los Angeles Times Blogs
Chinese-American and Korean-American women at highest risk for diabetes in pregnancy - Science Centric
Diaper drive benefits crisis pregnancy center in Clemson - Daily Journal

Women develop emotion-reading superpowers during pregnancy - Newstrack India

Posted: 15 Dec 2009 12:45 AM PST

London, Dec 15 (ANI): A new study by scientists in the UK has shown that raging hormones during pregnancy not only prompt mood swings, but may also lead to a heightened ability to recognise threatening or aggressive faces.

This may have evolved because it makes would-be mums hyper-vigilant, yet it could also make them more susceptible to anxiety, according to the study.

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Studies in the past have shown that a woman's ability to correctly identify fearful or disgusted facial expressions varies according to her stage of the menstrual cycle, with perception heightened on days associated with high levels of the hormone progesterone.

Since levels of progesterone and other hormones rise dramatically in late pregnancy, Rebecca Pearson and her colleagues at the University of Bristol in the UK conducted a study to find out whether the ability to read faces varies during pregnancy.

The researchers asked 76 pregnant women to assign one of six emotions to 60 computer-generated faces before the 14th week of pregnancy, and again after the 34th week, reports New Scientist.

They found that faces expressing happiness and surprise tended to be correctly assigned at both stages of pregnancy, but for faces expressing fear, anger and disgust, the accuracy rates were higher in late pregnancy.

According to researchers, this may increase the chance that the woman will spot potential threats to her and her foetus, and prime her to be hyper-vigilant once she becomes a mother.

However, it could have a disadvantage. Pearson points out that people with clinical anxiety are also better at identifying negative emotions in faces.

Pregnant women aren't clinically anxious, but 'they might interpret negative or emotional things around them in a slightly more sensitive way', she said.

The study has been published in the journal Hormones and Behaviour. (ANI)

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Rodent of the Week: Germ exposure in pregnancy may benefit kids, study ... - Los Angeles Times Blogs

Posted: 11 Dec 2009 01:29 PM PST

The hygiene hypothesis is the idea that exposure to germs early in life builds a stronger immune system and lowers a child's risk of developing allergies and asthma. Another piece of evidence for that concept, published this week, shows that even exposure to germs during pregnancy may reduce allergy risk in the offspring.

German researchers exposed pregnant mice to airborne barnyard microbes. (Studies in humans show children who are raised on farms develop fewer allergies than kids raised in non-farming communities.) The exposure triggered a mild inflammatory response in the pregnant mice, which was measured by an increased expression of microbe-sensing receptors called TLRs and the production of immune system substances called cytokines. The exposed mice gave birth to offspring who were resistant to allergies caused by the microbes. The study was published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

"...Studies have demonstrated that many factors affecting the initiation and course of respiratory allergies appear to act within a narrow window of opportunity, either prenatally and/or early in life. It is still unresolved, however, how protective signals are transferred from the mothers to the developing fetus," the authors wrote in the paper.

The paper adds "a new twist" to the hygiene hypothesis, said experts from the Center for Child Health Research at the University of Western Australia, in a commentary published with the study. The allergy response in human tissues differs from mice, they cautioned, but more attention should be paid to maternal environmental exposures during pregnancy that might influence the health of the offspring.

-- Shari Roan

Photo credit: Advanced Cell Technology Inc.

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Chinese-American and Korean-American women at highest risk for diabetes in pregnancy - Science Centric

Posted: 12 Dec 2009 03:34 AM PST

More than 10 percent of women of Chinese and Korean heritage may be at risk for developing diabetes during pregnancy, according to a Kaiser Permanente study of 16,000 women in Hawaii that appears in the December issue of the Ethnicity and Disease journal. The study also found that Korean-American and Chinese-American women's gestational diabetes risk is one-third higher than average - and more than double that of Caucasian and African-American women.

Funded by the American Diabetes Association, the study found that Pacific Islanders, Filipinos, Puerto Ricans, and Samoans are also at higher-than-average risk - while Caucasian, Native-American, and African-American women have a lower-than-average risk.

Untreated gestational diabetes mellitus can lead to serious pregnancy and birthing complications, including early delivery and C-sections. It can also increase the child's risk of developing obesity later in life.

While previous studies have shown that GDM is more prevalent among Asian women and Pacific Islanders, this is the first study to separate those ethnic groups into sub-categories to find out who is at higher risk. Researchers chose Hawaii for the study because it has one of the most ethnically diverse populations in the world.

Researchers divided Asians into five ethnic sub-groups and found some striking differences: Korean and Chinese women have the greatest risk of developing GDM. Filipinos are next, but Japanese and Vietnamese women have the same risk as the rest of the population. Among three groups of Pacific Islanders, Samoans and other Pacific Islanders (including women from Fiji and Tahiti) have a higher-than-average risk, while women classified as Native Hawaiians are at average risk. Caucasian, Native-American, and African-American women have the lowest risk for developing GDM.

'This study has important implications for diagnosis and treatment of gestational diabetes,' said study lead author Kathryn Pedula, MS, a researcher at the Kaiser Permanente Centre for Health Research. 'All pregnant women and their caregivers need to be educated about gestational diabetes, but it is especially important for women in these ethnic groups at higher risk.'

'Many previous studies have lumped all Asians and Pacific Islanders together - we now know that the risk for developing GDM varies greatly depending on your specific ethnic background,' said study co-author Teresa Hillier, MD, MS, an endocrinologist and senior investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Centre for Health Research. 'Future studies should also look at whether women in these higher risk groups also have more complications.'

This study involved 16,757 women aged 13-39, who gave birth in the Kaiser Permanente Health Plan in Hawaii between 1995 and 2003. Some women had more than one child during that time, bringing the total number of pregnancies to 22,110. Researchers obtained ethnic classification from the mothers' birth certificates on file with the Hawaii Department of Health.

All women in the Kaiser Permanente system are screened for gestational diabetes between 24-28 weeks of pregnancy. If they have GDM, they are treated as part of routine care. More than 20 percent of women in the study had elevated glucose levels, and 6.7 percent of women met the Carpenter and Coustan threshold for gestational diabetes.

'This study underscores Kaiser Permanente's commitment to identify differences in risk and clinical outcomes for different ethnic and racial groups,' said Winston F. Wong, MD, MS, medical director of Kaiser Permanente's Community Benefit Disparities Improvement and Quality Initiatives. 'While we cannot eliminate the increased risk of prenatal diabetes among our Korean and Chinese patients, we use this kind of research to alert and empower our health care professionals and physicians to reduce disparities and achieve the best possible outcomes for our patients and their children.'

Source: Kaiser Permanente

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Diaper drive benefits crisis pregnancy center in Clemson - Daily Journal

Posted: 15 Dec 2009 08:55 PM PST

CLEMSON — Clemson and USC have squared off on the gridiron and hardwood in recent weeks, but it is another type of competition that is leaving a more profound mark.

Clemson University student Stefan Zollinger said that the two schools took part in a Diaper Drive last month to benefit the Birthright centers of Clemson and Columbia. Clemson collected 1,617 to 500 for USC in the contest held from Nov. 16 through Dec. 3, and Zollinger said Grove Medical in Greenville contacted his group to express their willingness to donate another 100 diapers.

"The recent economic downturn is forcing low-income families to choose between food and diapers for their children," Zollinger said. "Public assistance programs don't provide financial assistance for diapers, so these mothers and children need our help."

Zollinger plans to continue the "friendly" competition on an annual basis, adding, "It's a chance to show community service and also beat USC."

Birthright of Clemson, which had been a branch of Greenville since 2000, became its own entity in August 2006. It is located at 105 Wall St., behind The Pot Belly Deli, with entrances from U.S. Highway 123 and College Avenue.

Director Joan Ortiz said she is appreciative of the support provided by the diaper drive, but adds that the nonprofit, volunteer-driven crisis pregnancy center is much more. The international organization provides caring, non-judgmental support to girls and women distressed by an unplanned pregnancy.

"Our ministry is to give women hope while they're pregnant and give it to them before and after the baby is born," Ortiz said. "We will see a number of individuals who come in for one visit and never again while others will visit throughout their pregnancy for support. The hardest thing for students is how do they tell their parents."

Not only is friendship and emotional support provided, Birthright also provides free pregnancy tests and maternity and baby clothes as well as information and referrals to assist clients in meeting legal, medical, financial and housing needs. All Birthright services are free, confidential and available to any woman regardless of age, race, creed, economic or marital status.

"We try to set goals with them — if they're in high school, we encourage them to look to the future and understand how important their education is and the need to make or plan a goal," Ortiz said. "We see those as young as 14 and even up to married women. Lots of times, they need someone to talk to who doesn't know them personally and will listen to them. Our main goal is to just be here and be a friend to them."

Birthright of Clemson issues receipts for tax purposes and is not affiliated with any church or public agency. Anyone is welcome to visit the center — which is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays, 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. Wednesdays and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursdays — or inquire into volunteer and fundraising opportunities by contacting Ortiz at (864) 654-3377.

greg@dailyjm.com | (843) 973-6687

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