plus 4, Taking folic acid late in pregnancy linked to asthma in children - Vancouver Sun

Taking folic acid late in pregnancy linked to asthma in children - Vancouver Sun
Teen pregnancy target of YouTube ploy - StarPhoenix
Khloe Kardashian Pregnant? Reveals New Years Sickness + Pregnancy ... - HipHopRX.com
Khloé Kardashian Not Preventing Pregnancy - Ok Magazine
Colo. man accused of drugging girlfriend to terminate pregnancy - Wichita Eagle

Taking folic acid late in pregnancy linked to asthma in children - Vancouver Sun

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 01:41 PM PST

Young children whose mothers took folic acid supplements in late pregnancy may have an increased risk of developing asthma, a new study hints.

The findings, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, appear to be the first to link mothers' use of folic acid in pregnancy to their children's later asthma risk.

Researchers emphasize that it is too early to give pregnant women any specific advice based on the results.

Moreover, the study does not implicate folic acid use in early pregnancy.

This is an important finding, note the researchers, because adequate folic acid around the time of conception helps lower the risk of certain birth defects of the brain and spine. Known as neural tube defects, these anomalies include spina bifida, a paralyzing defect of the spine, and anencephaly, a fatal defect where most or all of the brain fails to develop.

Experts advise women to take 400 micrograms of folic acid per day shortly before conceiving and in the first trimester of pregnancy, a critical window of time when neural tube defects take shape.

The current findings "don't contradict" that advice, lead researcher Dr. Michael Davies, of the University of Adelaide in Australia, told Reuters Health in an email.

However, he added, since folic acid is necessary only in the first trimester to prevent neural tube defects, further studies should look at whether more-specific guidelines on folic acid use during the remainder of pregnancy can and should be developed.

For their study, Davies and his colleagues looked at asthma rates among more than 400 children whose mothers had been followed since pregnancy. A little less than 12 percent of the children had developed asthma by age 3, and the same percentage had the lung disease at age 5.

Overall, the study found, children whose mothers took folic acid in late pregnancy -- from the 30th week on -- were one-quarter more likely to have asthma at age 3 compared with children whose mothers did not take folic acid at that point in pregnancy.

They were also more likely to have persistent asthma symptoms from the age of 3 through age 5.

Most mothers who took folic acid in late pregnancy did not take it as a stand-alone supplement, but as part of a multivitamin; they typically got 300 micrograms of folic acid per day from supplements.

There was no link between mothers' folate intake from food and their children's asthma risk; folate is the natural form of folic acid, found in foods such as beans and lentils, orange juice, peanuts and green vegetables like spinach and broccoli.

That latter finding, Davies noted, should encourage women to eat a healthy diet, including folate-rich foods, throughout pregnancy.

It is not entirely clear why folic acid supplements in late pregnancy would promote asthma in some children. However, Davies pointed to recent animal research suggesting that folate can alter the activity of immune-system-regulating genes in the lung tissue -- potentially making it more susceptible to allergic reactions.

Since the fetal immune system develops later in pregnancy, folic acid use at this point could theoretically affect a child's future risk of asthma.

Davies stressed, however, that a single study is rarely enough to change health policies and practices.

"We would like to see systematic replication of our findings and clinical trials in various populations," he said, "so that we can provide appropriate, refined and targeted advice."

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Teen pregnancy target of YouTube ploy - StarPhoenix

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 12:15 PM PST

LONDON — They say you can't judge a book by its cover, but these days you can't judge a YouTube clip by its title either.

Type "Teenage Kicks" into the popular website's search engine and you'll find what looks like a home video, but is actually a warning from the British Health Authority.

The grainy footage appears to be a cellphone video of a schoolyard fight.

At least that's what you're supposed to think when you see the kids gathered around in a circle, yelling. But what that circle eventually reveals is a terrified young woman, lying on the grass, giving birth in the playground.

The caption: "Not what you expected? Well being a teenage parent might not be either."

As the teenage pregnancy rate skyrockets in Britain, health officials are attempting to crack down on the troubling trend.

In Leicester alone, the East Midlands community that launched the online campaign, one in 20 girls under 18 will get pregnant.

The numbers across the rest of the country aren't much better — Britain's teen pregnancy rate is double Canada's.

In Britain, 160 teens under the age of 16 get pregnant every week.

Sexually transmitted infections are on the rise too. From 2002-06, more than 11,000 teens under 16 were diagnosed with chlamydia, herpes, gonorrhea, syphilis or genital warts.

Trying to scare kids using a format such as YouTube websites that allows users to share videos is something of a last resort.

The website banned the video for a while due to complaints, but health officials behind the ad defend it.

"We spent a lot of time talking to young people about what would grab their attention. And they said, 'Make it funny or make it shocking,' and in preference make it shocking, so we've done exactly what the target audience asked us to do," said Tim Rideout, the chief executive of Leicester City National Health Service.

Rideout said he knows the film is hard-hitting, but he said he believes there needs to be more education on safe sex.

The Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health agrees. It's asking television regulators to consider relaxing the rules on condom commercials and for the first time, allowing ads for pregnancy advisory services, like abortion clinics. It would like the commercials to be shown during the day and early evening, instead of strictly after 9 p.m.

"This is about providing good medical care, providing accurate information to women, often at a very difficult time in their lives," said Dr. Patricia Lohr of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service.

A public consultation is now underway across the country. If changes are made, broadcasters could still tailor any advertising to the area it will be aired.

The YouTube video hasn't made it on TV in its entirety yet. British news channels that picked up the story haven't shown the end of the commercial, where you see the baby being born. About 500,000 people have viewed it online.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Khloe Kardashian Pregnant? Reveals New Years Sickness + Pregnancy ... - HipHopRX.com

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 04:18 PM PST

Picture of Khloe Kardashian-Odom
Khloe Kardashian who was rumored to possibly be pregnant after photos taken in October '09 resurfaced again on last month showing the celebrity socialite with a little gut that appears as a baby bump, the reality TV star now reveals that she has stopped taking precautions.

In an interview with Los Angeles DJ Valentine (104.3 MYfm) on Wednesday, January 6, 2010, the 25 year-old star stated that her and her hubby Lamar Odom both wish to have kids together, but she's currently in no rush. Khloe Kardashian now Khloe Kardashian-Odom goes on to state that she's not doing anything to prevent it from happening either.

Khloe who married NBA player of the Los Angeles Lakers, Lamar Odom, Sunday, September 27, 2009 after dating only for a month, as covered on HipHopRX.com, went on to say that Lamar Odom wants a baby now 'like tomorrow.'

The "Keeping Up With The Kardashian" and "Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami" reality TV star in her interview went on to speak about becoming very ill on New Year's Eve to the point that she was throwing up and Lamar Odom became so excited and wanted her to take a pregnancy test. Khloe Kardashian-Odom says she told him, 'sorry I'm just sick.'

Khloe Kardashian says that she's not rushing since she's only 25 and plus she just got married, but she did include that she wishes to be a mom and a great mom and would like to have a son because their are so many girls in her family.

Listen to the interview Khloe Kardashian-Odom on Valentine In The Morning Talking About Pregnancy

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Posted: 06 Jan 2010 11:25 AM PST

While Khloe Kardashian Odom might not be trying her very hardest to get pregnant, she's not really trying not to become a mom either! "I'm not rushing it, but I'm also not doing anything to prevent it," Khloé admitted of her baby plans with hubby Lamar Odom in an interview with Sean Valentine on 104.3 MY FM today.

"We both want to [have children together] and I think we're in an ideal situation," added the newlywed. "We're just happy together."

And although Khloé says she's not rushing things, if Lamar had it his way, it'd be one big baby boom already!

"Lamar wants to have a baby like, tomorrow," laughed Khloé.

Lamar even went so far as to suggest that his wife's New Year's Eve sickness was due to impending motherhood, exclaiming, "Yes! You're pregnant!" reveals Khloé.

So if their plan of not planning anything works out, does Khloé want a girl or a boy?

"I would want a boy but I don't care," she explains. "There are just so many girls in our family!"

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE WHOLE INTERVIEW!

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Colo. man accused of drugging girlfriend to terminate pregnancy - Wichita Eagle

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 03:28 PM PST

By Associated Press

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) — A man accused of ending his girlfriend's pregnancy by slipping her a drug obtained from Mexico is free on $7,500 bond.

Thirty-one-year-old Jared Merril Ahlstrom of Harriman, Utah, appeared in Mesa County District Court Tuesday where he was advised of a pending felony charge of unlawful termination of a preganancy.

Investigators said the man sent e-mails to his ex-girlfriend admitting that he gave her Misoprostol, an abortion inducing drug. A number listed for Ahlstrom was disconnected.

Ahlstrom's ex-girlfriend told investigators that Ahlstrom wanted her to terminate an unplanned preganancy but she wanted to keep the baby. The woman's baby boy was delivered stillborn at 16 weeks shortly after the two went hiking in January 2009.

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Information from: The Daily Sentinel, http://www.gjsentinel.com

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