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Pregnancy and Baby Health

The TVClubHouse: General Discussions ARCHIVES: 2006 Jun. ~ 2006 Dec.: Health Center (ARCHIVES): Pregnancy and Baby Health users admin

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Herckleperckle
Member

11-20-2003

Sunday, November 19, 2006 - 12:51 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Herckleperckle a private message Print Post    
Source:Ivanhoe.com

Ahem, don't do ANYTHING recommended in this article without checking with your own doc first!!


Super Kids:
8 Ways to Boost Your Baby's Brain Power

Part 3 of 3



ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Jessica Meeker is a parent's dream. She graduated high school at age 12, college at 16, and received her MBA at 18.

"Everyone else is just now going to college and looking at all these years of school," Jessica says. "I'm all done."

Her mom, Leigh, says she noticed Jessica was different right from the get-go. "Her first word was pocketbook," Leigh says. "I'd come home from work, and I picked her up from the baby sitter's. I didn't have my pocketbook with me, she looked me and said, 'pocketbook?' And I said 'huh?'"

And like any mom would be, Jessica's is proud. "It definitely is a gift from God," Leigh says.

Yes, genes and environment both play an important role in determining your child's intelligence. But science is proving there are other ways you can boost your child's brain power, and they start early.

Lise Eliot, Ph.D., a neuro-scientist at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in North Chicago, studies how babies' brains develop. She says there are ways expectant mothers can increase their chances of having a smarter baby.

"About 20 percent of a child's IQ can be influenced by prenatal experience, and that's quite a substantial proportion. It's going to take quite a number of years of schooling to equal out that!" Dr. Eliot tells Ivanhoe.


Number one on this list: Take choline supplements. In animal studies, skimping on choline permanently damages fetal brain chemistry. Take 450 milligrams a day, or eat foods like eggs, meat and fish.


Number two is get your thyroid checked. Children born to mothers with untreated thyroid disease during pregnancy scored seven points lower on IQ tests.


Next, see your dentist. Having periodontal disease during pregnancy increases the risk of having a preemie by more than seven-fold.


And number four? Get moving!

"If there's one time to be in shape, it's when you're pregnant," Dr. Eliot says.

Researchers found women who exercised had smarter children at 5 years old.


Also, gain the right amount of weight during pregnancy. Putting on about 20 percent of your ideal body weight will ensure you'll have a child with a higher IQ.

Breastfeeding is number six. Dr. Eliot says it's one of the easiest ways mothers can choose to make a tremendous difference in their baby's health and cognitive development. In one study, breast-fed children scored three points higher on an IQ test than those who were formula-fed.


Number seven, take iron. Without it, critical areas of the brain don't grow.


Finally, stress can damage a fetus's brain by restricting blood flow. So take a deep breath and relax -- now you know eight ways to ensure your baby gets the best start in life.

Dr. Eliot says playing classical music and reading to your unborn child have not been proven to improve IQ. Some of her other tips are to avoid alcohol and cigarettes during pregnancy, take a multi-vitamin with folic acid in it three months before you plan to conceive, and try to avoid anesthesia during labor.


If you would like more information, please contact:

Kathy Peterson
Public Relations
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
3333 Green Bay Road
Chicago, IL 60064
(847) 578-8344

Herckleperckle
Member

11-20-2003

Sunday, November 19, 2006 - 1:01 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Herckleperckle a private message Print Post    
Source: Ivanhoe.com
Reported November 10, 2006


Reducing Breast Cancer Risk in Offspring


(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new study reveals eating whole wheat during pregnancy could reduce the risk of breast cancer. The research was done in rats, but researchers say the results suggest it might be beneficial for pregnant women to try to include whole wheat in their diets.

Previous research has suggested daughters of mothers who ate a high-fat diet were at a greater risk of breast cancer. This new study, done at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., looked at what dietary factors could reduce the risk of breast cancer in offspring.

For the study, investigators fed rats a diet with 6 percent fiber from whole wheat flour, oat flour, defatted flax flour or cellulose. The cellulose was used as a control. The offspring were given a breast cancer inducing chemical.

Researchers report the rats that had been fed whole wheat were less likely to develop breast tumors. They also found the rats given defatted flax flour were at an increased cancer risk. The oat flour had no effect. Researchers say it appears whole wheat somehow improves the animals' ability to repair DNA damage.


SOURCE: International Journal of Cancer, 2006;119:2279-2286

Herckleperckle
Member

11-20-2003

Sunday, November 19, 2006 - 2:11 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Herckleperckle a private message Print Post    
Source: Ivanhoe.com
Reported November 9, 2006

Breastfeeding and Higher IQ
Link Questioned


(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Breastfeeding vs. bottle feeding may have little to do with better verbal skills during preschool years, according to a new study.

A number of studies have linked breastfeeding with higher childhood IQ scores. These studies connected this finding to certain fatty acids found in breast milk. However, researchers from Duke University in Durham, N.C., report their new study reveals an increased IQ is not solely because of breast milk.

For the study, researchers gave 1,645 3-year-olds and their mothers a vocabulary test. The tests were scored according to their age. Researchers also visited the homes and rated the home environment.

Researchers report children who were breastfed for at least one month scored seven points higher than bottle fed children. But when the researchers factored in the mother's scores, the difference disappeared. Researchers report this shows the advantageous effects of breastfeeding are not just because of the nutrients in breast milk, but positive parenting skills also play a role. Study authors write mothers who breastfed tend to be better educated, and so they may be more likely to do stimulating activities for their children.


SOURCE: Pediatrics, 2006;118:1444-1451

Herckleperckle
Member

11-20-2003

Sunday, November 19, 2006 - 2:30 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Herckleperckle a private message Print Post    
This one creeps me out, but in the spirit of providing info about what's out there, I'll post it:


Source: Ivanhoe.com
Reported November 8, 2006


Super Kids:
Genius Sperm Bank?

(Part 2 of 3)


ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Even at a young age, Leandra Ramm was a performer Now at 22, she is an award-winning opera singer and has studied at the prestigious Manhattan School of Music.

"I sang my whole life pretty much because my mom is a pianist, so I kind of, like, grew up with music," she says.

Was it her upbringing or her genes that made her talented? Leandra's parents couldn't conceive, so they selected a sperm donor. Not just any donor -- they got the sperm from the genius sperm bank.

"I think every mother and father thinks that when they have a child it is going to be wonderful, beautiful and intelligent and talented, right? This was the same thing," says Leandra's father, David.

Leandra's mother, Adrienne, says, "It felt like the next best thing to having my own husband's sperm."

In 1980, scientist Robert Graham opened the genius sperm bank -- officially called The Repository for Germinal Choice. Hoping to create a generation of geniuses, he gave the sperm of Nobel Prize winners and men with high IQs to women around the country. Twenty-six years later, the first wave of children whose mothers received the "genius" sperm are grown up.

"[Graham] thought too many stupid people were having too many children," David Plotz, Washington-based author of "The Genius Factory: The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank," tells Ivanhoe. He has researched the project for more than five years. "What Robert Graham did is he turned infertility into a consumer business, and he turned sperm banks ... into catalog shopping."

The Repository produced more than 200 children over 19 years. It shut down in 1999 after Robert Graham died. Only three Nobel Prize winners actually participated in the project and none produced children. Donors were anonymous and color-coded. Fuchsia was a world champion in his field. Turquoise headed a research lab. Moss played the flute and guitar.

Adrienne picked clear...

"Clear was a scientist, research scientist, and he had done important research in his field, and he loved music," Adrienne says. But did it work?

Leandra is clearly musically talented, and she tested in the gifted range with an IQ over 135.

"I think you have to look at who the mothers are. What kind of woman goes to a sperm bank that is known as the Nobel Prize sperm bank?" Plotz says. "It is a woman who is determined to raise a child who is going to be accomplished."

The project left some wondering: What's next in the quest for smart kids?

Lee Silver, Ph.D., a molecular biologist at Princeton and author of "Challenging Nature: The Clash of Science and Spirituality at the New Frontiers of Life," says there are ways to isolate genes associated with intelligence.

Researchers have already bred a mouse with a larger cerebral cortex -- a key part of the brain that supports complex thinking. They've also engineered mice to remember new things as they age. But there are obstacles when it comes to doing this in humans.

"The concept of intelligence isn't a single entity. Somebody may have talents in mathematics, but be a lousy writer," Dr. Silver tells Ivanhoe. He says what you do with the talent is important. "You can be born with all the musical talent in the world, but if you don't practice the piano, you're not going to be a great musician."

Leandra agrees. "It's definitely a combination between genes and the background that I had growing up, and I think I was really lucky to have great parents," she says.

Nature and nurture -- the combination she says makes for a winning performance.

If you would like more information, please contact:

David Plotz
Author
"The Genius Factory"
david@thegeniusfactory.net

Herckleperckle
Member

11-20-2003

Sunday, November 19, 2006 - 2:44 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Herckleperckle a private message Print Post    
I was anemic as a baby and tot. I have been blaming all my math and spatial relationship deficiencies on that misfortune for years. Now, a study that seems to confirm my suspicions . . .

Source: Ivanhoe.com
Reported November 7, 2006


Babies Need Iron for Healthy Brains


(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Babies who lack enough iron in their blood are at risk for long-term learning problems. The effect is especially strong in kids who come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

These findings come from University of Michigan in Ann Arbor researchers who studied lower-class and middle-class children in Costa Rica over about a 20-year period. All of the children were first tested for iron levels at about 17 months old. Those found to be iron deficient were treated with iron therapy.

Children who still had an iron deficiency after three months of treatment were compared to those who had adequate iron levels, either initially or following treatment. The iron deficient children scored about eight points lower on cognitive tests. Tests were repeated throughout childhood, revealing children from lower socioeconomic groups bore the largest burden over time.

The researchers report the gap just grew larger for children from lower socioeconomic groups as they aged. Middle class kids maintained the eight-point gap. Those in the lower class who had suffered from iron deficiency in infancy were scoring 25 points lower than their peers with adequate iron levels.

"Acquisition of new skills is intimately linked to mastery of skills at an earlier developmental level," write the authors. "If direct and indirect effects of early iron deficiency on the brain disrupted or delayed basic developmental processes, there could be a snowball effect. In an economically stressed family environment, there might not be the resources or capacity to help children compensate."

The researchers report more needs to be done to identify children at risk for iron deficiency so the condition can be prevented before it has a chance to adversely affect young brains.


SOURCE: Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 2006;160:1108-1113

Herckleperckle
Member

11-20-2003

Sunday, November 19, 2006 - 11:22 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Herckleperckle a private message Print Post    
Source: Ivanhoe.com
Reported October 23, 2006


Alternative Treatments for Labor Pain


(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- It makes most women nervous just to say the two words -- labor pains. While many women opt for an epidural for pain relief, there are alternative treatments. Now a new review of research finds hypnosis and acupuncture may be the best alternatives at easing labor pains.

The review included data from 14 studies that included more than 1,400 women. Five studies looked at hypnosis and three studies looked at acupuncture. The remaining studies focused on massage, relaxation, aromatherapy, acupressure or white noise for pain relief.

Lead researcher Caroline Smith, a research fellow from the University of Adelaide in Australia, says while the results on acupuncture and hypnosis are encouraging, more research is needed on the other therapies.

The research doesn't surprise doula and childbirth educator Penny Simkin. A doula helps provide informational, emotional and physical comfort to women during labor and birth. She says acupuncture can induce a sense of relaxation and it is gaining respect as a pain management option. However, she says it's most commonly used for women who give birth at home or in a birth center because acupuncture practitioners rarely have treating privileges at hospitals.

Simkin also points out that most of the studies have been on acupuncture and hypnosis because they cost money and researchers want to figure out if mothers are wasting their money. She feels many of the other alternative therapies can be effective, especially massage and she hopes more research will be done to get good hard evidence.


SOURCE: The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2006; Issue 4