To Be Mom

In the war-torn region of Darfur, rape is an instrument of war. Women are deliberately targeted to score psychological points over their opponents. Can there be any doubt that it will be the woman assaulted who will decide whether she wants the child engendered by the act of rape.

In Nigeria a woman seeking an abortion, even on very reasonable grounds, is meted out harsh punishment. In many South American countries, a pregnant woman is flatly denied permission for aborting the child even if her medical condition is such that delivery of the baby would certainly kill her.

Matters like these have apparently led the human rights body Amnesty International to fight for the right of a woman to abort her child. But it is not for a blanket freedom to abort. It is to be only under certain conditions -

• The pregnancy resulted from rape
• Delivery of the child would risk the mother’s life
• Pregnancy from incest

All this sounds very fair and reasonable. It must have seemed so to the International committee of Amnesty International which voted unhesitatingly for the proposal in Mexico. It must have seemed right to the US chapter of the world body with 400,000 members when it gave it the green light.

But the traditional supporters and financiers of the respected human rights body– the Roman Catholic Church has criticized the move, saying it had strayed from its commitment for human life.

But rigid dogma of certain people should not impinge on a woman’s fundamental rights.

As Kate Gilmore, the human rights organization’s deputy secretary general says:

We have felt very keenly how passionately people feel on both sides of this debate. But we’re here to do what’s right, whether it’s unpopular or otherwise.

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Via: Reuters

With a new case of autism diagnosed nearly every 20 minutes in the United States, one in every 150 children born in the country have autism, which goes with the estimation of approximately 1 million suffering from the brain development disorder.

Astoundingly, every year, 24,000 new cases of autism are diagnosed in the U.S. alone and the researchers all set to decode the cause at the roots, have come up with a surprising, but interesting finding.

This is not only firsthand smoking by pregnant mothers that exposes their foetuses to mental as well as physical health problems, as secondhand smoking during pregnancy does the same, claims a new study.

Before rolling out with this conclusion, researchers monitored a group of children between the ages 7 to 15, all of whom had serious psychiatric problems. Further, these children were divided into three groups:-

• Children with mothers who smoked during pregnancy.

• Children with mothers who didn’t smoke during pregnancy, but were exposed to secondhand smoking.

• Children with mothers exposed neither smoked nor exposed to secondhand smoking.

Finally, it was concluded that kids with mothers exposed to firsthand or secondhand smoking were more susceptible to externalizing behaviors when compared to kids with mothers unexposed to any kind of smoking.

In the words of Gatzke-Kopp:

Children of smokers, as well as of women exposed to secondhand smoke, were much more likely than the offspring of non-exposed women to have externalizing behaviors, which include “acting out, getting in trouble, being aggressive, breaking rules.

Actually, brain possesses a system called, dopamine, which is know to regulate our behaviors, however, exposure to smoking, irrespective of the fact, it is firsthand smoking or second smoking , it effects mental health of an unborn baby startlingly. This confirms the fact that exposure to smoking during pregnancy is quite harmful for the mental health of an unborn baby.

However, it must be clarified here that this is not the first study that uncovers harmful effects of smoking over the health of unborn babies, as several studies conducted earlier have also come up with similar findings. For instance, passive smoking has been linked to miscarriage, even. In addition, threats caused by firsthand smoking during pregnancy can also not be ignored, as they may also result in several forms of health problems in babies, like:-

• Prenatal Smoke Exposure Results in Teen Attention Problems

• Chances of Baby Boy May End in Smoke with Smoking

• Smoking Moms Risk ADHD In Kids

Via: Stuff

If you are living close to a highway during pregnancy, be advised that your baby will suffer some consequences. A recent study has proved that there is a direct correlation between the unborn infants and the proximity to the highway.

If you wish to be a mom, than you should plan your pregnancy for the goodness of your babies. All females can take few steps before they conceive to improve their chances of giving birth to a healthy baby.

Just go through these eight points given below to get help in planning your pregnancy:

1) Every woman should take folic acids. Folic acid is a B vitamin that can helps in preventing birth defects of the brain and spinal cord called neural tube defects (NTDs). Consult with your doctor.
2) If you are pregnant or planning to get pregnant than, it is time when you have to give some attention to your immunization history. Check whether all of your immunizations are up to date including the vaccinations against chickenpox and rubella. Both of these diseases likely to cause birth defects and few other complications if a female is attacked by them during their pregnancy period.

3) Try to quit smoking if you have this habit. Smoking may cause difficulty in conceiving. It would be good for your pregnancy if you don’t smoke because smoking can raise the chances of miscarriage and also doubles the chances of having a baby low-birth-weight babies. Also avoid drinking alcohol during your pregnancy period.

4) Always try to have that much weight that suits to your body structure. If you are overweight than it raises the chances of gestational diabetes and various other problems related to pregnancy. You should achieve healthy weight before getting pregnant.

5) By doing exercises you can have full control on your weight and also you can shed few pounds if you want. It also helps in removing stress. If you are pregnant, than consult your doctor that which type of exercises you can do during pregnancy period.

6) If anyone of you have some chronic medical problem, than you should consult your doctor about the risks you can have on your body during pregnancy and also ask him that whether you should still consume those prescription drugs during the pregnancy period. You should also tell your doctor if there are any hereditary disorders in your family history, before you plan to get pregnant. The care by the doctors in the beginning before pregnancy helps to lower the risks to mother and baby caused by few chronic conditions.

7) If you are using any contraceptive and want to be a mom than you should have to stop using it. And one important thing is that before you try for conceiving, you should at least wait for one menses or period.

8) Males should undergo some planning before pregnancy. If any one of you have the habit of smoking or drinking than try to quit it because it puts effect on your fertility and also on your sperm count. One should also try to avoid hot tubs and sauna baths. These may increase body temperature and possibly raise the risk of NTDs.

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True, it’s uneasy and irritating to experience morning sickness or nausea, especially for a pregnant woman. But, like the pleasure of suffering the pains and uneasiness of pregnancy for nine long months, you can now have enough reasons to extract a ‘feel-good-factor’ from this nausea.

It is recently found that this ’suffering’ - if you call it as, after finding out what it indicates — from pregnancy-related nausea can assure of the fact that you have a lowered breast cancer risk.

Yes, nausea during pregnancy is linked with a 30 per cent reduced chance of developing the disease later in life in comparison to mothers-to-be who sailed through nine nausea-free months, according to the new research.

A hormone– human chorionic gonadotropin — made in the placenta and affects foetal development, is found to be able to potentially protect a woman against cancer.

Presenting the findings last week at the annual meeting of the Society for Epidemiologic Research in Boston, Massachusetts, study leader David Jaworowicz Jr, a Buffalo doctoral candidate said,

Although the exact mechanism responsible for causing nausea and vomiting during pregnancy has yet to be pinpointed, it likely is a result of changing levels of ovarian and placental hormone production, which may include higher circulating levels of a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin.

In-vitro studies have shown that this hormone possesses several activities that have potential protective effects against cancer cells.

So, though nausea during those hard pregnancy days is not welcome, it is sure to assure you of breast cancer-free life in later years.

Via: thecancerblog

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China’s health authorities have now banned all birth control slogans that are offensive and crude as such slogans have been reported to be tarnishing the image of the government.

Obnoxious slogans such as ‘Raise fewer babies but more piggies’ and ‘One more baby means one more tomb’ have been banned. The authorities have issued a list of 190 slogans that are acceptable and these include “Mother earth is too tired to sustain more children” and “Both boys and girls are parents’ hearts”.

China’s family planning policy that came into effect 28 yrs ago limits urban couples to just one child and rural couples to go in for a second one if the first child is a girl. According to the government sources, this rule has helped prevent at least 300 million births. The preference for a male heir has resulted in forced abortions when the fetus is confirmed as a female leading to a dangerously imbalanced sex ratio.

There have been protests in China among rural folks as the authorities have been levying heavy fines on those who are violating the one-child rule that has been enforced. The authorities are so harsh that they demolish the houses of those who fail to pay up the hefty fines which could be an amount equivalent to $1300 while the annual average income of these farmers is about $130.

The low quality slogans painted on the walls in the rural areas are giving a false impression that the government is forcing people not to have more babies and tarnishing the image of the government, according to the National Population and Family Planning Commission.

It would probably be a better idea to educate people about the benefits of having smaller families rather than use abominable slogans and infuriate the public.

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A baby is God’s opinion that life should go on.

How true! Every mother wishes to be blessed with a healthy child. A baby is born healthy when mothers take care of their own health even before they conceive.

Did you know that seventy percent of serious birth defects called neural tube defects (NTD) can be prevented by taking folic acid daily? These defects are formed during the first four weeks of pregnancy.

This means, the defects are formed even before you know that are pregnant! That is exactly why you should be taking folic acid even before you get pregnant.

How does folic acid prevent birth defects?
Folic acid is a naturally occurring B vitamin that helps a baby’s neural tube’the part of a developing baby that becomes the brain and spinal cord’develop properly. It is advised that women take the folic acid supplements before and during early pregnancy when the neural tube is developing. 400 micrograms/day is the recommended dose for women though it might be increased if you were at a risk in your earlier pregnancy or if you were anemic.

Folic acid in natural resources: While’s it’s good to take folic acid in the form of supplements, try to consume foods that are rich in folic acid like spinach, lentils, asparagus, black beans, peanuts, sprouts, broccoli and lettuce.

So, take care of your health in advance and enjoy you pregnancy without worries.

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According to a recent study, abortions among pregnant teenagers are reaching alarming proportions. Ever since the Labour came to power in the U.K., the number of teenage abortions has increased by a staggering 2,500 each year.

Do you know that the U.S. holds the dubious distinction of the highest teenage abortion rate in the developed world?

Unlike the developing world, teenage pregnancy in developed countries is usually outside of marriage, and may carry a social stigma in some communities and cultures.

There are numerous reasons for the rise in teenage pregnancies. A casual attitude to sex, inadequate sex education, peer pressure, and last but not the least the sexualized content present in the media are some of the factors responsible for the rise in teenage pregnancies.

According to a spokesperson for the anti-abortion charity Alive and Kicking,

these figures are the result of the modern attitude to sexuality - that sex is just a recreational activity.

Not only does adolescent parenthood cause devastating effects on families, studies have shown that the children born to teenage mothers are more prone to abuse, neglect, and malnutrition.

As per the World Health Organization, the risk of death following pregnancy is twice as much for women in the age group of 15 to 19 years, than, for those between the ages of 20 and 24.

Before it is too late, we need to find workable solutions to end this high rate of abortions among the teen mothers. If we don’t, then, not only will we compromise our national productivity but we would also not be able to use up the tax payers money more effectively.

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Via: dailymail, parentingteens

The first thought that crossed my mind after reading this news was - How would the mother be related to her grandchild? Would she be a mother or a grandmother? And would the conceiving mother of the baby be the baby’s real mother or her biological sister or brother? Well, you could keep thinking the whole day and come up with weird relation combinations. Now, this would be one of the rare cases of relationship disorder or in better terms, mayhem.

For the first time in medical history, a Canadian mother has frozen her eggs to ensure that her seven-year old daughter would be able to give birth, in case she turns infertile due to a genetic disorder. Melanie Boivin has probably not spared a thought for the baby, if a baby is born through the eggs that is, who would find relating to her kith a tall order. However, the choice of accepting the eggs is left to Melanie’s daughter, Flavie Boivin.

The egg-freezing procedure is not new. Prior to undergoing chemotherapy, cancer patients have the choice of freezing their eggs due to the risk of menopause. Doctors say that 85 percent of the eggs survive freezing and 40 percent of them have a chance of a live birth.

Disorders like Turner’s syndrome often leave women infertile, but with healthy wombs. So, they can use donated eggs to give birth. The Egg-freezing procedure has presented opportunities not only for the infertile but also for women who are averse to the idea of marriage. And even women, who find a partner late in life, can freeze their eggs earlier and use it to give birth when they feel they are ready.

Via: yahoo

Here’s some health watch for the pregnant woman. If you are pregnant, you are not supposed to eat too much fish. The right amount and right kind of fish does matter when you are pregnant. At least, that’s what the Food and Drug administration(FDA) in U.S. recommends.

The advice has been issued by the FDA in collaboration with the EPA. As per guideline, pregnant women should eat no less than 12 ounces of fish per week.Although, no upper limit has been set yet.The fish types include salmon, tuna, sardines and Mackerel.

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy should be completely avoided. This is because alcohol passes through the placenta and can cause very serious birth defects in the growing fetus, like stunted growth, low birth weight, and even brain damage. This disorder is known as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS).

According to Danish researchers arduous exercises during early pregnancy can triple the risk of miscarriage. More than seven hours of exercise a week including jogging, ball games, and racket sports can increase the risk of spontaneous abortion.

Ask any pregnant lady and she will tell you how sometimes they feel an urge to eat specific things or taste some specific flavor. The urge is pretty great and here is another way out, the Womb lollipops. Yeah! The name tells you all. These lollipops come in a variety of flavors like chamomile, lavender, ginger, red raspberry leaf and peppermint, which make them perfect to keep near especially when you are going to be a mom. These lollipops are safe too as they are natural, dye free, preservative free. They are even specified as non-GMO, making them completely pure and natural. Perfect as a gift too!

Source: Greatgreenbaby

The rate of infertility is going up all over the world and women are getting worried about their chances of conceiving. While there are many fertility treatments that offer hope to women who wish to see a baby in their arms, they are actually time consuming and add to the agony of waiting.

The conventional IVF involves a lot of procedures like washing the eggs, moving embryos with the culture fluid causing failed treatment cycles due to changes in the temperature and acidity.

Japanese scientists have come up with a new device called ‘womb-on-a-chip’ that speedens up the process of fertility treatment by churning out early stage embryos. The miniature device actually acts like an automated artificial womb where the embryos are grown until they are ready for implantation. In fact, the endometrial calls that nourish the embryos by releasing chemicals are also grown in the womb chip mimicking the happenings in the body.

The chip is a device that is about two millimeters in which up to twenty eggs can be fertilized at a time. When tested on mice, it was found that the mice that were implanted with chip-grown embryos were more successful than the traditional IVF and developed healthy foetuses.

Dr Matt Wheeler, from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, who is also working on automated IVF, says

It’s not just about more embryos surviving to be implanted, they also seem to be doing better once they are implanted.

This method of treatment is yet to be tried on humans, but if successful, could bring smiles on thousands of women who are anxious to see their ray of sunshine.

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