28 JUL 2011 by ideonexus
Most Marriages Degrade After a Child is Born
A bracingly cold glass of water was thrown on this Eisenhoweresque perception by famed sociologist E.E. LeMasters. In 1957, he published a research paper showing that 83 percent of new parents experienced a moderate to severe crisis in the marriage during the transition to parenthood. These parents became increasingly hostile toward each other in the first year of the baby’s life. The majority were having a hard time.
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There is hope. We know four of the most important sources of mari... 1 
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notesBut recognizing the characteristics that cause stress in the relationship can help things.
19 JUL 2011 by ideonexus
Exercise During Pregnancy
There are two main reasons for concern about exercising during pregnancy. One is that it may reduce the baby's oxygen supply, since exercise, like other sources of stress, reduces blood flow to the uterus. Another risk is overheating. As we have already seen, fetal development is highly sensitive to temperature, and elevations of more than 2^0 C (or above 1020F) can increase the risk of miscarriage and affect the formation of the brain and eyes.
Despite these theoretical concerns, there is ...
1 There are some concerns about the mother exercising during pregnancy, but the benefits appear to outweight the potential deleterious effects and have no apparent effect on the child's IQ.
19 JUL 2011 by ideonexus
Effects of Smoking on the Fetus
Most women also realize that smoking is bad during pregnancy. Unfortunately, it can be a very hard habit to give up, even for the best-intentioned parent. Smoking is not as detrimental to fetal brain development as heavy alcohol drinking, but it acts on many other organ systems. like the heart and lungs, that compromise the baby's health in a lasting way. Babies born to heavy smokers are substantially smaller than babies born to nonsmokers, averaging about half a pound lighter. In fact, smoki... 1 notes
notesThe evidence suggests that smoking has longterm cognitive effects on children due to compromised brain development in the womb.
19 JUL 2011 by ideonexus
Fetal Alcohol Syndrom
It is from a public health standpoint, rather than from knowledge of indipercent of pregnant wompr. i^ percent of pregnant women in the United States reported drinking alcohol in the month preceding the survey, and 3 percent admitted to at least one binge. (Alcohol consumption is notoriously underreported in this kind of survey.) Prenatal alcohol use is thought to be responsible for at least 4,000 cases of mental retardation in the United States each year and perhaps ten times that number of ... 1 notes
notesThe effects of alcohol abuse on the developing child has lifelong impact on them as they grow older.
08 JUN 2011 by ideonexus
Phytochemical Exposure Prevents Cancer in Mice
Williams’s experiments have shown that the offspring of mice who ingest a phytochemical derived from cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and brussels sprouts during pregnancy were much less likely to get cancer, even when exposed to a known carcinogen. The same is true of the offspring of mice who were given green tea during pregnancy. After they were weaned, the offspring in William’s experiments never encountered these protective chemicals again, yet their exposure during pre... 1 notes
notesEven when exposed to known carcinogens.
08 FEB 2011 by ideonexus
Pregnant Celebrities are News
"In this world, pregnancy is considered news, and it is a nine-month news cycle," the editor-in-chief of Star magazine has said. Issues featuring pregnant celebrities are often among the magazines' best sellers. The mother of all celebrity pregnancies, of course, was that of actress Demi Moore, who appeared naked and seven months pregnant on the cover of Vanity Fair> in 1991. Back then, the image still had the power to shock: on its first day on the stands, the issue sold out during the mo...
1 The focus of gossip magazines on pregnant celebrities mirrors a more general interest the average person has in the pregnant woman as a curiosity.
