Need help for your pelvic floor muscles? Perhaps you are like me - having children has wrecked havoc on my pelvic floor muscles. And I constantly forget to do my kegel exercises, only being reminded of this after a big sneeze. Well… wearing heels can help this! Good news it, you don’t have to wear stilettos! Apparently, having the feet at a 15% angle provides women with a good a posture as flat shoes while providing the best exercise for those special muscles. Do you think this is a valid survey, or just a bunch of men trying to convince us to wear sexier shoes? (btw - the shoes in the pic are Louboutins, my dream shoe! someday…)

Acupuncture can help those who are TTC. There are no scientific tests to this non-traditional practice, although they did run some tests with different groups of women undergoing fertility treatment and it seems as though acupuncture can help the chances of conceiving. It is one of those “It can’t hurt, it is relatively easy enough and inexpensive, so why not try it”

I had acupuncture treatments when my third child went overdue. It was amazing how fast and hard my contractions came when they put these needles in the webs of my hand and twisted them. She arrived the evening of the third daily treatment, but unfortunately I cannot say it was the treatment or the fact that she was 6 days overdue. It did put my mind at ease that I at least was doing something (short of castor oil) to get her out!

Genetics over environment for obesity. In researching twins, doctors have determined that genetics have a much greater impact on children’s weight than environmental factors. They weigh it at 77% genetics, 23% environment. This does not mean that some people are doomed from birth to be obese, but it can explain why some people have a harder time with their weight. And all that tempting fatty food surely does not help. “Genetics” should never be used as an excuse for bad lifestyle decisions. In the end, it is still the responsibility of the parent to instill good eating habits in their children to give them the best start at life, whatever their weight is.

TTC? Get off the phone! Studies at the Cleveland Clinic’s infertility area have shown that men who spend a lot of time talking on cell phones are killing their swimmers. The more time on the phone, the lower the sperm count. Men who speak in the phone for more than four hours per day had the lowest counts of all. In case you are wondering, there is no correlation to the theory that cell phone usage kills brain cells. Although, us gals know that a lot of mens brain cells do tend to be *ahem* down near their swimmers, so maybe there in fact is… if you know what I mean!

disclaimer for those who don’t know me… even thought I posted some pics of my kiddos earlier this week, I chose this random pic of a hawt guy over my hubby today. Sorry, dear.

Kids will risk it all? Children these days are more frequently using steroids to increase their athletic performance. And of children surveyed, 60% said that seeing pro athletes encouraged them to start using. Eighty-five precent of users of users thought they would help them “reach their athletic dreams”. And, most disturbingly, they are willing to risk their current and future health to optimise their physical performance now. As the mom of an eleven year old athletic boy, I find all of this very disturbing and you can bet I am going to keep a close eye on my children. No steroids in this family!

I resiliency gene? Scientists, in trying to find out why some children recover well from childhood abuse while others have depression and other issues later in life, are linking this to a resiliency gene. Is the cause for depression nature or nurture - or a combination of both? Doctors now are able to pinpoint these things even better and have come up with this:

The new study focuses on the brain’s CRH1 receptor, which responds to corticotropin-releasing hormone, a chemical that controls the fight-or-flight response. “There are all kinds of reasons to think the CRH receptor could be important for the biology of depression,” says Insel. The amygdala, the brain region associated with fear and other intense emotions, is loaded with CRH receptors. Levels of the hormone seem to get set, like a thermostat, in infancy and childhood. “Early activation of the receptors could change the way they work and how sensitive they are,” says Insel. “They have these imprinting effects where you often see very long-term consequences.”

Of course, if children weren’t abused in the first place they would not need to use this… sometimes I really do not understand the evil in mankind.

Genetically modified babies? Scientists in Britain claim to have created an embryo that contains the genetic DNA of three persons. They mixed in some DNA from a third donor that replaces defective genes. The hope is that one day embryo’s can be produced that are free of inherited diseases. A quote from the hospital:

“We are not trying to alter genes, we’re just trying to swap a small proportion of the bad ones for some good ones,” said Patrick Chinnery, a professor of neurogenetics at Newcastle University involved in the research.

Maybe that is the original intention, but what is to stop it from going any further. Am I in the minority these days in still believing that things (even heartbreaking and horrible) happen for a reason. Stuff like this scares the bejesus out of me and it makes me wonder what kind of world my grandchildren will live in.

Anyone else want to weigh in here?

Preggo brain is real! Scientists have confirmed that yes, pregnant women do experience memory loss. Fortunately it tends to be lesser important things, or things that are newer or less familiar to them. And yes, forgetfulness can continue after the birth.

Let’s see… for me, pregnancy number 1 I left my purse under the table at McDonald’s. Thankfully when I went back about 10 minutes later one of the staff had kept it and it was returned to me. Pregnancy number 2, I left my brand new glasses on the McDonald’s (notice a trend here?) food tray and threw it out with the trash. When I went back, literally 5 minutes later the trash bin was just emptied. I asked the staff if I could look through the old trash bag . They went to the back of the store and came back with a compacted square cube about 10″ big. Bye bye glasses. Pregnancy 3, I don’t remember what forgetful things I did. (giggle)

Is a sperm-donor a father? The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania recently decided this is not necessarily the case. A woman asked a man she knew to be the sperm donor so that she could conceive a child. The woman agreed that this was a sperm donation only and that the donor would have no financial responsibility nor would he have any visitation rights. Well, after that she decided otherwise and took him to court to grab his cash.

Lower courts decided that he should pay, and he was ordered to pay more than $60,000 in back support. The recent PA Supreme Court decision overturns this, favoring donor’s rights.

“Where a would-be donor cannot trust that he is safe from a future support action, he will be considerably less likely to provide his sperm to a friend or acquaintance who asks, significantly limiting a would-be mother’s reproductive prerogatives,” Justice Max Baer wrote in the majority opinion issued last week.

What they didn’t tell you about the HPV vaccination. It is turning out to be the most painful of childhood vaccinations, and girls are actually fainting from it. Girls are complaining it burns when the liquid goes in and their arm is sore the next day. Ok, that’s not so bad, and to prevent cancer and disease a moment of discomfort does not seem unreasonable. I remember as a kid there were some shots that hurt my arm for a few days after (perhaps it was the smallpox shot… yes I am that old!) Perhaps this vaccine is getting a bit more bad press because of the initial controversy surrounding it?

Rock bottom. Police were called to Britney Spears home where there was a 4 hour custody standoff ending with KFed taking the kids and Britney being taken off in an ambulance. Those poor little boys. Let’s hope they are taking her away somewhere safe for a looooonnnggg time so she can get the help she obviously needs.

Even more outsourcing to India. First it is all those telemarketers and customer service lines… now baby-making is being outsourced to India as well! “rent-a-womb”, as it is being referred to, gives Indian women a chance to make an equivalent of 15 years salary with one pregnancy.

But India is the leader in making it a viable industry rather than a rare fertility treatment. Experts say it could take off for the same reasons outsourcing in other industries has been successful: a wide labor pool working for relatively low rates.

Is this creative entrepreneurship, or exploitation of the poor? What do you think?

Parents in denial. The disturbing results of a childhood obesity study show that nearly 50% of parents with obese or severely overweight children ages 6-12 consider their children to be “about the right weight”. Isn’t the first step in getting help and fixing an obesity problem recognizing that there is a problem there in the first place? Perhaps they think their children will outgrow their weight issues. They probably won’t. And these children will be at increased health risks as they grow up. And this will cost our country billions and billions more in healthcare costs. 2008 starts tomorrow… a good opportunity to make lifestyle decision to change the health and happiness of our children.

Is she or isn’t she? There have been multiple reports of a Nicole Kidman pregnancy. Even moreso, people are wondering what “really” went on with her decade long childless marriage to Tom Cruise. There was always speculation it was a fertility issue, however with Suri’s birth and Nicole possibly pregnant, tongues are wagging. Nicole did help the rumor along recently when she said that “someday, maybe, that story might be told.”

It’s harder to kick childhood food allergies. Doctors are seeing a negative trend in relation to childhood milk and egg allergies. In the past, these would be largely outgrown by the age of 3. Now, doctors see that only 4% outgrow them by the age of 4, and only 37% outgrow them by the age of 10. Still, 70-80% will outgrow them by adolescence. Doctors do not know what is causing these allergies to be more resilient.

More permanent birth control. The FDA just approved yet another type of sterilization that is much less invasive than a tubal ligation. Adiana works by using a catheter to place a small piece of material (smaller than a grain of rice) into a fallopian tube. Healthy tissue grows on this and causes a blockage. Over 700,000 women each year have a tubal ligation, which requires hospitalization and anesthesia.

Because it’s a slow news day… Someone at Forbes decided to rank who are the most influential celebrity babies. I didn’t know that infants could be “influential”, but adorable Shiloh won as she was featured in over 2,000 news articles this year. Anywho, for those who, like me, enjoy a bit of celebrity gossip…enjoy!

The smaller the baby the sadder the adult? Researchers in Britain and Canada have released studies that show that lower weight infants have a higher risk of depression as adults. It was found that “…even people who had just mild or moderate symptoms of depression or anxiety over their life course were smaller babies than those who had better mental health.”

“Being born small isn’t necessarily a problem. It is a problem if you were born small because of adverse conditions in the womb — and low birth weight is what we looked at in this study because it is considered a marker of stress in the womb.”

Low birth weight has also been linked to diabetes and heart disease later in life.

Could anorexia be genetic? Studies on twins appear to show that male twins with a female sibling are twice more likely to become anorexic, possibly because of the exposure to female hormones in the womb. Researchers are hopeful to understand more about this so that they can work towards preventing this in the future.

“The one thing we are certain of is that there is a genetic disposition to anorexia, but at the same time this is not enough,” said Procopio, pointing out that if the eating disorder was due to genes alone, an identical twin of an anorexia patient would also have the disease, but this isn’t the case.

A magical fertility chair? Childless couples from all over are travelling to Naples, Italy where there is a church that is claiming to have a “magical chair” that will help fertility. It is the shrine of Saint Anna Maria Rosa Nicoletta Gallo, the first woman saint born in Naples over 200 years ago.

No one can explain why she helps fertility. Writings indicate that she carried the “stigmata” or wounds of Jesus. Whips on display are grim reminders of her “voluntary penance.” Buy hey, there are surely those who are trying to conceive who think “what can it hurt to give it a try…”

Time to buy the kiddos holiday gifts: Cyber Monday is upon us! Shop.org said that 72% of online retailers are planning a special promotion today. Participating retailers include Target, Apple Store, and eToys.

Or not: University of Minnesota researchers have found an inverse relationship between materialism and self-esteem. “When self-esteem drops as children enter adolescence, materialism peaks. Then by late adolescence, when self-esteem rebounds, their materialism drops.” Researchers suggest that encouraging a sense of self-worth among young people can reduce an emphasis on material goods.

Need to catch a villain? Find a baby: six-month-old babies were found to be able to determine who’s naughty and nice. Researchers demonstrated play where some shapes were assigned either helpful or harmful characteristics; babies later preferred to play with those shapes appearing to be friendly.

Yet another reason not to light up: A biological explanation has been found to demonstrate why a mother smoking before and after pregnancy might reduce her daughter’s fertility by as much as two-thirds.

Lead Toy Recall: The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Henry Gordy International Inc., of Plainfield, NJ, are recalling “Galaxy Warriors” toy figurines because surface paints on them contain excessive levels of lead.

Fertility Diet? Researchers out of Harvard School of Public Health looked at the relationship between diet and other lifestyle choices and fertility in women and found that certain changes could help women experiencing trouble conceiving because of ovulatory problems. The women with the highest fertility diet scores ate less trans fat and sugar from carbohydrates, consumed more protein from vegetables than from animals, ate more fiber and iron, took more multivitamins, had a lower BMI, exercised for longer periods of time each day, and, surprisingly, consumed more high-fat dairy products and less low-fat dairy products. The relationship between a higher “fertility diet” score and lesser risk for infertility was similar for different subgroups of women regardless of age and whether or not they had been pregnant in the past.

Food Safety Alert: The Food and Drug Administration is recalling certain Kroger brand dips because of possible Listeria contamination. The recall includes:

• 7.5-ounce packages of Kroger Cajun Salmon Dip, marked “Use by 04NOV2007A LN3″ and “Use By 04NOV2007B LN3.”
• 7.5-ounce packages of Kroger Southern Crab Dip, marked “Use by 04NOV2007A LN3″ and “Use By 04NOV2007B LN3.”
• 7.5-ounce containers of Kroger Sun Dried Tomato Crab, marked “Use By 24OCT2007A LN3.”

(See this earlier MomSquawk post for information on keeping safe from Listeria while pregnant.)

Gastroschisis and Survival Odds: A study conducted by Johns Hopkins surgeons finds that when a baby is born with a low risk version of gastroschisis, where he is treated can make the difference between life and death. Gastroschisis is a condition in which the baby develops with a hole in the abdomen. In low risk cases, the hole is the only abnormality. Generally, it is easy to repair and 97% of babies survive. However, some hospitals have a death rate for babies born with low risk gastroschisis that is three to five times the national average. “We went into this prepared to see some differences, but we didn’t expect to see these striking variations from hospital to hospital in these fairly uncomplicated cases,” says investigator Meghan Arnold, M.D., a surgical resident at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. (You can learn more about gastroschisis in this earlier MomSquawk post.)

Epilepsy Drugs and Fertility: Researchers at the National Center for Epilepsy report that two popular epilepsy drugs, carbamazepine and valproate, have been associated with reduced fertility. Both drugs have already been associated with pregnancy risks, as they pose a risk of autism and reduced IQ in the developing baby. As for fertility, the researchers find that once a woman stops taking the drug, her fertility health normalizes.