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Obesity-Related Infertility Could Lead to Population Decline
It seems like there is barely a passing news day, or week at the very least, without some new medical study about the nation’s obesity epidemic. It’s the topic du jour, tous les jours. A new study from the University of Colorado Advanced Reproductive Medicine indicates that obesity may not only be a question of [...] Continue reading
Children Living with Animals Get Fewer Illnesses in First Year
Finding a cat hair on a baby’s pacifier, seeing the dog lick a baby on the mouth – for some parents, these are cringe-worthy moments. Introducing four-legged children to a new baby is often on the mounting list of concerns for parents-to-be. In a world that increasingly values antibacterial this and hypoallergenic that, pets can [...] Continue reading
Incubation Revelations: Why Pregnant Women Are Smug
I have the pleasure of knowing a number of lovely, creative, talented and ambitious young women – women primarily in their 20s. And I’m not telepathic, but I swear when I wearily walk past them on my 57th trip to the ladies room, at least some of them look at me like pregnancy is contagious [...] Continue reading
Against Doctor’s Orders: Women Continue Smoking, Drinking During Pregnancy
Sure, women in the 1950s and 60s smoked and drank throughout their pregnancies, but modern women are better informed about the risks of substance abuse during pregnancy. Pregnant women don’t always heed the doctor’s warnings, says a recent study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The study compared the instance of smoking, [...] Continue reading
Number of Babies Born With Opiate Withdrawal Triples Over Last Decade
Despite all the natural, home birth, and cloth diaper trends growing in popularity among mothers today, researchers are still seeing an increase in babies being born with symptoms of opiate withdrawal due to maternal drug use during pregnancy and at the time of delivery. A study published in the Journal of American Medical Association, conducted [...] Continue reading
Walking the Mommy Tightrope: Balancing the Baby and the Self
Before I was a parent, I never pictured myself watching a movie about a pre-teen idol. But, as I found myself watching Justin Bieber’s “Never Say Never” in the theater with my then five-year-old son, I had a Talking Heads moment: “You may ask yourself, how did I get here?” and “My God, what have [...] Continue reading
Too Much Information: Confessions of a Parent Who Shares Too Much on Facebook
My fellow parents: we are contributing toward a growing and alarming trend, a social faux pas of epic proportions. In an effort to convey the joys and challenges of parenthood, we are oversharing the diaper diaries and minutia of our children’s lives, running the risk of boring and occasionally grossing out our Facebook friends – [...] Continue reading
If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say: Don’t Scare or Guilt the Pregnant Woman
Pregnancy is a personal journey that, like it or not, we live publicly — some of us more publicly than others. While many of us prefer to keep the details of our pregnancy private, after a few months, our protruding bellies and other appearance changes become a public reality and conversation-starter – even from strangers. [...] Continue reading