New study – financial incentives for breastfeeding
A scientific paper out today in the journal JAMA Paediatrics has suggested mothers breast feed for longer if given financial incentives for breastfeeding. The world health organisation recommends...
New study: insufficient evidence to guide recommendations on vitamin D in pregnancy
Today a group from Canada have published a paper in the British Medical Journal which concludes that there is insufficient evidence to guide recommendations on vitamin D in pregnancy. The group...
40 years of IVF
On this day, 10th of November, 40 years ago, the first successful In Vitro Fertilization took place in England, where Prof, Robert Edwards and Dr Patrick Steptoe pioneered a method that would change...
Preventing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after Childbirth: Why Compassionate Care Matters
By Tracy Sealey I received a phone call from a client this week, distressed after an appointment with her midwife. She had wanted to discuss giving birth in the hospital’s midwife led unit but had...
Does Stevia affect fertility?
Stevia is a sugar substitute with a very sweet taste that doesn’t add calories into our meal and it is used to sweeten food and drinks. However, there has been a lot of debate within the last...
Care after miscarriage
Sadly, miscarriages are more common than people realise. After a positive pregnancy test, between 10 per cent and 20 per cent of pregnancies end in miscarriage. Most miscarriages happen in the first...
The unspoken facts about depression during pregnancy
While postnatal depression is commonly spoken of, it is estimated that around one in 10 women will develop some form of depression during their pregnancy. Recent studies show that in fact, women are...
Pesticides reduce live birth rate of women undergoing IVF
Previous studies have shown that pesticides affect the live birth rate in rodents. But very little has been done to examine this in humans. Today a paper has been published in the journal JAMA...
Conflicting advice when women should have children
It is National Fertility Awareness Week in the UK which aims to raise awareness and change perceptions of fertility issues. One of the problems with fertility and media reporting is the conflicting...
Clinical trial shows that pre and probiotics can prevent sepsis in newborns
Sepsis remains a major source of morbidity and death in infants in developing countries. Sepsis is the clinical diagnosis of an infection which leads to systemic inflammatory response. This... New study shows vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of pre-eclampsia
A small study out last week has shown that vitamin D deficiency can increase the risk of pre-eclampsia. The vitamin D receptor and the enzyme used to convert vitamin D to active vitamin D are...
Runny eggs are back on the menu for pregnant women
By Dr Claire Senner Pregnant women in the UK rejoiced this week as the Food Standards Agency (FSA) announced that they could safely enjoy runny eggs once more. The announcement, which also applies to...
New study confirms tests of fertility potential are ineffective
For many years, some companies and IVF clinics have been marketing a test for women that they say can determine how fertile a woman is, even though there has been no evidence that the test is...
Parenting books do more harm than good
Written by Dr Claire Senner A study from the university of Swansea has indicated that new mothers would do well to steer clear of baby-care guides that advocate strict routines for feeding and...
New study reviewing the effects of drinking alcohol during pregnancy
There are very limited scientific studies on the effects of alcohol during pregnancy. Today a group of scientists from Bristol University have published a review of 26 scientific studies on drinking...
Can we bring our children up in a gender neutral environment?
In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society. But can we prevent sex discrimination if we expose our children to gender...
UK: Clarks shoes sparks sexism outrage
Last week in the UK, the biggest provider of children’s school shoes, Clarks, sparked an outrage by producing gender specific shoes with the names “Leader” for boys and “Dolly...
UK: Midwives change their mind about natural childbirth
In the UK, for over a decade midwives have encouraged women to have ‘natural’ childbirth by avoiding medical intervention such as epidurals, induction, instruments and Caesarians. Four in...
