<p align="center">---</p> <p align="center"><font color="#800000" face="Tahoma"><b>Your browser does not show frames for some reason.</b></font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Tahoma">Our <a href="http://www.ChangeIP.com/ddnsinfo.asp">Dynamic DNS</a> system is flexible.</font></p> <p align="center"><b><font face="Tahoma"><a href="http://nurturedmother.ca/parenting.php/contactus.php">http://nurturedmother.ca/parenting.php/contactus.php</a></font></b></p> <p align="center">---</p> <p align="center"> </p>  NurturedMother.Ca About us Contact Us Advertise with Us Home Page House & Home Parenting Body & Mind Relationships The Shop Live Chats Holistic Birth & Parenting Pregnancy & Birth Breastfeeding The Milk Chain The Newman Files Today's Family Growing & Changing Child Product Recalls Product Reviews Natural Parenting "If we were all first time parents isolated on a deserted island without the advice of baby books, doctors, psychologists or in-laws - you would care for your child instinctively - breastfeeding, holding and carrying your baby during the day and sleeping with your baby at night." Dr William Sears 'The Baby Book' Keeping A Breast-Latest News November 2006 November 4th-12th, 2006 Breastfeeding may not do much for verbal skills Tue Nov 7 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Preschoolers who were breast-fed show stronger verbal abilities than their bottle-fed peers, but the advantage may have more to do with their parents than with breast milk, a new study suggests. The findings, reported in the journal Pediatrics, suggest that some of the brain benefits that have been attributed to breastfeeding are not solely a result of breast milk nutrients. Instead, researchers found, mothers who breastfeed tend to have stronger verbal skills themselves, and may be better equipped to promote the same in their children. "The beneficial effects of breastfeeding on children's cognition may emerge only when breastfeeding is done in conjunction with other positive parenting behaviors," write the study authors, led by Dr. Christina Gibson-Davis of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. A number of past studies have linked breastfeeding with higher childhood IQ scores. Certain fatty acids found in breast milk are known to aid nervous system development, and researchers have speculated that this explains the IQ gains. But it's also possible, Gibson-Davis and her colleagues point out, that general parenting practices are the main factor. For example, mothers who breastfeed tend to be better educated, and they may be more likely to engage their children in "stimulating activities," such as reading. For their study, the researchers had 1,645 3-year-olds take a standard test of vocabulary; their mothers took the same test, scored according to their age. Investigators visited the families at home to give them the tests, and to rate the home environment. In general, the study found, children who were breastfed for at least one month scored higher on the vocabulary test than bottle-fed children did -- about 7 points higher, on average. But the advantage nearly disappeared when the researchers factored in the mothers' test scores, suggesting that maternal verbal ability largely explained the breastfeeding benefit. In fact, the study found, breastfeeding showed no effect on children's verbal ability when their mother had only a high school education. Only when mothers had some higher education was there a small benefit of breastfeeding on verbal test scores. "The advantageous effects of breastfeeding do not seem to be solely attributable to the superior nutrient content of breast milk," Gibson-Davis and her colleagues conclude. The findings do not diminish the importance of breastfeeding, which experts consider the best nutrition for infants. In general, it's recommended that babies be given breast milk exclusively for the first 6 months of life. However, Gibson-Davis and her colleagues conclude, parenting skills are clearly key in young children's cognitive development, whether they breastfeed or bottle-feed. SOURCE: Pediatrics, November 2006. Study finds Seasonal and Environmental Factors can cause Premature Births A research paper published in the November 2006 edition of BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology reveals seasonal and environmental variations can result in higher incidences of premature births. An international review of the available literature was conducted, cross-referenced to an analysis of the seasonal variability of preterm births across 18 maternity units over 12 years in the North West Thames region of London. The review of research demonstrated that seasonal patterns do exist around the world. Results from developed and developing countries were compared. In countries where there are harsher seasonal changes such as the United States and Japan, winter and summer recorded the highest numbers of preterm births. In developing countries, seasonal patterns revealed a correlation between nutrition and maternal weight loss in determining whether babies were born premature. In Gambia for instance, preterm births were recorded twice a year, between the start and end of the ?hungry' season. The risk of preterm births in London occurs during the winter between November and December. Unlike the USA and Japan, England's temperate climate means that the population is not exposed to the same extreme temperatures experienced in those two countries. The authors also reveal how medical factors present at the time of birth (many of which are seasonal), rather than during the time of conception, may result in preterm births. Risk factors such as genital tract infections, and external environmental factors such as drops in barometric pressure or high levels of atmospheric pollution all contribute to more preterm births. Dr Sue Lee of the Oxford Tropical Medicine Programme at Mahidol University, Thailand said, ?Our study clearly demonstrated that a seasonal pattern of preterm births exists in the UK with the highest risk of preterm birth occurring in winters. However, the study was conducted in a London-based population only and should therefore not be generalised to the entire UK population without caution. These findings have potential implications for planning and preparation for preterm births for hospitals and carers. The next logical step would be to try and understand what is causing the seasonal differences in preterm birth rates so that interventions can be tailored toward using this information to reduce the consequences of preterm birth.? Ric Warren, RCOG Honorary Secretary said, ?Establishing seasonal patterns of birth can have important implications for the delivery of healthcare services. Anticipating these changes could potentially reduce morbidity and mortality of preterm births. Preterm birth is one of the largest contributors to mortality in neonates and infants, and to morbidity later in life. Expanding our knowledge of environmental factors is one step towards reducing the frequency of preterm births.? Exercise during Pregnancy Deemed Safe for At-Risk African-American Women November 6, 2006-A recently completed study says exercise during pregnancy appears to be safe - even for Black women who were considered at high risk for pregnancy complications. The study which focused on poor, urban African American women in the Baltimore, Maryland area found that "Exercise participation did not increase of decrease the risk of low birth weight or pre-term birth," according to the co-author Sueanne Orr, Ph.D. Orr added that there had not been much information about the impact of exercise on the pregnancies of low-income Black women. Most of the research had been done on middle-class white women. Full results of the study appear in the current issue of the medical journal Ethnicity and Disease. Dr. Orr is with the Department of Health Education and Promotion at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. Holistic Birth & Parenting Email Community Click to join holistic_birth_parenting The Newman Files Copyright ©2006 RILYA Productions | All rights reserved Design by SmallBrook Designs and Carpe Lumen <a href="aboutus.php">About us</a> <a href="contactus.php">Contact Us</a> <a href="ad