By Andy Merrett
Apr 12, 2010
Pregnancy roundup: epilepsy, exercise, incontinence
A trio of pregnancy-related health topics hit the headlines last week. Here’s a roundup.
Drinking during pregnancy increases epilepsy risk
According to research from the University of New Mexico’s Department of Neurosciences, children of mothers who drink during their pregnancy are six times more likely to suffer from epilepsy as they grow older, with an increased risk of at least one seizure at some point during their lives.
This adds to a growing body of study that indicates connections between drinking during pregnancy and rates of alcoholism, drug abuse, depression, Parkinson’s Disease and stroke, and while it’s important to note that there’s no direct cause-effect here, it’s definitely something worth considering.
Exercising mothers give birth to lighter babies
Women who exercise while pregnant gave birth to babies on average a third of a pound lighter than those of women who didn’t.
By ‘exercise’, we’re talking about the equivalent of daily 40-minute stationary cycling sessions, maintained until at least the 36th week of pregnancy.
Dr Paul Hofman who led the study said: “Our findings show that regular aerobic exercise alters the maternal environment in some way that has an impact on nutrient stimulation of fetal growth, resulting in a reduction in offspring birth weight. Given that large birth size is associated with increased risk of obesity, a modest reduction in birthweight may have long-term health benefits for offspring by lowering this risk later in life.”
Incontinence during pregnancy ups risk afterwards
Women who experience any kind of incontinence during pregnancy are more likely than other women to have the problem after giving birth.
Unsurprisingly, natural childbirth carried a higher risk than those who had a caesarian section.
Over To You
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Family Relationships. Family Relationships said: Pregnancy roundup: epilepsy, exercise, incontinence: A trio of pregnancy-related health topics hit the headlines … http://bit.ly/by0b9E [...]
I’ve got some free exercises that
your readers might be interested in. They’re live daily workouts, but they record them so
they can be watched when you have time. I like these because I don’t get bored like I do with
DVD’s. Every day they have a new workout, but it’s complimentary to the previous day’s
workout. They’ve got a good mix of cardio and strength training. There are workouts for
men, women, and teens. It’s like having a personal trainer in your own home.
I can verify incontinence episodes both before and after childbirth. In the end I found this product gave me a lot more confidence to face the world: http://diurnetix.com/washable-briefs/women/ladies-drop-panel-brief.html
Unfortunately, this article can lead women down the path of electing for ceserean without being completely informed of the big picture. Such as, this study was performed a relatively short time after delivery when the pelvic floor muscles are still healing and getting back to full strength following a vaginal delivery. And how about the long term study that was conducted that showed no difference in the number of women experiencing pelvic floor dysfunction following vaginal and ceserean deliveries when surveyed years after deliveries. Plus if we are working toward full disclosure, how about the significant problems resulting from deep adhesions within the pelvis and abdomen following c-section incisions. Scar tissue forming deep adhesions from over-healing can cause pelvic floor pain, low back pain, hip pain, bowel problems, bladder problems, etc.
The bottom line, our bodies are effected by childbirth no matter what the mode of delivery.
[...] other studies have linked drinking during pregnancy to increased risk of epilepsy and other complications, and perhaps more seriously, the concept of ‘moderate alcohol [...]