Smoking During Pregnancy Common

New research shows smoking during pregnancy may be more common than previously thought.

A study of over 1500 pregnant women found just over 20% reported smoking.

Of those, 10% were dependent on nicotine.

A large number of the women who reported smoking also had mental disorders like depression and anxiety.

They were also more likely to be unmarried and have less than a high school education.

Experts say smoking during pregnancy is a preventable cause of illness and death among women and newborns, and more needs to be done to educate women about the risks.

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Woman Pregnant with Six Babies

ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. A St. Louis Park couple is getting ready to welcome not one, not two, but six babies this summer. Brianna and Ryan Morrison are in their early 20s and were married less than two years ago. Ryan Morrison, who works at a nonprofit organization, says the news of the multiple babies "hit us like a train." Brianna got the news during an ultrasound in her sixth week of pregnancy. Brianna is now 16 weeks along. She's under orders to eat and rest as much as possible -- with a goal of gaining 75 pounds by week 26. Since doctors expect the babies to be born early, they want Brianna to gain weight quickly, so that the babies can also gain weight quickly. Doctors hope the babies won't be delivered until at least the end of July. source

Pregnancy Depression Can Be Caused By Bad Eating Habits

University of Calgary researcher determined to gauge the problem's depth.

Diet impacts depression and the link is likely magnified among mothers-to-be, said Dr. Brenda Leung, a naturopath whose study is being supported by the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research.

"The issue of depression has been a growing problem ... and among pregnant women, it's more common than we realize," she said.

Depression in new and expecting mothers, she added, undermines child care and burdens the medical system.

To find out just how much, Leung will recruit 1,000 pregnant women in January and monitor their food intake.

About 16% of Calgary mothers suffer from post-partum depression, Leung said.

"So much focus is on physical health, but mental health has so much of an impact on how we function," she said. Source

Divorced Parenting: Hollywood Style

Acrimonious Hollywood divorces are so last year. Splitting up while staying together is what's hot now.

Which former couple do you think is doing the best job of parenting after a split?

Pam & Tommy

Jude & Sadie

Richie & Heather

Bruce & Demi

Charlie & Denise

Ryan & Reese

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Scary Spice's Baby Girl

OK! Magazine is introducing Melanie Brown's, former Spice Girl, new daughter, Angel Iris Murphy Brown. Isn't she adorable? It took Melanie some time to decide on the baby's name. I remember reading gossip blogs with rumored names for the baby. I think Angel Iris is a beautiful name and a great choice.

Melanie explains her choice as follows, 'Angel, as she was my little angel through my pregnancy. Iris, as it's my grandma's name, Murphy because he's the dad and Brown because I'm the mum!'

With all the controversy surrounding Eddie Murphy being the father or not, Melanie says Angel has his dimples and smile.

Melanie also has another daughter, Phoenix Chi, 8 years old.

pregnancy baby pregnant melanie brown scary spice spice girl pregnancy weekly eddie murphyok magazine celebrities family

Calcium May Prevent Hypertension in Pregnancy

Researchers have discovered a simple solution for a potentially dangerous problem for expectant mothers. Moms-to-be who are at risk for, or have, high blood pressure during their pregnancy may be able to prevent serious medical problems simply by boosting their calcium intake.

Gestational hypertension, or high blood pressure that develops during pregnancy, affects as many as 10 percent of all pregnancies in the United States. This condition can threaten the life of the mother and cause serious complications for the child, including preterm birth, low birth weight and even stillbirth. It is estimated that over 40,000 women world-wide will die from the complications of gestational hypertension this year.

It seems, however, that a simple change in diet may lower a woman’s risk of hypertension by as much as 67 percent. For poorer nations, especially where dairy products are rare, calcium supplements may be a simple and cheap way to prevent gestational hypertension.

“The greatest reduction in risk was for women at high risk and those with low baseline dietary calcium intake,” wrote Dr. G.J. Hofmeyr, lead study author in The Cochrane Library.

For the study, Hofmeyr and colleagues reviewed 12 previous studies that included thousands of women from all over the world. In these studies, researchers gave those women with gestational hypertension calcium supplements of varying doses.

Not surprisingly, the additional calcium seemed to help most of those women who already had a low-calcium intake, but a slight reduction in hypertension risk was even apparent in women who ate an adequate amount of calcium.

Hofmeyr suggests that more research needs to be done to confirm the benefit of calcium supplementation for pregnant women and also to establish an appropriate dosage, but this treatment may be a safe, simple solution to a deadly problem.

“It is relatively cheap and readily available,” he wrote. “Also, it is likely to be safe for the mother and the child.”

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