Pregnant women have been advised to have a daily supplement of 150 micrograms. Health experts are urging pregnant women in Tasmania to take iodine supplements to lessen the chances of their children developing low IQ’s. The Director of Public Health, Dr Roscoe Taylor, says most Tasmanians are iodine deficient because of low levels in soil and water. He says the health consequences of iodine deficiency in pregnant and breastfeeding women is greater because of the risk to babies.
Dr Taylor says iodine is essential to ensure normal development of the brain and nervous system. Low levels in pregnant mothers could result in their babies having lower IQ’s. He has written to all health practitioners around the state asking them to encourage expectant mothers to take an iodine supplement of 150 micrograms every day, equivalent to eating nine cans of tuna.
Iodine is a trace mineral, often referred to as “iodide”. Iodine is vital for the thyroid hormones that regulate our metabolism, body temperature, reproduction, growth, blood cell production as well as nerve and muscle function. Low thyroid hormones can cause a person to become sluggish and gain weight, affecting their general health, their fertility and ability to carry a pregnancy.
It is important to ensure adequate iodine intake during preconception, pregnancy and breast feeding. During pregnancy, the baby is entirely dependent upon maternal iodine, which plays a significant role in normal central nervous system formation and maturation. Iodine deficiency during pregnancy is the commonest worldwide cause of preventable intellectual impairment and can be associated with losses of up to 10 -15 IQ points.
Around 60% of pregnant Australian women in a recent survey had low iodine levels -mainly due to decreased consumption of iodised salt and changes within […]
Low Iodine is More Common Than You Think, Especially When Pregnant!
Australian Women Not Having the Births They Expect
Pregnant women have unrealistic expectations about their chances of having an uncomplicated birth and may feel cheated and depressed when they have obstetric interventions, a Victorian study has found. A survey of almost 200 women with a first pregnancy at a Melbourne hospital found that they believed they had a 56% chance of having an uncomplicated birth without the need for induction, forceps, suction cup or caesarean. However, Victorian data show that a woman’s actual chance of a medically uncomplicated birth is only 21%.
Does this reflect our medical systems high intervention rate? In my experience when women birth, suggestions for “moving things along” come far too quickly. Is it to free up hospital beds or keep within “time frames”? Either way, the fact that 80% of women have a birth that involves induction, forceps, suction cup or caesarean is unacceptable to me. What happened to the trust and belief that a woman can birth naturally? Of course there are circumstances that require intervention but I don’t believe that it needs to be as high as 80%!
Likewise, women believed they had a 31% chance of having a delivery without the need for sutures, but the actual chance was only 8%! Attending antenatal classes did not give women a more realistic view of childbirth interventions, the study found.
The findings published in the Australia and NZ Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in January 2012 showed that medical staff also had overoptimistic expectations of a natural birth, with obstetricians predicting a 41% chance of uncomplicated delivery and medical students rating the chances as 45%.
This study is groundbreaking as it highlights where we need to focus our work –supporting a mother to trust her body to bright naturally and […]
Children Born to Stressed Mums Have Higher Health Risks – Latest Research
A study just released has demonstrated the strong link between a pregnant woman’s stress levels and the negative effects this has on her child. It is one of the first big studies to prove that while in the womb we are being influenced by maternal hormones and when it comes to high stress levels, that is not a good thing. In fact, it leads to a higher risk factor for malformations, asthma, and mental and behavioural disorders. The study was based on over 66,000 mums and bubs and assessed by a team of clinical psychologists.
Key findings were:
There was an increased risk of mental disorders during the first 2.5 years of life in children of mothers reporting high life stress during pregnancy compared with mothers reporting low life stress.
Maternal life stress during pregnancy was also associated with an increased risk in the diseases of the eye, ear, respiratory system, digestive system, skin, musculoskeletal system and genitourinary system in children.
Maternal life stress during pregnancy was again associated with an increased risk of congenital malformations in offspring.
Maternal emotional stress during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk for the first diagnosis of infectious and parasitic diseases.
The analysis of the data revealed that elevated stress levels across pregnancy altered the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (proteins that serve as messengers between cells of the immune system) in the offspring; the dysregulation of cytokine production could cause certain mental disorders, infectious diseases and diseases of the various body systems. This shows the importance of having an anti-inflammatory style diet that is high in vegetables, nuts, seeds, fish and healthy fats. It also supports a place for antioxidants in pregnancy to counter balance cellular stress.
During my pregnancy I ate organic, anti […]
Acupuncture May Help Relieve The Symptoms Of PCOS.
Acupuncture and exercise may help women better handle the symptoms and risks that come with hormone imbalances caused by certain ovarian cysts, Swedish researchers report.
About one in 10 women of reproductive age have polycystic ovarian syndrome, a condition that can start in the teen years and cause irregular menstrual cycles and infertility. Small immature cysts on the ovaries disrupt hormone production, causing excessive secretion of testosterone, the male sex hormone. In addition to infertility, it can increase a woman’s odds of becoming obese and developing type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease, the study authors explained.
While the syndrome’s cause remains mysterious, researchers believe it is linked to a highly active sympathetic nervous system, part of the body’s internal controls that regulate several functions one cannot willingly manage, such as how wide one’s pupils dilate.
In the study, women with polycystic ovarian syndrome were separated into three groups: one group received regular electro-acupuncture, in which weak electric current is sent through the needles; another group was given heart-rate monitors and told to exercise three or more times per week; the last group was given no additional treatment or instructions. After a four-month period, women in the acupuncture and exercise groups ended up with lower sympathetic nervous system activity, though the acupuncture group received additional benefits, the researchers found.
“Those who received acupuncture found that their menstruation became more normal. We could also see that their levels of testosterone became significantly lower, and this is an important observation, since elevated testosterone levels are closely connected with the increased activity in the sympathetic nervous system of women,” study author Elisabet Stener-Victorin, an associate professor who has led the research at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, […]
Protecting the Future Fertility of Women
With fertility issues affecting one in six couples in Australia, there is renewed interest in preconception care amongst would- be parents. One expert from First Response advises that women in their 20s need to be aware that their future fertility relies on their current lifestyle practices. Research has proven the importance of vitamins in pregnancy already and a prime example is iodine.Throughout history, ancient civilisations knew that the time before a woman became pregnant was very special and required a specific diet. This primitive wisdom involved feeding special foods rich in fat soluble vitamins as well as macro and trace minerals to both men and women for a period of time before conception.Women today are being urged to consider protecting their chances of getting pregnant, considering what is now known about the connection between the decline of fertility and age. Advanced technology offers procedures and techniques to artificially preserve a woman’s fertility, however, Dr Mike Smith, expert for fertility brand First Response says “Living a healthy lifestyle will help to improve future fertility”.Recent media attention focused on technology enabling a young woman to freeze her ovaries with the idea of delaying motherhood until later in life has divided experts. Dr Sherman Silber, who conducted the first full ovary transplant in 2007, told the American Society for Reproductive Medicine that the procedure would work better than egg freezing. Other experts warn that this technology has not yet been fully tested and gives no guarantee of conception when the ovaries are re-implanted.Tony Rutherford, chairman of the British Fertility Society, said the research was still very recent and much more needed to be done to ensure the procedure’s effectiveness, especially in how successful the re-grafting of the […]
Fertility Problems Linked to O Blood Type
A study out of Yale University and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine has found that women with blood type O are at double the risk of diminished ovarian reserve than women of other blood types. However, one expert on fertility says more research needs to be done after these “surprising and stark” findings.Women under the age of 45 were measured for levels of the reproductive hormone FSH. An FSH level greater than 10 indicated diminished ovarian reserve. Other fertility factors including age and body mass index (BMI) were considered before comparing the blood types and FSH levels of patients.Researchers discovered that women with types A or AB blood were significantly less likely to have an FSH greater than 10 than were women with types O or B blood.“This is a novel look at a poorly understood part of reproductive aging. Through studies like these we will be better able to understand the complexities of the human reproductive system,” says William Gibbons, MD, president of the ASRM. In Australia, 49% of Australians have type O, 38% type A, 10% type B and 3% type AB.More research is needed, however. The FSH method isn’t the most accurate for measuring fertility but can assess approximates of egg reserve. A more precise marker of ovarian reserve is to measure a woman’s anti-mullerian hormones (AMH).Richard Fleming, PhD, and scientific director of the Glasgow Centre for Reproductive Medicine comments on type O women wanting to have a baby, saying “It is an interesting, and to me, quite surprising finding that needs to be substantiated. Therefore, the implication for someone with type O is number one, don’t worry.”“Number two, if women have fertility concerns,” Fleming says, “get their AMH measured, […]
Eating For An Erection – Does Diet Affect Erectile Function?
Encouraging men to eat a healthier diet may have just got a bit easier. Epidemiological evidence now clearly supports a role for several dietary factors in the pathogenesis of erectile dysfunction.The prevalence of erectile dysfunction is surprisingly high. A review of general practice patients in Perth, Australia in 2000 found almost 40% of men reported some erectile difficulties. Figures on prevalence vary but before the age of forty it is uncommon, however it more than doubles for men over 50 and continues to rise quickly as men age. Over 70% of men over 70 are having problems.Exercising regularly and staying lean are clearly beneficial. Now diet is proving its potency. Men with a dietary pattern high in fruit, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, and fish but low in red and processed meat and refined grains are less likely to have difficulty achieving and maintaining an erection.The Mediterranean diet has been proposed as a healthy dietary pattern based on evidence that it is associated with lower all-cause and disease-specific survival. The assumption is that these beneficial effects are primarily due to improved cardiovascular function although other mechanisms are likely to contribute.Type 2 diabetic men whose diets most closely match the Mediterranean style of eating have the lowest prevalence of erectile dysfunction and are also more likely to be sexually active.We can now show that the prescription of a healthier diet for men with erectile difficulties improves performance, especially in men with obesity of metabolic syndrome. In clinical trials, the Mediterranean diet was more effective than a control diet in ameliorating erectile dysfunction or restoring absent erectile function.ReferenceDietary Factors, Mediterranean Diet and Erectile Dysfunction. Esposito K, Giugliano F, Maiorino MI, Giugliano D. J Sex Med. 2010 May […]
Obesity Linked to Lower Sperm Count in Young Men
Young men who are obese may have a lower sperm count than their normal-weight counterparts, a new study suggests. The findings, reported in the journal Fertility and Sterility, add to evidence tying obesity to relatively poorer quality sperm. A number of recent studies have found that compared with leaner men, obese men tend to have lower sperm counts, fewer rapidly mobile sperm and fewer progressively motile sperm, which refers to sperm that swim forward in a straight line rather than moving about aimlessly.But age is a “confounding” factor in examining the relationship between obesity and sperm quality. Older men tend to have lower sperm quality than younger men, and they also tend to have more body fat. However, among the more than 2,000 men in the current study, obese men between the ages of 20 and 30 generally had a lower sperm count than normal-weight men in the same age group.What all of this might mean for an obese younger man’s chances of becoming a father is unclear. Studies have so far come to conflicting conclusions as to whether obesity actually impairs a man’s fertility. And these latest findings do not reveal whether the difference in sperm count between obese and normal-weight men would be enough to also make a difference in their fertility, according to lead researcher Dr. Uwe Paasch, of the University of Leipzig in Germany.For their study, Paasch and his colleagues used information from a database on men who had come to their fertility clinic for a semen analysis between 1999 and 2005. The 2,157 men included in the study were 30 years old, on average, and had no known infertility problems.Overall, obese men had a relatively lower average sperm count […]
80% Pregnant Women Low in Vitamin D
Widespread vitamin D deficiency among pregnant women suggests that antenatal screening for deficiency should be extended to all women, not just those traditionally considered to be at high risk, Australian researchers say.A study in a region of northern Victoria found that around 80% of low-risk pregnant women have insufficient vitamin D levels, 28% have mild deficiency during the winter months and 7% have moderate to severe deficiency.The study of more than 330 women attending routine antenatal clinics in Shepparton also found that deficiency was also present in the summer months, with 50% of pregnant women having insufficient vitamin D levels (between 50 and 75mmol/L), 12% having mild vitamin D deficiency (25-50mmol/L) and 3% having moderate to severe deficiency.The findings, published in the Australia and NZ Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology may explain why some children in the region still develop rickets even though there is abundant sunshine, say the study authors from the Rural Clinical School of the University of Melbourne. They note that vitamin D deficiency was almost universal in women in their study who were from high risk groups such as those from Arabic backgrounds.“However, our study would support routine testing for all antenatal women, as even apparently low risk women are commonly vitamin D deficient,” they write. The only question remaining is over the optimum level of supplementation, they say, with some doubt about whether the daily supplements of 800IU of vitamin D a day may be insufficient to raise vitamin D levels.
Acupuncture – Why You Should Do It
Acupuncture treatments appear to help to reduce insulin resistance, according to a report just released from the Kanazawa Medical University in Japan. Acupuncture has been practiced for thousands of years in China and has been increasingly used worldwide for insulin resistance-related diseases.The report was based on the analysis of 234 publications on the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for problems related to insulin resistance. All together, these publications provide clinical evidence indicating that acupuncture is effective for reducing insulin resistance.Researchers at Goteborg University in Sweden published a review article on acupuncture for PCOS. They concluded: “Clearly, acupuncture can affect PCOS via modulation of…the sympathetic nervous system, the endocrine and the neuroendocrine system.”Have you overlooked acupuncture as a wholistic way to help you deal with polycystic ovary syndrome and insulin resistance? I love acupuncture and always tell women going through IVF to have sessions before and after their embryo transfer. Acupuncture is also fantastic when women are overdue with their pregnancy and a very easy, non invasive way to get labour started. Maybe you should give it a try.Consider adding an experienced acupuncturist to your personal healthcare team. At Darling Street Health Centre we have a very experienced clinician, Lina Thornton who I can’t say enough great things about!Sources: Liang F et al, Acupuncture: is it effective for treatment of insulin resistance?, Diabetes Obes Metab. 2010 Jul;12(7):555-69Stener-Vuictorin E et al, Acupuncture in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Current Experimental and Clinical Evidence, J Neuroendocrinol. 2008 Mar;20(3):290-8
