More women in the north of England smoke while pregnant compared with the south, official figures for the last three months of 2011 have shown.
The data, published by the NHS Information Centre covering 167,300 pregnancies, showed 20% of women in the North East were smokers when they gave birth, compared with 6% in London.
The overall figure for England is 13.4%, down from 15% in 2006-07.
Smoking in pregnancy is linked to low birthweight and premature delivery. Of the pregnant women in England who classed themselves as smokers at the time of giving birth, rates varied from 2.8% in Brent, London, to 30.3% in Blackpool. Smoking rates were higher in every northern strategic health authority, compared with those in the south.
The data was provided by GP practices via 149 primary care trusts.
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MumStuff – Bloomin’ Natural Aloe Face Mask (Pregnancy Skincare) 50g Why not try our Bloomin’ Natural Aloe Face Mask, with organic lavender and ylang ylang, to give your face a natural revitalise and refresh? Great for when those hormones are raging!
A new BBC Three series is looking for couples who are expecting their first baby.
Dads ..are you going to be a first time father? Would you like to be more involved in the birth?
Mums …does the sound of your partner helping midwives deliver your baby appeal to you?
If so then please get in touch with us on….
pregnant@bbc.co.uk
0208 5761081
The BBC reports today that new research has shown that IVF babies born from frozen embryos are heavier and result in longer pregnancies than those born from fresh embryos.
A study presented at the British Fertility Society annual meeting says transferring frozen embryos may lead to healthier babies. But the reasons behind the findings are unclear, the researchers say.
The BBC report that the study, carried out at the Centre for Reproductive and Genetic Health in London, involved measuring the weight and length of gestation of 384 babies born after fresh embryo transfer and 108 born after frozen embryo transfer.
Freezing embryos enables couples to have several cycles of IVF with eggs collected during one round of treatment. By freezing some embryos, couples can use up their fresh ones before moving on to frozen ones at a later date.
The results of the study showed that babies born from frozen embryos were, on average, 253g (0.56lb) heavier than those born from fresh embryos.
“This means that resulting babies may potentially be healthier if frozen embryos are transferred rather than fresh embryos” Suzanne Cawood Centre for Reproductive and Genetic Health.
The proportion of low birthweight babies (weighing less than 2.5kg) was also lower in this group – 3.7%, compared with 10.7% of babies born from fresh embryos. Frozen embryo babies typically had a longer gestation period (an average of 0.65 weeks longer) than those born from fresh embryos, the research also found.
A new BBC Three series is looking for couples who are expecting their first baby.
Is your man helping you through your pregnancy?
Is he planning to be at the birth?
Would you like him to get more involved?
If this is you get in touch…
alice.dodge@bbc.co.uk
The BBC reports that scientists have identified a “fertility switch” protein which appears to increase infertility if levels are too high and fuel miscarriage if too low.
In an interesting article on the BBC website, they report that an Imperial College London team took samples from the womb lining of more than 100 women. Writing in Nature Medicine they said women with unexplained infertility had high levels of the enzyme SGK1, while those who miscarried had low levels. One fertility expert said the research offered new avenues for research.
About one in six women have difficulty getting pregnant, and one in 100 women trying to conceive experience recurrent miscarriages, defined as the loss of three or more consecutive pregnancies.
Have a look at the full article on the BBC website.
According to the BBC, a 44-year-old mother who did not realise she was pregnant is recovering at home after giving birth on a Derbyshire street. Jane Eadie, from Langley Mill, said she was amazed when she gave birth to her third baby – a boy named James – on King Street in Belper on 24 September.
She believed she had gained weight over the past nine months because she had stopped taking some pills. Mrs Eadie also thought she had started the menopause.
Mrs Eadie had been out shopping when she felt unwell and sat down on a bench. Her daughter Elizabeth Anderson, 23, was with her when she gave birth in front of shoppers.
“I just couldn’t believe it. I just thought it was a dream until we saw the baby. He’s wonderful,” Ms Anderson said.
“Everyone kept running up to us and going ah, congratulations.”
We have a small number of Babystart Ovulation Test Kits available at the bargain price of £2.50 with no delivery charge. These kits are dated November 2011, so will be fine to use this month and next if you are trying to conceive.
The Babystart test is 99% accurate and there are 5 dipstick tests is each box so you can use it over a number of days. The dipstick is used with a urine sample. Full instructions are included.
Edwin Poots, the health minister in Northern Ireland, has said that women there who choose to have a Caesarean for non-medical reasons may have to pay for the operation. Mr. Poots is launching a consultation on a review of maternity services.
Around 30% of deliveries in Northern Ireland are by Caesarean section – the highest level in the UK and Ireland.
Mr Poots is hoping that women will be encouraged to have homebirths or consider having their baby in midwife-led unit. To have a caesarean section costs thousands of pounds more and Poot believes that savings can be made. At present, women who elect to go private to have a Caesarean on non-medical grounds pay for their pre and post-natal care. But the cost of the delivery is met by the health service.
Mr Poots said if women chose the more expensive option, it was their choice. “People are already buying private care in the hospital,” he said. “If you want to go down that route, if you want to pay for it, it is totally up to yourself, but I don’t feel that we the public in Northern Ireland should be paying additional money for people to have the choice.”
The minister said he expected to see a “considerable” number of midwifery units being established. “A lot of them would be set up in association with the main maternity unit, so they would be on the same site as existing hospitals,” he said. “Women would be giving birth totally with the midwives but there would be a fallback position of having an obstetrician nearby if things do not work out.”
Any comments???
Researchers have discovered that levels of testosterone go down after fatherhood reports the BBC. This drop in the male hormone presumably makes the dad more family-oriented and less likely to stray, says the resreach team, as testosterone increases a man’s sex drive and helps him compete for a mate.
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences work followed 624 young men before and after they became fathers. This revealed that as soon as a man had a baby, his testosterone levels dropped substantially. Men with newborn babies less than a month old had especially reduced levels of testosterone.
The lead investigator of the work carried out in the Philippines, Christopher Kuzawa, said: “Raising human offspring is such an effort that it is co-operative by necessity, and our study shows that human fathers are biologically wired to help with the job. Fatherhood and the demands of having a newborn baby require many emotional, psychological and physical adjustments. Our study indicates that a man’s biology can change substantially to help meet those demands.”
And the researchers believe lower testosterone levels might protect against certain chronic diseases, which could, in part, explain why married men and fathers often enjoy better health than single men of the same age.
Dr Allan Pacey, senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield, said the findings were fascinating:
“Testosterone levels in men generally don’t change that much. They can slowly decline as men get older and change in response to some medical conditions and treatment. But to see dramatic changes in response to family life is intriguing.
“The observations could make some evolutionary sense if we accept the idea that men with lower testosterone levels are more likely to be monogamous with their partner and care for children. However, it would be important to check that link between testosterone levels and behaviour before we could be certain.”
Any comments? However, your partner is managing after the birth, don’t forget to treat him with one of our many gifts for New Dad!
