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10 Healthy Pregnancy Tips

2009-12-07T11:17:00.000-08:00

By Environmental Working Group's Staff

Pregnancy is a critical time. A mother’s chemical exposures can adversely affect her baby in many ways. Here are some simple but important steps you can take to reduce the risks during pregnancy - and beyond.

1. Don’t smoke
Cigarettes contain thousands of chemicals that have been proven to cause harm, including raising the risk of low birth weight and size, reduced lung capacity and impaired brain function. Babies born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy are at higher risk of asthma, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), learning disabilities, diminished IQ and behavioral problems.

2. Get your iodine
Use iodized salt, especially while pregnant and nursing, and take iodine-containing vitamins. Iodine buffers against chemicals such as perchlorate that can disrupt your thyroid system and affect your baby’s brain development during pregnancy and infancy.

3. Eat good fats
Omega-3 fatty acids can offset the toxic effects of lead and mercury. Omega-3’s are plentiful in fish, eggs, nuts, oils and produce. Choose low-mercury fish such as salmon, tilapia and pollock, rather than high-mercury tuna and swordfish. Breast milk is the best source of good fats (and other benefits) for babies and protects them from toxic chemicals.

4. Go organic and eat fresh foods
Opt for organic fruits and veggies, or use FoodNews.org to find conventionally grown produce with the least pesticide residue. Choose milk and meat produced without added growth hormones. Limit canned food, since can linings usually contain bisphenol-A (BPA).

5. Drink safer water
It’s important for pregnant women to drink plenty of water. Use a reverse osmosis system or carbon filter pitcher to reduce your exposure to impurities such as chlorine, perchlorate and lead. Don't drink bottled water, which costs more and isn't necessarily better. If you’re out and about, use a stainless steel, glass or BPA-free plastic reusable container. Mix infant formula with fluoride-free water.

6. Choose better body care products
Just because the label says "gentle" or "natural" doesn't mean a product is kid-safe. Look it up on CosmeticsDatabase.com. Read the ingredients and avoid triclosan, BHA, fragrance and oxybenzone.

7. Identify lead sources & avoid them
Have your tap water tested for lead from pipes and avoid any home remodeling if your house was built before 1978, when lead house paint was banned. Dust from sanding or blasting old paint is a common source of exposure.

8. Clean greener
Household cleaners, bug killers, pet treatments and air fresheners can irritate kids’ and babies’ lungs – especially if they have asthma. Check out less toxic alternatives. Some ideas: vinegar in place of bleach, baking soda to scrub your tiles, hydrogen peroxide to remove stains. Use a wet mop/rag and a HEPA-filter vacuum to get rid of dust – which can contain contaminants. Leave shoes – and the pollutants they track inside -- at the door. Get EWG’s Tips for Greener Home Cleaning.

9. Pick plastics carefully
Some plastics contain toxic chemicals, including BPA, PVC and phthalates. Don’t reuse single-use containers or microwave food in plastic containers. Avoid PVC by hanging a natural-fabric shower curtain. When remodeling, go with PVC-free flooring and pipes.

10. Think ahead to baby.

* Breast milk is best, but if you use formula, choose a powdered product and mix it with filtered water (without fluoride). See EWG’s Babysafe Guide.
* Choose glass or BPA-free plastic baby bottles.
* Use organic baby food and milk when the time comes.
* Avoid fire retardants in nursing pillows, furniture, and electronics.
* Choose fewer and safer body care products, including diaper cream, wipes and soap.
* When you outfit the nursery, choose an organic crib mattress or use a wool cover.

Originally published in Environmental Working Group's EWG.org. Republished with permission.

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Laughter is the best medicine:Part-2

2008-01-04T09:15:00.000-08:00

TEACHER : Why are you late?
BALGOBIN : Because of the sign.
TEACHER : What sign?
BALGOBIN : The one that says, "School Ahead, Go Slow."

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TEACHER : Balgobin, why are you doing your math sums on the floor?
BALGOBIN : You told me to do it without using tables!

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TEACHER : Balgobin, how do you spell "crocodile"?
BALGOBIN : "K-R-O-K-O-D-A-I-L"
TEACHER : No, that's wrong
BALGOBIN : Maybe it's wrong, but you asked me how I spell it!

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TEACHER : What is the chemical formula for water?
BALGOBIN : "HIJKLMNO"!!
TEACHER : What are you talking about?
BALGOBIN : Yesterday you said it's H to O!

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TEACHER : Balgobin, go to the map and find North America.
BALGOBIN : Here it is!
TEACHER : Correct. Now, class, who discovered America?
Class: Balgobin

Funny Video

Source:Rohit(my orkut friend).Thank you Rohit.

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Interesting Stories on Sleep

2007-09-24T09:32:00.001-07:00

It's said sleep plays an important role in the development of a baby.This is especially true with regard to the baby's brain.In fact it's as important to us as is our daily diet.

But we have heard of men going without food for months and years.If you haven't
heard this then today you will know if you read on.Vietnamese news organization had reported that" Thai Ngoc, born 1942, has been awake for 33 years or 11,700 nights."There has been conflicting reports as to when he lost the ability to sleep.Perhaps in the early 70s."I dont know what has become of him as of today.In 1965, Gardner, then 18, stayed awake for 264 hours (about 11 days) for a high school science project.His name figured in the Guinness book of World Record.The Guinness Book of Records does not have a sleep deprivation class anymore because of the associated health risks. Gardner recovered from the mental deficits that he had developed after a few nights of sleep.

Let us now switch over to something else.Ever heard of Morvan's syndrome .Patients afflicted with it couldn't sleep for months.It has recently been attributed to serum antibodies directed against specific potassium (K+) channels in cell and nerve membranes.

Could a person personality be determined by his sleep position?Certain study says it could.Six such sleep position had been analysed.The most common,the foetus position,wherein people curl up like a foetus is said to represent a tough exterior but sensitive within. They may be shy when they first meet somebody, but soon relax.Going into the rest of the positions will take much time.So, if you are interested google it up.I am sure you will find more about it.

Here's another work on sleep.This one will convince you why you need to take care of your sleep.Research at Luebeck University, in Germany, observed that twice as many of the rested participants caught on to the rule(a puzzle) than volunteers from the sleepless group.This proves that sleep increases brain power, better said, maintains the power of brain.

Talk on sleep won't be complete without a word on other mammals.While sleep is known to be essential for the newborns of most other mammals,scientists from the US and Russia discovered exceptions.Their study found that the young of bottlenose dolphins and killer whales don't sleep during the first month of life.This ,they found,was vital for their development and survival.

The copyright of the article, "Interesting Stories on Sleep" in "Interesting Health Articles" is owned by Dr.Khushnood. Permission to republish this article in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Science and the laughing baby

2007-09-18T10:29:00.000-07:00

This video of baby laughing is one of the most viewed one on youtube.When I watched it I too couldn’t stop laughing. So often we have noted that laughter is contagious. This very contagious nature of laughter is what has made this video, the most viewed one.

It’s said that when we experience anything funny or when we are tickled we laugh. The perception of what’s funny and what’s not may vary from person to person. It is to be observed here that this laughing baby seemed funny to most of us who watched it. And the baby found the mother funny and hence it laughed. But then what if I had been blind or deaf? It’s for you to think. Here I would confine myself to telling you that even blind and deaf baby laughs.

Before I go into what’s known about the neuromechanism of laughter, I would like to assert that the exact neural mechanism of laughter remains inconclusive or perhaps elusive.
Experiments have indicated that the limbic system along with hypothalamus is concerned with sexual behaviour, the emotions of rage and fear, and motivation.
Researchers have pointed out that laughter is mediated by sub cortical structures; mainly hypothalamus. It’s also said that cerebral cortex can regulate it.

Ever wondered the electrical activity that went on inside the baby’s head just before the laughter, and as it laughed. The answer may lie in the experiment that was performed at the college of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Derks et al, 1992 studied brain wave activity via electroencephalograms during a humorous experience. He found an activity beginning in the cortex's left hemisphere. Thereafter most of the brain activity moved to the frontal lobe. An instant later, activity spreads to both the right and left hemispheres .A few milliseconds later, before the subject laughed, the increased brain wave activity spread to the occipital lobe. The increased fluctuations in activity reached a peak, and the external expression of laughter began.

What happened to the baby’s heart? Initial effect is stimulatory. That is to say it went through an elevated pulse, heart rate, and blood pressure. An increase in respiratory rate and ventilation is also observed. All this helps in venous return to the heart, and thus reduces vascular stasis.

And what about his immune system. One study has found a temporary increase in salivary IgA concentration.So, it helped it and we boost our immune system. Not only this, those of you with Rheumatoid arthritis might have benefited from it as well. How is that? A significant reduction in IL-6 has been observed with those exposed to humour.Monoclonal antibody against IL-6 receptor has been found effective in the treatment of RA.

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Weird c-section of this decade :Woman delivers baby with do-it-yourself caesarian-section

2007-01-07T08:06:00.000-08:00

A pregnant Mexican woman performed a caesarean section on herself using a kitchen knife. The do-it-yourself c-section was successful and the woman gave birth to a healthy baby boy.Experts say this is the first known case of a self-inflicted c-section in which mother and newborn baby survived.
The mother, a 40-year-old, who was not further identified lived in a rural area with no running water and electricity. The nearest hospital was eight hours away.After losing a previous baby due to labour complications, the woman wasn't about to lose another child.
Dr R Valle, of the Dr Manuel Velasco Suarez Hospital in San Pablo, Mexico said: "She took three small glasses of hard liquor and, using a kitchen knife, sliced her abdomen in three attempts... and then delivered a male infant that breathed immediately and cried."The woman told one of her children to call a local nurse for help before passing out from shock and blood loss. The nurse first stitched the wound with a sewing needle and cotton thread. After that, the mother and the baby were brought to the nearest hospital for further treatment."
This case represents an unusual and extraordinary decision by a women in labour who, unable to deliver herself spontaneously, and with no medical help or resources, decided to perform a caesarean section upon herself," Dr Valle said.

Useful Links:http://www.pregnancy.org/
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/pregnancy.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pregnancy