News of Interest for Late-in-Life Moms March 30, 2008

News you need to know:

Congratulations to the latest celebrity Mommy-Come-Lately!

Celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis, 37, is a first-time mommy-come-lately. She and her husband Todd Thompson, 44, welcomed their daughter Jade Marie on Sunday, March 31.

Prenatal omega-3 may aid babies' brain development
Pregnant women who eat enough omega-3 fats late in pregnancy may give their babies a brain-power boost, a new study suggests.
Researchers studied 109 Inuit infants and found that those whose umbilical-cord blood was higher in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 acid, at birth did better in tests of infant brain and eye development at the ages of 6 and 11 months.
The new findings, reported in the Journal of Pediatrics, highlight the importance of DHA in the mothers' diet during the third trimester, when fetal brain development accelerates.


Moms, tots argue 20 times an hour
Mothers and their toddlers argue 20-25 times per hour on average, according to a new study. Sixty moms and their children were studied twice: when the children were 30 months old and again six months later.
When the children were 30 months old, the moms and toddlers were videotaped at a research lab during a session that was set up for conflict. The kids couldn't get certain toys they wanted, and a puzzle task was designed to be frustrating. Six months later, the moms tape-recorded their interactions with their toddlers right before and during dinner times.


HRT 'might ward off Alzheimer's'
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may protect post-menopausal women against memory loss and Alzheimer's disease.
A British study found women's memories are affected when their bodies stop producing the hormone estrogen, which happens at menopause.
However, the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London found memory recovered when hormone supplies were restored - the effect achieved by HRT.