News of Interest for Late-in-Life Moms July 16, 2008

News to know:

Asthma risk from eating nuts during pregnancy
Pregnant women who eat nuts or nut products like peanut butter daily increase the risk their children will develop asthma by 50 percent, according to a Dutch study.
Moderate amounts did not seem to have an effect, suggesting it is too soon to say whether pregnant women should give up nuts, researchers said.

Background TV harms tots' attention spans
Keeping the television on in the background while preschoolers play disrupts their abilityto focus and may harm their development, according to research in the current issue of Child Development.

Peru embraces vertical births to saves lives
In Peru, at least 185 women die per 100,000 births, many of them in their homes. It is one of the highest rates in the world. Health centers in Peru are making health services more accessible and accommodating for women.
Peru has opened 390 birthing houses over the last decade where women from tiny hamlets can stay for free while waiting to deliver. Moms-to-be can bring family members and even animals while they wait. Some health clinics serve teas made with herbs traditionally served to help induce labor. The centers let women squat, sit or leave their long skirts on during childbirth -- another typical Andean practice -- instead of putting on a hospital gown.