News of Interest for Moms, June 22, 2009

News to know:

Baby weight usually stays 3 to 6 months
Researchers are encouraging new moms to stop stressing about losing the baby weight.

Trying to lose the weight too quickly can make it harder to nurse a newborn, the German scientists reported. With breastfeeding, the extra pounds should disappear after within six months.

However, women who overeat and become overweight or more overweight during pregnancy have a higher chance of ongoing weight problems.


Family pets may harbor MRSA
Your dog or cat may be a carrier of the drug resistant bacteria known as MSRA, according to a review article in the July edition of the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases. An infection often begins with small red bumps that can turn into painful abscesses requiring surgery to drain them.

As many as 30 different pathogens can be transmitted by animal bites or scratches, but MRSA can cycle back and forth between pets and owners, researchers said. If not detected and treated, bacteria can find their way into the body, causing infections in heart valves, lungs, joints, bones and the bloodstream.

Raw cookie dough: So tasty, so dangerous
It's still not certain that Nestle Toll House cookies are to blame for an outbreak of E. coli that sickened at least 66 people in 28 states. However, ABC News reported many of the people afflicted with E. coli had eaten raw Toll House cookie dough.


Nestle recalled the refrigerated product and told people not to eat the dough raw or cooked until the source of the outbreak is discovered.