News of Interest for Moms June 3, 2009

News to know for moms and moms-to-be:

Report: Women ignore pregnancy weight limits

Get to a healthy weight before you conceive-- so recommends the Institute of Medicine in the first national recommendations on pregnancy weight since 1990.

The new guidelines recommend that healthy women at their normal weight should gain 25-35 pounds while pregnant. Underweight women (with a Body Mass Index of less than 18.5) should gain more 28-40 pounds.

The guidelines established a new range for obese women (with a BMI greater than 30) should gain 15-25 pounds.

Women's weight at conception affect both mom and baby. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. women of childbearing age are overweight or obese. Excess weight gain during pregnancy increase the risk of:
~ retaining extra pounds after birth
~ needing a Caesarean section
~ preterm babies
~ larger than normal babies

Each of these consequences increases the chances for subsequent health problems: heart disease and diabetes in the case of extra weight, and impaired development in the case of premature birth. Adding too few pounds during pregnancy increases risks for stunted fetal growth and preterm delivery.

Too much media may be tough on kids' health

On average, American children and teens spend more than six hours a day with media TV, such as TV, computers, Internet, video games and VCR or DVD players, according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Such easy access to a wide variety of media increases a child's risk for numerous health issues, such as obesity, eating disorders, drug use and early sexual activity.

Even background TV may delay infants' speech

Infants "zoning out" in front of the television means less time interacting with parents and possible lags in language development, according to new research.

Sometimes babies are left in front of the TV. Sometimes parents get caught up watching TV--and ignore their babies. Interaction is key to a baby's brain development--and too much TV--even in the background--can interfere with parent-child interaction.