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	<title>Health &#38; FamilyCategory: Pregnancy &#124; Health &#38; Family &#124; TIME.com</title>
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	<description>A healthy balance of the mind, body and spirit</description>
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		<title>Health &#38; FamilyCategory: Pregnancy &#124; Health &#38; Family &#124; TIME.com</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com</link>
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		<title>What&#8217;s Behind The Drop in U.S. Teen Birth Rates</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/24/whats-behind-the-drop-in-u-s-teen-birth-rates/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/24/whats-behind-the-drop-in-u-s-teen-birth-rates/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 24 May 2013 09:45:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Pregnancy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Teens]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[safe sex]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sex education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[teen births]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[teen pregnancy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[teen pregnancy rates]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=87180</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Teen birth rates in the U.S., which have been declining for two decades, have reached a record low, with significant drops in almost every state. The report, from the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that teen birth rates fell at least 15% in all states with the exception of West Virginia and North Dakota during the years 2007 to 2011. Rates in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and Utah fell by 30% or more. The CDC based their findings on birth certificates collected during the study period. Overall, the rate of births to teen mothers dropped by 25% from 41.5 per 1,000 teens between the ages of 15 to 19 in 2007 to a record low of 31.1 births per 1,000 teens in 2011. The greatest drops were recorded among Hispanic teens &#8212; 34% from 2007 to 2011. Teens from other groups saw steep declines too, with non-Hispanic black teenagers showing a at 24% decline in teen births and non-Hispanic white teenagers a 20% drop. (MORE: Fighting Teen Pregnancy: Portrait of a Radical High School Program, 1971) The report, compiled by the National Center for Health Statistics, did not address the reasons behind the decline, but experts say it&#8217;s a mix of greater access to birth control and better sex education. &#8220;The short answer is that it is a combination of less sex and more contraception. Teenagers have a greater number of methods of contraceptives to choose from,&#8221; says Bill Albert, the chief program officer of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. &#8220;The menu of contraceptive methods has never been longer.&#8221; It&#8217;s a validation for public health programs that have advocated safe sex messages and sex education in schools; critics of that strategy raised concerns that such efforts would only promote more sexual activity among adolescents and drive up teen pregnancy rates. Studies do show, however, that more contraceptive options work only if teens understand how to use them appropriately. So quality sex education may partly be responsible for driving down teen birth rates. &#8220;When we look at<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=87180&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/24/whats-behind-the-drop-in-u-s-teen-birth-rates/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Pregnancy</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/family-parenting/pregnancy/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/hl_pregnancy_0523.jpeg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Silhouette of Pregnancy</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
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		<title>Watch: This Week in Health</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/22/watch-this-week-in-health/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/22/watch-this-week-in-health/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 22 May 2013 18:33:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alice Park</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[ADHD]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Depression]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diabetes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diet & Fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Obesity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pregnancy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[club drug ketamine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ketamine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marijuana]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[postpartum depression]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=87144</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[How marijuana contributes to weight loss &#8212; and a reduced risk of diabetes; researchers zero in on the first genes associated with postpartum depression; and ADHD in childhood may be linked to obesity later in life. These are the stories making health news this week; for more, visit TIME Health &#38; Family.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=87144&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/22/watch-this-week-in-health/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Medicine</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/medicine/</primary_category_link>
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			<media:title type="html">apark7</media:title>
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		<item>
		<title>First Genetic Markers That Predict Postpartum Depression</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/21/first-genetic-markers-that-predict-postpartum-depression/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/21/first-genetic-markers-that-predict-postpartum-depression/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 16:00:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Depression]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Genetics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pregnancy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reproductive Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[genetic testing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[postpartum depression]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=87019</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Researchers say that a blood test may soon identify which pregnant women are at highest risk of developing postpartum depression, so they can seek treatment that could control their symptoms. Up to 20% of new mothers may experience feelings of anxiety, hopelessness, and sadness after giving birth, but doctors don&#8217;t have a reliable way of predicting which expectant moms are most vulnerable. While those with a history of mood disorders may have a slightly higher risk of feeling postpartum depression, in most cases there are few signs that foretell which women will develop the disorder in the weeks and months after they deliver. (MORE: Pediatricians Should Start Screening for Postpartum Depression) But in a small study of 52 pregnant women described in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found changes in certain genes, which they could pick up in the blood, that distinguished women who went on to suffer from postpartum from those who did not. The genetic changes were epigenetic modifications, which means they were not permanent alterations in the women&#8217;s genomes but instead reflected differences in the way these genes were activated. The scientists, led by Zachary Kaminsky, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Hopkins, were inspired to look for the genetic changes after studies in mice. They found that estrogen, which increases during pregnancy, triggers changes in the hippocampus, a region of the brain that&#8217;s responsible for memory and mood, and that two genes were affected in particular. Not much was known about these snippets of DNA, except that they played some role in processes that are important for regulating mood &#8212; such as adapting to new environments and reorganizing neural circuits to make such accommodations possible. (MORE: Study: Fish Oil May Prevent Symptoms of Postpartum Depression) It turned out the same genes were affected in women who experienced postpartum depression as well, and Kaminsky and his colleagues believe that the genes made the women more sensitive to the dramatic drop in estrogen that occured after birth. Without<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=87019&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/21/first-genetic-markers-that-predict-postpartum-depression/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Depression</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/mental-health/depression/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/155420780.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">155420780</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>FDA Warns Pregnant Women Of Migraine Medication Risks</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/06/fda-warns-pregnant-women-of-migraine-medication-risks/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/06/fda-warns-pregnant-women-of-migraine-medication-risks/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 May 2013 19:24:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>AP / Matthew Perrone</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family & Parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pregnancy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FDA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[migraines]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=86179</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[U.S. health regulators are warning doctors and women of child-bearing age that half-a-dozen medications used to treat migraine headaches can decrease children&#8217;s intelligence if taken while their mothers are pregnant. The Food and Drug Administration said Monday that the drugs, including Depakote and Depacon, should never be taken by pregnant women for the prevention of migraine headaches. The pills, which all contain the ingredient valproate sodium, already carry a boxed warning about the risk of birth defects. But the FDA said it is adding new warnings to the drugs after a study showed they decreased IQ scores in children whose mothers took them while pregnant. (MORE: Migraine Triggers May Not Be So Potent After All) &#8220;We have even more data now that show the risks to the children outweigh any treatment benefits for this use,&#8221; said Russell Katz, the FDA&#8217;s director for neurology drugs. Earlier this year, researchers at Emory University reported that valproate-containing drugs were connected with an 8 to 11 point reduction in IQ scores for children at age 6. The study compared children whose mothers had taken different classes of neurological drugs while pregnant. The results supported similar findings from when the children were age 3. Depakote and similar drugs are also used to treat bipolar disorder and seizures. While the FDA said it would not contraindicate the drugs for those uses, the agency said women of child-bearing age should only them as a last resort. &#8220;Women who can become pregnant should not use valproate unless it is essential to managing their medical condition,&#8221; the agency said in a statement. (MORE: Can Brain Freeze Solve the Mystery of Migraines?) Depakote is marketed in the U.S. by AbbVie, which was spun off earlier this year from parent company Abbott Laboratories. AbbVie also markets several other versions of the drug, including Depacon, an injectable formulation. The FDA&#8217;s warning also affects Stavzor, a pill marketed by Noven Pharmaceuticals for bipolar disorder. The FDA said it is working with the drug manufacturers to change their products&#8217; pregnancy code for migraines to X. The<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=86179&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/06/fda-warns-pregnant-women-of-migraine-medication-risks/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Pregnancy</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/family-parenting/pregnancy/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/165875982.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">165875982</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">timeassociatedpress</media:title>
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		<item>
		<title>Critics and Supporters React To Decision to Expand OTC Access to Plan B</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/01/morning-after-reactions/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/01/morning-after-reactions/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2013 15:43:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family & Parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pregnancy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reproductive Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Women's Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[contraception]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[emergency contraception]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FDA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HHS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kathleen Sebelius]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[margaret hamburg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[morning after pill]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[peggy hamburg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Plan B]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[teva pharmaceuticals]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=85894</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On Tuesday, the FDA announced that the Plan B morning-after pill will move out from behind the counter and be available for girls ages 15 and older without a prescription. Update: The story has been updated to reflect the FDA&#8217;s decision to appeal a court order requiring the agency to make Plan B available to all women without a prescription. The decision comes after Judge Edward Korman of the District Court of Eastern New York overturned Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ ruling to put an age limit on obtaining Plan B without a prescription. In 2011, the Food and Drug Administration recommended that all women be allowed to access Plan B, a form of emergency contraception, without prescription. At the time, Plan B was available over-the-counter only to women aged 17 or older. But Sebelius overruled that proposal, and questioned the safety of having young girls taking the drug, which contains higher doses of the same synthetic hormone found in birth control pills, on their own. Under the FDA&#8217;s new ruling, Plan B will now be available next to condoms and other reproductive health products, for girls to pick up off the shelves without engaging a pharmacist. The packaging will contain a code that alerts cashiers to ask for proof of age from anyone purchasing the drug. (MORE: Judge Orders Morning After Pill Be Available Without Prescription, Without Restrictions) Reproductive rights groups sued the government following Sebelius&#8217; decision, which led to Judge Korman&#8217;s ruling on April 5 to make Plan B available over-the-counter without restrictions to all women. In making his argument, Judge Korman said Sebelius’ ruling was made in “bad faith and improper political influence,” writing in his decision, “it is hardly clear that the Secretary had the power to issue the order, and if she did have that authority, her decision was arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable.” Korman gave the FDA 30 days to lift the current restrictions, but the FDA says the new approval was independent of the judge&#8217;s order, and resulted from an already pending application from Teva that requested its product be<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=85894&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/01/morning-after-reactions/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Reproductive Health</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/medicine/reproductive-health-medicine/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/165732620.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Plan B</media:title>
		</media:content>

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			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
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		<item>
		<title>Pediatricians Issue New Home-Birth Guidelines &#8212; and Rattle Some Midwives</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/29/pediatricians-new-home-birth-guidelines-rattle-some-midwives/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/29/pediatricians-new-home-birth-guidelines-rattle-some-midwives/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:18:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bonnie Rochman</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family & Parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pregnancy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[American Academy of Pediatrics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[home birth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[midwifery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[midwives]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pediatricians]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=85749</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In general, doctors aren’t thrilled with the idea of home birth. And while less than 1% of U.S. babies are ushered into the world at home, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) decided to collaborate on guidelines they say should govern home births, which are attended mostly by midwives. Many of the recommendations, published in the academy&#8217;s journal, Pediatrics, are fairly straightforward: at least one person at the birth should be responsible for tending to the newborn infant; that person should also be trained in infant CPR. Medical equipment should be tested before the delivery. A phone line should be available; while you’re at it, check the weather forecast too, in case complications arise and a trip to the hospital is necessary. In case of emergency, have a plan to transfer the laboring mom to a hospital. And do all the stuff that nurses do in the hospital to brand-new babies: monitor their temperature and heart rates, keep them warm and cozy, administer vitamin K and heel-prick newborn screening tests that are sent to outside labs for processing, among other things. “No matter where a baby is born, they deserve the same standard of care,” says Dr. Kristi Watterberg, a neonatologist and professor of pediatrics at the University of New Mexico who is the lead author of the AAP’s home birth guidelines. More controversial is the academy&#8217;s advice that pediatricians endorse only midwives who are trained and cleared by the American Midwifery Certification Board. Midwives accredited by this board typically attend deliveries at hospitals and birthing centers. That position has upset certified professional midwives, who deliver the majority of babies born at home in this country but are accredited by a different body — the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM). “The assumption is that one type of midwife is better than the other,” says Melissa Cheyney, an associate professor of medical anthropology at Oregon State University and a practicing certified professional midwife who oversees the research division for the Midwives Alliance of North America, or MANA, which represents certified<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=85749&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/29/pediatricians-new-home-birth-guidelines-rattle-some-midwives/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Pregnancy</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/family-parenting/pregnancy/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/142839361.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">142839361</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">brochman</media:title>
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		<title>Abortion Doctor&#8217;s Murder Trial Sparks Media Debate</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/13/dr-kermit-gosnells-abortion-case/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/13/dr-kermit-gosnells-abortion-case/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 13 Apr 2013 16:09:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family & Parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pregnancy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[abortions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dr. Kermit Gosnell]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[late-term abortions]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=84584</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Some journalists are asking why the murder trial of a Philadelphia abortion doctor isn&#8217;t receiving more coverage. In 2010, police raided Dr. Kermit Gosnell&#8217;s abortion clinic, called the Women’s Medical Society, in a low-income neighborhood of West Philadelphia and found what a grand jury report called a &#8220;baby charnel house&#8221; where illegal and late-term abortions were performed under dangerous conditions. Now on trial, Gosnell is charged with the deaths of one patient and seven babies allegedly born alive during abortion procedures; eight former employees — none of whom were certified doctors — may also face prison time. (MORE: Why the Pennsylvania Abortion Doc’s Case Is About Poverty, Not Roe v. Wade) A 2011 grand jury report detailed the illegal and late-term abortions Gosnell performed, as well as the disturbing conditions at Gosnell&#8217;s clinic — including bloodstained furniture, a heavy stench of urine and scattered feces from roaming cats. Some abortions were done so late, according to the report, that Gosnell allegedly snipped the babies&#8217; spinal chords after they were born and still breathing. The grand jury also estimated that Gosnell&#8217;s abortion practice took in about $1.8 million a year, mostly in cash, assuming he conducted only three procedures a night. And that did not include the additional income he received from allegedly writing illegal prescriptions. Read the full report of charges here. (Please note: the document contains graphic descriptions.) TIME covered the charges here in a 2011 story. While Gosnell&#8217;s trial began on March 18, media controversy is now mounting after USA Today contributor Kirsten Powers wrote a column chastising the media for the lack of trial coverage, arguing that bias obstructed the story from making headlines. She wrote: Let me state the obvious. This should be front page news. When Rush Limbaugh attacked Sandra Fluke, there was non-stop media hysteria. The venerable NBC Nightly News&#8217; Brian Williams intoned, &#8220;A firestorm of outrage from women after a crude tirade from Rush Limbaugh,&#8221; as he teased a segment on the brouhaha. Yet, accusations of babies having their heads severed — a major<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=84584&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Pregnancy</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/family-parenting/pregnancy/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/08451109-2676-4c35-b3c4-aec45614ada9-big.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Kermit Gosnell</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
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		<title>Study Reports Success in Discouraging Elective Early Deliveries</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/10/study-reports-success-in-discouraging-elective-pre-term-deliveries/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/10/study-reports-success-in-discouraging-elective-pre-term-deliveries/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 10 Apr 2013 14:00:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bonnie Rochman</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family & Parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pregnancy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[California]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[early term]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[full-term]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[March of Dimes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NICU]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[preterm]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Strong Start]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[toolkit]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=84294</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[To discourage planned early deliveries, hospitals are banning moms from scheduling births before 39 weeks without a medical reason. And it&#8217;s working. Several years ago when Dr. Scott Berns spoke with colleagues about slashing rates of early elective deliveries at their hospitals, he met with considerable indifference. “They’d say, This is not a problem for me,” says Berns, deputy medical director at the March of Dimes, which helped develop a “toolkit” for hospitals committed to discouraging women with healthy pregnancies from giving birth before 39 weeks. “And I’d say, Look at your data.” MORE: Study: Children Born Too Early Have Lower Reading and Math Scores Ultimately, 25 hospitals in the five states that account for 38% of U.S. births agreed to participate in a study to gauge the effectiveness of the toolkit in steering women and their doctors away from scheduling early inductions or C-sections for otherwise healthy pregnancies. The hospitals succeeded in cutting the rate of early elective deliveries by 83%. Researchers have now set their sights on 100 more hospitals around the country, hoping to reverse the trend toward scheduling elective delivery as early as 37 weeks into a pregnancy. In some ways, women&#8217;s desire to deliver at 37 weeks is understandable, since many pregnancy guides and professional organizations define 37 weeks as &#8220;full term,&#8221; leading women to believe they can deliver safely any time after that. Babies delivered before 37 weeks are considered premature and can have trouble breathing, but doctors are increasingly aware that even at 37 weeks, babies aren’t done developing in utero. Early-term babies, born between 37 weeks and 39 weeks, are at higher risk for infections and are more likely to be hospitalized in a neonatal intensive care unit, and studies show that these babies have twice the infant mortality rate as those born after 39 weeks. MORE: Who&#8217;s Too Posh to Push? Early Cesarean Section Rates Aren&#8217;t Moms&#8217; Fault Berns and his colleagues conducted the research, which was published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, to see if a concerted effort to reduce<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=84294&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<title>Judge Orders Morning After Pill Be Available Without Prescription, Without Restrictions</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/05/judge-orders-morning-after-pill-be-available-without-prescription-without-restrictions/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/05/judge-orders-morning-after-pill-be-available-without-prescription-without-restrictions/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 05 Apr 2013 17:30:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Approvals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family & Parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Labeling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Policy & Industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pregnancy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Regulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reproductive Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[contraception]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[contraceptives]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[emergency contraception]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[judge edward korman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kathleen Sebelius]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[levonog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[morning after pill]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Plan B]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[teen pregnancy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=84020</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In the latest volley over the contraceptive Plan B, a federal judge reversed the Department of Health and Human Services decision to restrict over-the-counter availability of the morning after pill to those 17 years or older . Judge Edward Korman of the District Court of Eastern New York overturned Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius&#8217; decision to add an age limit to obtaining Plan B without a prescription; citing concerns over the safety of the emergency contraceptive, which is effective about 50% of the time in preventing pregnancy before the fertilized egg implants in the uterus, being taken by girls as young as 11 years old, Sebelius required anyone under 17 to provide a prescription in order to purchase Plan B, while allowing those 17 and older to buy the contraceptive over-the-counter. It&#8217;s the latest development in a contentious regulatory battle that dates to 2009, when Plan B&#8217;s manufacturer, Teva Pharmaceuticals, filed an application with the Food and Drug Administration to change the drug&#8217;s status from a prescription medication to an over-the-counter one. At the time, only women 17 years or older could obtain Plan B without a prescription, and the company wanted to remove the restriction and expand over-the-counter access to women of all ages. After reviewing the application and available studies on the pill, the FDA&#8216;s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) determined that Plan B was safe and effective for adolescents, and concluded that younger girls were capable of correctly using and understanding the risks of Plan B without doctor intervention. (MORE: U.S. Rejects FDA Advice to Sell Plan B One-Step Over the Counter) Based on the CDER conclusions, FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg recommended that the contraceptive be sold without a prescription for &#8220;all females of child-bearing potential.&#8221; In an unprecedented move, however, Sebelius invoked her authority as Secretary of HHS, which oversees the FDA, and overruled the recommendation, noting that the company failed to provide research showing that young girls could use the drug safely. Her decision was backed by President Obama, who said, &#8220;As I understand<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=84020&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Labeling</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/policy-industry/labeling-policy-industry/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/165701705.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">NY Federal Judge Overrules FDA Over-The-Counter Ban On Emergency Contraception Pill</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
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		<title>Why New York&#8217;s Latest Campaign To Lower Teen Pregnancy Could Backfire</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/03/28/why-new-yorks-latest-campaign-to-lower-teen-pregnancy-could-backfire/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/03/28/why-new-yorks-latest-campaign-to-lower-teen-pregnancy-could-backfire/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 28 Mar 2013 19:30:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Maia Szalavitz</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Pregnancy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Teens]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Viewpoint]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Addiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[adolescent pregnancy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[adolescents]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New York City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Obesity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shame]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[teen pregnancy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[teenage sexuality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[teens]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=82857</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[To lower teen pregnancy rates in the city, the mayor is relying on fear, guilt and shame. But how effective are such approaches in changing behavior? The messages on the posters are not subtle, and they&#8217;re not meant to be: a crying toddler with the caption, “I’m twice as likely not to graduate high school because you had me as a teen,” reads one, while another shows a little girl saying, “Honestly Mom… chances are he won’t stay with you. What happens to me?” Appearing in New York’s subways, these messages are part of a new campaign to reduce teen pregnancy in the city that has stirred significant controversy. Bronx councilwoman Annabel Palma, who had a son at age 17, said in a letter sent to the city&#8217;s Human Resources Administration (HRA) complaining about the campaign that &#8220;Its dismissive tone perpetuates hurtful stereotypes about teen parents and their children. Moreover, it discounts HRA&#8217;s own pregnancy prevention services and instead imbeds[sic] fear in those who are in the situation I was in not so long ago.&#8221; Though New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg typically supports evidence-based public health initiatives, such as his ban on trans fat from restaurant foods after studies showed their health hazards, with this one, he may have missed that boat. Bloomberg has defended the so-called fear campaign, which also includes a text message game where one pregnant teen is called a “loser” (it was originally “fat loser,” but that has been changed) by her best friend.  He told the New York Times that the city’s message shouldn’t be “value neutral” about teen pregnancy and that he wanted to “send a strong message that teen pregnancy has consequences — and those consequences are extremely negative, life-altering and most often disproportionately borne by young women.” But how effective are such strong, and negatively toned strategies in changing behavior? Research on other attempts to use shame to address obesity, smoking and drug addictions suggests that the results are not good. With addictions, for example, research shows that shame is ineffective<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=82857&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Viewpoint</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/viewpoint/viewpoint-viewpoint/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/hs-21x22-new-font.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">MaiaSzalavitz</media:title>
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		<title>Pro-Choice or No Choice? North Dakota Wants to Ban Abortion for Fetal Abnormalities</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/03/25/pro-choice-or-no-choice-north-dakota-wants-to-ban-abortion-for-fetal-abnormalities/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/03/25/pro-choice-or-no-choice-north-dakota-wants-to-ban-abortion-for-fetal-abnormalities/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 25 Mar 2013 18:00:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bonnie Rochman</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family & Parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Genetics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pediatric Genetics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pregnancy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[abortion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Americans United for Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Down syndrome]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fetal anomaly]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fetal testing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[guttmacher institute]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jack Dalrymple]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[North Dakota]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pro-choice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pro-life]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=82914</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Testing for fetal abnormalities can alert expectant parents to potential health problems to come. And it&#8217;s the parents who should decide on how to act on those results, right? Not necessarily. In North Dakota, the governor is considering signing two anti-abortion bills that would be among the most restrictive in the nation. The state House and Senate have endorsed separate legislation that prohibits abortions after six weeks and bans them for reasons of gender or fetal abnormalities. If signed, the bills would take the decision of what to do when a pregnancy is not developing as expected out of the hands of parents. Abortion-rights advocates are expected to fight any new laws in court, elevating the debate in North Dakota to the level of political theater. The situation unspooling there is certainly dramatic: while states enacted 43 new restrictions on abortion last year, North Dakota’s effort to ban abortion even for conditions incompatible with life — such as anencephaly in which parts of the brain and skull don’t form, or Tay-Sachs disease, a degenerative condition that paralyzes babies and typically prevents them from reaching their third birthday — reaches farther than any state has in limiting a woman&#8217;s ability to terminate a pregnancy. The fetal abnormalities bill would ban abortion due to “any defect, disease or disorder that is inherited genetically.” It also extends to any physical disfigurement. In essence, it means that women in North Dakota who are told they may be carrying a baby with Down syndrome, spina bifida, or a fatal condition will have no choice but to have the baby; they would no longer be able to legally end their pregnancies. (As it stands, women in North Dakota don&#8217;t have a ton of options: as noted in a Time cover story by Kate Pickert, it&#8217;s one of four states with just one abortion clinic.) In addition to the medical reasons for aborting, expectant mothers may decide to end such pregnancies for a variety of reasons; in some cases, mothers may feel psychologically or emotionally unable to care<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=82914&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Pediatric Genetics</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/medicine/pediatric-genetics/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/128582898.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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		<title>In Texas, a Pregnant Teen Sues Her Parents to Avoid an Abortion</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/26/in-texas-a-pregnant-teen-sues-her-parents-to-avoid-an-abortion/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/26/in-texas-a-pregnant-teen-sues-her-parents-to-avoid-an-abortion/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Feb 2013 21:00:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bonnie Rochman</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family & Parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pregnancy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reproductive Health]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=81055</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Earlier this month, Jaime Burnside called an attorney in Texas to help her teen-age son. His girlfriend was pregnant and wanted to have the baby, but her parents wanted her to have an abortion. It’s the kind of case that invigorates the Texas Center for Defense of Life, which has handled three similar situations in the two years since it was founded. “Parents think they’re making a decision for their daughters like pulling a tooth or getting their tonsils out,” says Stephen Casey, who spoke to the boy’s mother and agreed to file suit against the girl’s parents. “But now that the girl is pregnant, the parents become grandparents and they can’t make a decision for the girl about her unborn child.” A judge in Houston agreed. Last week, the parents of the 16-year-old girl — identified as R.E.K. in the lawsuit — said they would comply with an injunction that prohibits them from forcing their daughter to end her pregnancy. According to the lawsuit, the divorced parents also agreed to let the girl continue to use her cell phone and drive her car, both of which apparently had been confiscated after she announced that she was pregnant. The girl’s mom tried to talk her daughter into an abortion, saying she would be “making the biggest mistake of her life” if she had the baby, and the girl’s father texted her that she “needs an ass whoopin’,” according to the lawsuit. The girls’ parents have said the allegations are not true. The parents’ attorney could not be reached. The situation is unspooling not long after Texas cut funds for family-planning services. Nor does the state provide comprehensive sex education in schools, preferring to emphasize abstinence. “We know teens have sex so it would be nice to prepare them to make good decisions,” says Elizabeth Nash, who tracks states’ reproductive rights legislation for the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-choice research group. “Being a teen mother is a very hard road to hoe.” Burnside can attest to that first-hand. When she was 15,<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=81055&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Pregnancy</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/family-parenting/pregnancy/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/aa043413.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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		<title>Why Pregnant Women Should Get Flu Shots</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/20/why-pregnant-women-should-get-flu-shots/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/20/why-pregnant-women-should-get-flu-shots/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 20 Feb 2013 10:45:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Siobhan Dolan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Flu]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pregnancy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vaccines]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Women's Health]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=80559</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It’s not too late to get a flu shot – especially if you’re pregnant, say experts at the March of Dimes. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging all Americans to get an influenza vaccine, and pregnant women should be at the front of that line. The flu vaccine is safe during pregnancy and can protect both mother and baby from the flu and its possible consequences. Pregnant women are at higher risk of complications from flu because pregnancy takes a toll on their respiratory and immune systems. Pregnant women are more likely to be hospitalized with flu and influenza infections can increase their risk of preterm labor and delivery. Health complications from influenza, such as pneumonia, can be serious and even deadly. Newborns are also at an increased risk of severe illness and even death from the flu.  Nationwide, 64 child deaths have been reported this flu season. (MORE: Pregnant Moms’ Flu Linked to Higher Risk of Autism Among Children) Studies have shown, however, that if mothers are vaccinated during pregnancy their newborns are less likely to become ill with the flu during their first six months. It’s critical for a newborn to have this passive immunity from mom during those early months since it’s not recommended that babies under six months receive a flu shot. Concerns about flu shots having a negative impact on developing babies in utero also seem to be unfounded. Studies that included thousands of pregnant women who received the seasonal flu vaccine found that their babies did not have a higher risk of being born too soon or developing a birth defect when compared with babies born to women who did not get immunized. In fact, researchers found that women who were vaccinated were less likely to suffer a stillbirth compared to those who did not get vaccinated. Based on this evidence, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the March of Dimes, and the CDC all urge pregnant women to get their flu shots to avoid getting infected,<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=80559&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Flu</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/medicine/flu/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/149320960.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">apark7</media:title>
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		<title>If Men Are Scarce, Women Have Smaller Babies</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/13/if-men-are-scarce-women-have-smaller-babies/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/13/if-men-are-scarce-women-have-smaller-babies/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 Feb 2013 15:45:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Olivia B. Waxman</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Love & Relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pregnancy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Daniel Kruger]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[evolution and reproduction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[low birthweight]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[men]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michigan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reproduction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[single moms]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[single mothers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=80031</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s about evolution; if dads aren&#8217;t around, mothers-to-be make subconscious calculations to balance their needs against those of their children. In a report published in the American Journal of Human Biology, researchers say that in U.S. counties where women outnumber men, more babies are born underweight. Researchers at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, led by assistant professor Daniel Kruger, compared birth records at the county level in 2000 from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention against the 2000 U.S. Decennial Census data. They documented the proportion of babies that were born premature, at less than 37 weeks gestation, and of low birth weight (less 5.5 pounds). They also analyzed the ratio of men to women between ages 18 and 64, the proportion of single-mother households compared to families with children, and weighed socioeconomic status, among other factors. (MORE: How Parents Who Play Favorites Hurt The Entire Family) Across 450 counties nationwide, the researchers found a direct association between higher rates of low birth weight and areas where women outnumbered men. Counties with a higher proportion of African-Americans appeared to have a greater degree of male scarcity. While there are certainly medical explanations for low birth weight — risk factors such as smoking during pregnancy and inadequate prenatal care can contribute to smaller babies — the results may also support a central principle in evolutionary biology known as &#8220;life history tradeoffs,&#8221; according to Kruger. This framework puts low birth weight in the context of resources that the mother has at her disposal, and the likelihood of the baby&#8217;s survival. Mothers, according to this theory, make intuitive tradeoffs based on their living conditions. If men are scarce, and not likely to remain as supportive partners in raising children, then mothers face a balancing act, forced to divide their limited energy and resources among raising their offspring and preserving their own bodies to reproduce again. The circumstance reflects how each species has a &#8220;finite amount of effort&#8221; and therefore has to make &#8220;tradeoffs between different aspects of life&#8221;<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=80031&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/13/if-men-are-scarce-women-have-smaller-babies/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Pregnancy</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/family-parenting/pregnancy/</primary_category_link><letterbox>1</letterbox><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/105776541-e1360770215523.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">timeolivia</media:title>
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		<title>The Connection Between Dirty Diapers and Childhood Health</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/12/the-connection-between-dirty-diapers-and-childhood-health/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/12/the-connection-between-dirty-diapers-and-childhood-health/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 12 Feb 2013 13:00:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alice Park</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asthma & Allergies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Autism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Breast-Feeding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Infectious Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Obesity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pregnancy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[allergies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[asthma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[breastfeeding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[c-sections]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cesarean section]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gut bugs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[microbiome]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=79965</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Cesarean sections and breast feeding can have lifelong effects on a baby’s health, and researchers may have uncovered why. It’s all about the bugs. Or, to be more precise, the bacteria that live in the gut to help digest food and, it turns out, perform a host of other important functions. In a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, researchers led by Anita Kozyrskyj found that babies born by C-section harbored a different set of microbes in their digestive tracts than those born vaginally, and that infants who were breast-fed had a different recipe of bacteria in their guts than those who were given formula. “Our goal is to show that some decision about elective C-sections may cause changes that parents can’t see but nevertheless affect development,” says Kozyrskyj. (MORE: Gut Bugs: They Are What You Eat) The findings add to the growing number of studies that expose more of the hidden universe of these microbes and the role they may play in the risk of conditions ranging from asthma to autism, obesity and cancer. The researchers studied 24 babies and compared the bacteria found in stool samples collected when the infants were 3 months old. Previous studies have linked cesarean delivery to a higher risk of asthma, diabetes and obesity, but the reason wasn’t clear. Now, Kozyrskyj and her colleagues, led by Meghan Azad, suggest that at least part of that heightened risk may be due to the microbes colonizing the babies’ guts. (MORE: The Good Bugs: How the Germs in Your Body Keep You Healthy) During vaginal delivery, for example, babies are baptized to the world of bacteria, viruses and other pathogens as they pass through the birth canal; birth is, in a sense, their first immunization against the bugs they are likely to encounter in their new environment as their still developing immune systems get to work taking stock of the microbes. Babies pick up the microbial content of their mother’s gut. Over time, the babies’ immune systems start to distinguish between friend and foe<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=79965&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Breast-Feeding</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/family-parenting/breast-feeding-family-parenting/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/154508930.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">apark7</media:title>
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		<title>Midwives Say Birthing Centers Could Cut C-Section Rates and Save Billions</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/01/31/midwives-say-birthing-centers-could-cut-c-section-rates-and-save-billions/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/01/31/midwives-say-birthing-centers-could-cut-c-section-rates-and-save-billions/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:45:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bonnie Rochman</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family & Parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pregnancy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reproductive Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birth center]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[C-section]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[epidural]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[midwife]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=79304</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If more pregnant women delivered their babies at midwife-led birth centers, the nation’s C-section rate would go down and cost savings would go up, reversing the current twin trend of rising health care expenditures and numbers of cesarean deliveries. That&#8217;s the conclusion reached in a study conducted by the American Association of Birth Centers and published in the Journal of Midwifery &#38; Women’s Health. Researchers tracked 15,574 births and found that birth centers saved the health-care system $30 million in facility fees alone. Women who deliver vaginally avoid the cost of surgery and the extra time in the hospital spent recovering. “If even 10% of births happen in birth centers, we would expect a $1 billion savings each year just in facility fees,” says Cara Osborne, a midwife who is one of the authors of the study. But for pregnant women, delivering at a birth center is still a niche practice.  It&#8217;s growing in popularity, but less than 1% of U.S. women have their babies at birth centers, in contrast to other countries where midwife deliveries are far more common. Midwives in the U.S. are hoping to change that, with a publicity campaign called Our Moment of Truth that educates women about the benefits of giving birth in a birth center and without medications. “Women need more midwives,” says Osborne. “This sort of care should be available to all women.” The last major study that looked at birth centers was published in 1989, when the national C-section rate was 18%. That year, women delivering at birth centers had C-sections 4% of the time; that number grew to just 6% in the current study, which relied on figures from 2007 to 2010 from 79 midwife-led birth centers in 33 states. “Midwife-led birth center births can be a way to lower national C-section rates,” says Osborne, who is also an assistant professor of nursing at the University of Arkansas. Across the country, C-section rates have boomed. In 2010, a third of deliveries were cesarean births. With obstetricians increasingly worried about malpractice lawsuits<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=79304&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Reproductive Health</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/medicine/reproductive-health-medicine/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/10025057-resize.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">brochman</media:title>
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		<title>Could a Blood-Based Test Replace Amniocentesis?</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/01/10/could-a-blood-based-test-replace-amniocentesis/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/01/10/could-a-blood-based-test-replace-amniocentesis/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 10 Jan 2013 19:00:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bonnie Rochman</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family & Parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pediatric Genetics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pregnancy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=77609</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A California company hopes to take the needles — and risk — out of prenatal genetic testing. Each year, about 200,000 amniocentesis tests are performed, according to the Mayo Clinic, most during the first trimester of pregnancy to detect for genetic abnormalities such as Down syndrome. Based on the results, many parents make the difficult decision about whether or not to continue with the pregnancy. While safe, the procedure, which requires inserting a needle through the abdomen and removing small amounts of amniotic fluid containing fetal cells, is invasive and can result in miscarriage in 1 in 200 to 1 in 400 cases. But researchers at Redwood City-based Verinata Health, which develops prenatal tests, report in the American Journal of Human Genetics that a blood test from an expectant mom may provide the same valuable information about potential birth defects that amniocentesis does, without the risk. The scientists studied just 11 pregnant women who were carrying fetuses with chromosomal abnormalities. While that&#8217;s a small number of patients, the new test, which analyzed fetal DNA in the mother&#8217;s blood, was able to accurately detect the genetic changes. “There were no false positives and there were no false negatives so we say that the accuracy is greater than 99%,” says Richard Rava, chief scientific officer at Verinata Health. (MORE: ‘Want to Know My Future’? Parents Grapple with Delving into Their Kids’ DNA) The test is based on a genetic sequencing technique that allows researchers to quickly scan specific regions of a person&#8217;s genome and compare it to a reference genome for any aberrations. Until now, such a detailed look at a fetus’ chromosomes has not been possible. Invasive procedures such as amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling (CVS), which removes specks of placenta, could only provide karyotypes that exposed broad structural abnormalities in the shape of fetal chromosomes. In 2012, scientists proposed enhancing this information with more detailed genetic analysis of the baby&#8217;s genome, using microarray techniques that could identify places where DNA is duplicated or deleted. But this testing still required a sample<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=77609&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Kids and DNA</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/kids-and-dna/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/200229372-001-resize.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">brochman</media:title>
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		<title>Can Dad&#8217;s Distress During Mom&#8217;s Pregnancy Affect Newborns?</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/01/07/can-dads-distress-during-moms-pregnancy-affect-newborns/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/01/07/can-dads-distress-during-moms-pregnancy-affect-newborns/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Jan 2013 13:00:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Behavior]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mental Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pregnancy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stress]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=77191</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[He doesn&#8217;t carry the child, but a father&#8217;s prenatal anxiety may have an affect on children&#8217;s later behavior. For years, research centered around how a mother&#8217;s mental health could impact her child&#8217;s development, including later behavioral problems, but the latest research suggests that it&#8217;s not just mom&#8217;s mental state that may be important. Although studies on paternal influences are still scarce, a 2011 study, for example, found that a child&#8217;s chance of developing behavioral or emotional problems increases by 11% if his father has signs of depression. But those studies involved children growing up in households with one or more depressed parents. But the current analysis, published in the journal Pediatrics, looked at the role of men&#8217;s mental health during their partner&#8217;s pregnancy, and found a link between dad&#8217;s mental health and their child&#8217;s behavioral development. (MORE: Older Fathers Linked to Kids’ Autism and Schizophrenia Risk) The Norwegian researchers looked at data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study that follows 31,663 children and includes self-reported mental health information from fathers in week 17 or 18 of pregnancy. The scientists found that around four and half months into pregnancy, 3% of fathers reported high levels of psychological distress and this anxiety was strongly linked to their child&#8217;s behavioral problems at age 3. Kids whose fathers had higher levels of distress had more behavioral and emotional issues overall. &#8220;The findings from this study suggest that some risk for future child emotional and behavioral problems can be identified during pregnancy, and as such the results are of importance for health professionals and policy makers in their planning of health care in the prenatal period,&#8221; the study authors write. But how does a father&#8217;s stress influence a growing fetus? The authors offer a couple of speculative reasons. Depression in expectant fathers may impact the mental health of their pregnant partners and cause hormonal changes in mothers that could influence their pregnancy. They also acknowledge that a father&#8217;s mental health prior to the birth is likely to predict his mental health after his child is born, and, as previous studies have<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=77191&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Stress</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/mental-health/stress/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/baby-mental-health.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Baby Room</media:title>
		</media:content>

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			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
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		<title>New Insight into the (Epi)Genetic Roots of Homosexuality</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2012/12/13/new-insight-into-the-epigenetic-roots-of-homosexuality/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2012/12/13/new-insight-into-the-epigenetic-roots-of-homosexuality/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 13 Dec 2012 15:00:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Laura Blue</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Genetics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pregnancy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sexuality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[epigenetics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[evolution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[evolutionary theory]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[genes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[homosexual]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[homosexuality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hormones]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[in utero]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lesbians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[testosterone]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=76019</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[For an evolutionary biologist, homosexuality is something of a puzzle. It’s a common trait, found in up to 10% of the population. It appears to be run in families, suggesting that it is hereditary, at least in part. And yet it defies the very reason why traits are passed on from generation to generation. How could something that hinders childbearing be passed down so frequently from parents to children? Researchers at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) think they may have an answer. It’s not in written in our DNA sequence itself, they suggest, which explains why scientists have failed so far to find “gay genes,” despite intensive investigations. Instead, it’s written in how our genes are expressed: that is, in certain modifications to how and when DNA is activated. These changes can have environmental roots, so are not normally permanent enough to be passed from parent to child. But occasionally, they are. MORE: Of God and Gays and Humility “It’s not genetics. It’s not DNA. It’s not pieces of DNA. It’s epigenetics,” says Sergey Gavrilets, a NIMBioS researcher and an author on the paper that outlines the new theory of homosexuality, published in The Quarterly Review of Biology.  “The hypothesis we put forward is based on epigenetic marks,” he says. To be specific, the new theory suggests that homosexuality is caused by epigenetic marks, or “epi-marks,” related to sensitivity to hormones in the womb. These are compounds that sit on DNA and regulate how active, or inactive certain genes are, and also control when during development these genes are most prolific. Gavrilets and his colleagues believe that gene expression may regulate how a fetus responds to testosterone, the all-important male sex hormone. They further argue that epi-marks may help to buffer a female fetus from high levels of testosterone by suppressing receptors that respond to testosterone, for example, (thus ensuring normal fetal development even in the presence of a lot of testosterone) or to buffer a male fetus from low levels of testosterone by upregulating receptors<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=76019&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Sexuality</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/love-relationships/sexuality/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/hl-gay-epigenetic-1213.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">image: rainbow triangle</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">Laura Blue</media:title>
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		<title>Iron Supplements May Improve Health of Low Birthweight Babies</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2012/12/10/iron-supplements-may-improve-health-of-low-birthweight-babies/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2012/12/10/iron-supplements-may-improve-health-of-low-birthweight-babies/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 10 Dec 2012 19:00:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Olivia B. Waxman</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Child Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Developmental Disability]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Infancy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pregnancy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=75467</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Babies born at below average weight are at greater risk of developmental problems, but early use of supplements may lower that risk. Low birth weight infants are more likely than normal weight babies to develop both cognitive and behavioral issues; infections during pregnancy and antibiotic use by expectant mothers can contribute to low birth weight, and premature babies may be at higher risk of falling behind in school; those weighing less than 4.5 lbs may also be five times more likely to develop some form of autism. They are also at risk for iron deficiency, which has been linked to impaired brain development. But it wasn&#8217;t clear if treating that deficiency could help low birth weight babies avoid some of the later developmental issues associated with too little iron. Previous work found that 36% of low birth weight babies who did not take iron supplements were iron deficient at six months, compared to the 8% in the group that took 1 milligram iron supplements and the 4% in the group that took 2 milligram iron supplements. (MORE: Risk of Autism Is Five Times Higher in Low Birth Weight Babies) So researchers from Sweden designed a trial to see whether treating the iron deficiency in these infants could lower their risk of developmental problems later on. They studied 285 low birth weight infants who only tipped the scales at between 4.5 &#8211; 5.5 pounds (2000 g. &#8211; 2500 g.) and were born between March 2004 and November 2007. None of the babies in the study had chronic diseases that could have affected their developmental outcome.  The infants were randomly assigned to take one of three different iron supplement doses—1 mg., 2 mg., or a placebo—in the form of daily drops from the time they were six weeks old to 6 months of age. When the infants reached 3.5 years old, the scientists compared their cognitive and behavioral development to that of 95 babies with a normal birth weight. Reporting in the journal Pediatrics, the researchers say that about 12.7% of the<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=75467&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Child Development</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/mental-health/child-development/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/128621640ironcrop.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Iron supplements</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">timeolivia</media:title>
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