News

Great Britain Has its First Pregnant Man

Posted on January 8, 2017

A British man has announced his pregnancy, making the dad-to-be the first male from the U.K to become pregnant.

Twenty-year-old Hayden Cross, from Gloucester, is excited to be the first British male to carry a child, but understands the journey will not be without issues or ridicule from individuals that simply do not understand his situation.

Although Hayden was born as a female, he has been working his way through the transition toward becoming a male. For the past three years, according to Metro, Hayden has lived as a man and has transitioned to the point of legally becoming a male. Although Hayden began hormone treatment, he has decided to put that on hold while he is pregnant for his first child. He expects to finalize the transition after the child is born.

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STUDY: Pre-Eclampsia Linked to Eye Problems in Mom Later

Posted on January 5, 2017

Pre-eclampsia — the pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure and potential organ damage — is linked to eye problems in the mother later in life, new research has found.

Canadian researchers tracked more than a million women who delivered babies in Quebec between 1989 and 2013, of whom 64,350 were given a diagnosis of pre-eclampsia. Then they followed them using hospital discharge data over the years. The study is in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

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Drug Store Employees Snapped and Texted Couple’s Pregnancy Announcement Around Town

Posted on January 3, 2017

A Michigan couple’s plan to send out a pregnancy announcement photo to family with Christmas cards and gifts went south when high school friends of the mom-to-be who work at the photo development studio got a hold of them.

Jordan Areaux said she and boyfriend, Masyn Lehl handed in their pregnancy announcement photos, meant as a surprise to family, to a Meijer grocery store photo lab in Plainwell, Michigan.

The parents-to-be claimed that the Meijer photo lab employees took pictures of their pictures and texted them around greater Plainwell. The texting chain even reached members of both their families, spoiling the whole surprise, they said.

As WWMT-TV reports, this is the couple’s first baby, so they wanted to take pictures and slip them into Christmas gifts with their announcement.

“It would be the first grandbaby in our family, and my grandma actually has cancer, so we were going to kind of surprise her,” Areaux told WWMT.

Areaux says she believes some of the employees who include people she went to high school with circulated the announcement out of spite.

She told MLive: “I think the girls were trying to start drama and be mean.”

WWMT reported that the sheriff is looking into what happened, a CNET article on this story read.

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There are Conflicting Reports Out on the Value of Prenatal Vitamins

Posted on January 2, 2017

Women who are pregnant or trying to conceive are often advised by doctors to take prenatal mineral supplements and multivitamins. Although a recent study published in the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin this summer found that the supplements do not necessarily improve the mother’s or the baby’s health, many studies are not definitive and often conflict.

To err on the side of caution, moms-to-be are advised to have a daily intake of 400 micrograms of folic acid until they reach their twelfth week of pregnancy, which reduces the risks of neural tube defects, which could affect the baby’s spine and brain.

Among the clinical trials the researchers reviewed, the team found little data that vitamin D can help reduce a woman’s risk of pregnancy or birth complications. However, the reviews supported the advice that mothers should take it daily during the pregnancy and breastfeeding months.

“The only supplements recommended for all women during pregnancy are folic acid and vitamin D, which are available at relatively low cost,” the researchers said.

On one hand, all these extra supplements may be overkill. The average prenatal supplements often include over 20 vitamins and minerals such as folic acid, magnesium, iodine, iron, zinc, copper and selenium. They also contain vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, C, D, E and K.

But on the other hand, pregnancy leads to a deficiency in key nutrients and such imbalance has been associated with conditions such as restricted fetal growth, pre-eclampsia, skeletal deformity, neural tube defects and low birth weight.

Again, to be safe, we’re going to go with encouraging the continued use of prenatal vitamins. Compare some of the more popular ones on the market at BodyNutrition HERE!

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Origins of Baby New Year & Happy New Year in All Languages

Posted on January 1, 2017

first-born-baby-new-year_150bd88dc3b2484a

Happy New Year!

One of the symbols of a new year is “Baby New Year“!

The Baby New Year is an American personification of the start of a new year, commonly seen in various New Year’s customs, especially holiday cards and illustrations for store window displays.

The stereotypical representation of Baby New Year is as a male baby wearing nothing more than a diaper, a top hat and a sash across his torso that shows the year he is representing. Sometimes he is holding an hourglass or is otherwise associated with one. Often, he is not a complete newborn but is slightly older, because he is frequently shown standing on his own, barely walking, or having a small amount of head hair.

The myth associated with him is that he is a baby at the beginning of his year, but Baby New Year quickly grows up until he is an elderly bearded man like Father Time at the end of his year. At this point, he hands over his duties to the next Baby New Year.

In addition to being a mythical figure, the Baby New Year is sometimes a real person. The first baby born in any village or city in a certain year may be honored by being labeled as the official Baby New Year for that year. The official Baby New Year can be male or female, even though the mythical Baby New Year is nearly always male. Attempts to name an official Baby New Year for an entire country have sometimes been made, but generally there are multiple contenders and no single Baby New Year can be confirmed.

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The custom of using a baby to symbolize the New Year began in Greece around 600 B.C. The Greeks celebrated their God of Wine, Dionysus, by parading a baby in a basket to represent the annual rebirth of Dionysus as the spirit of fertility. The early Egyptians also used the baby as a symbol of rebirth.

Although the early Christians denounced the practice of using a baby as being pagan in nature, its significance as a personification of rebirth later forced the Church to reevaluate its position. Eventually, it was decreed that Church members would be permitted to celebrate the New Year using a symbolic baby, provided it illustrated the birth of the baby Jesus.

The use of a baby’s image as a banner for New Year celebrations was brought to America by the Germans, who had used the effigy since the Fourteenth Century.

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These were on Top 10 Most Viewed Posts/Stories of the Year

Posted on December 31, 2016

Happy New Year’s Eve!

To commemorate the end of the year, we are sharing out top ten most view posts of the year, including popular posts from yesteryear. Take a look back with us and if you’ve never ever seen these very popular posts, we invite you to click thru to see what’s the fuss all about!

Enjoy!

#1

http://bellyitchblog.com/2012/10/10-commandments-of-fertility-getting.html

#2

http://bellyitchblog.com/2014/02/newly-catholic-dominique-dawes-is.html

#3

http://bellyitchblog.com/2014/05/20-amazing-before-and-after-makeup.html

#4

http://bellyitchblog.com/2015/11/fablifes-leah-ashley-welcomes-son-ford-francis-after-iud-pregnancy.html

#5

http://bellyitchblog.com/2016/12/inside-joseline-hernandezs-baby-shower.html

#6

http://bellyitchblog.com/2015/06/our-pick-of-the-best-springsummer-maternity-looks-from-fashion-bloggers.html

#7

http://bellyitchblog.com/2009/09/2009-most-expensive-diaper-bags.html

#8

http://bellyitchblog.com/2011/10/black-couples-that-adopt-white-babies.html

#9

http://bellyitchblog.com/2015/10/why-gawker-has-been-trolling-kristin-cavallari-for-500-days.html

#10

http://bellyitchblog.com/2014/02/heroin-chic-lives-jaime-king-remembers.html

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News

Pregnancy Brain Study: After Giving Birth, A Woman’s Brain Changes Forever

Posted on December 30, 2016

Pregnancy may trigger changes in the structure and size of regions in a woman’s brain that are involved in responding to social and emotional cues, a recent study suggests.

Many of these changes appeared to last at least two years after giving birth, the study found. Mothers who had the most pronounced alterations in their brains also scored higher on tests of emotional attachment to their babies than women whose brains underwent subtler changes.

“This study provides the first insights into the impact of pregnancy on the grey matter architecture of the human brain,” said lead study author Elseline Hoekzema of the University of Leiden in the Netherlands.

While the exact cause of these shifts in the brain isn’t clear, it’s possible the changes may help women prepare for the social demands of motherhood, the researchers report in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

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STUDY: Fish Oil Taken During Pregnancy Reduces Baby’s Asthma Risk

Posted on December 28, 2016

Women who took fish oil during the last three months of pregnancy significantly lowered the risk that their children would develop asthma, a study in Denmark has found.

Among children whose mothers took fish-oil capsules, 16.9 percent had asthma by age 3, compared with 23.7 percent whose mothers were given placebos. The difference, nearly 7 percentage points, translates to a risk reduction of about 31 percent.

But in the study released on Wednesday, the researchers say they are not ready to recommend that pregnant women routinely take fish oil. Although the study found no adverse effects in the mothers or babies, the doses were high, 2.4 grams per day — 15 to 20 times what most Americans consume from foods.

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News

Your Breakfast News Roundup is Here! ICYMI Posts

Posted on December 28, 2016

Season’s Greetings Bellyitch Friends!

We figure that you were probably busy with your family, Christmas shopping, Hanukkah prep and therefore, probably missed a few Bellyitch Posts. So, we’ve rounded them up for you.

BUT FIRST: Make sure you check out our editor JJ’s tribute to George Michael and view again some of his most famous videos. HERE

And now the roundup

Celebrities:

We figured out that Natalie Portman is usually pregnant when she has just done an amazing job at a Oscar buzzed movie and is cleaning up at all the awards shows. READ MORE

This year, we lost a lot of iconic celebrities including famous TV dad, Alan Thicke, and TV mom, Florence Henderson, within weeks of each other to this same ailment.READ MORE

We were mesmerized by P!nk’s breathtaking pregnancy announcement with daughter Willow. Yup, she’s 8 months along already. READ MORE

Janet Jackson isn’t the only one welcoming a new Jackson soon. This reality TV show celebrity is expecting her first child with her long time Jackson beau. READ MORE

Congrats to Vanessa and Kobe Bryant on the birth of their third child, another girl! READ MORE

Find out what Donald Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway and Jennifer Lopez had in common.READ MORE

TIPS

Want to know how to transform your home on a shoe string budget? We’ve got great tips! READ MORE

Don’t do the overdone cliche poses when photographing your newborn. Try one of these unique 18 angles next time you want to snap your baby. READ MORE

Boost your baby’s health while he’s in your belly during pregnancy. Find out how. READ MORE

There’s a right way and wrong way to eat out with kids. We give you tips on how to do it correctly. READ MORE

Good luck returning stuff after Christmas at these 5 stores with the worst policies. READ MORE

Get your kids to do a better job sharing with one another and use these tips. READ MORE

NEWS

So this Florida co-ed is really paying off her college tuition bill by selling positive pregnancy tests on Craig’s List. READ MORE

A new report says American women are using weed to help cope with morning sickness. Wow! READ MORE

Japan used to ban pregnant Syrian refugees from entering but not anymore. READ MORE.

FASHION

Celeb moms always look so well put together, even on weekends. We round up what the most fashionable wore this weekend. READ MORE .

If you’re knocked up but want to look cute in an LBD (little black dress) for a New Year’s Eve party you’re thinking of going to, we’ve curated about 20 from ASOS that are under $100 each! READ MORE

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All Your New Year’s Eve Facts & Stats (INFOGRAPHIC)

Posted on December 27, 2016

As we prepare to say goodbye to 2016, and welcome a New Year, let’s check out some interesting facts and stats about the season.

The guys at the personal finance site WalletHub went hunting for the most interesting factoids about America’s fourth-favorite holiday, New Year’s Eve/Day, to help people better understand and enjoy the occasion.

Below, you can check out their findings on everything from our eating, drinking and spending habits to travel plans, midnight prayers, DUIs and hangovers.

Source: WalletHub

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