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CDC: Almost 300 US Pregnant women Have Zika

Posted on May 20, 2016

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that more than 270 pregnant women in the United States have tested positive for the Zika virus.

The announcement today is the first time that the agency has publicly released the number of pregnant women affected by Zika in the United States.

The women worry about whether their babies will be born with birth defects, federal health officials announced.

So far, less than a dozen of these women have had an “adverse event,” such as a miscarriage or the birth of a baby with a defect, CDC officials said.

“These new numbers reflect a broader group of pregnant women — pregnant women who have any laboratory evidence of possible Zika virus infection, and whether or not they recalled symptoms — compared with numbers previously reported,” the CDC said in a statement.

The numbers include women who have already given birth, those who have miscarried and those who may have had abortions because of birth defects.

These visualizations further breakdown the incidences.

Data curated by HealthGrove

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Two CoJoined Sisters in a Set of Triplets were Successfully Separated

Posted on May 19, 2016

Two girls in a set of triplets had to be recently separated as they were conjoined at the waist. The girls are one year old now and underwent an hourslong surgery last month to separate them.

The girls, Ximena (huh-MEE’-nuh) and Scarlett Hernandez-Torres, shared a bladder and other organs. Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi released the girls this past Wednesday, a spokesman for the hospital confirmed.

Doctors have a positive outlook for the children’s recovery and say the girls will require additional surgeries as they grow.

Their triplet sister, Catalina, was born without serious health issues.

Photo: Joshua Thelin/Driscoll Children’s Hospital

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Woman Copies Viral Photo for her Pregnancy Announcement, it goes Viral too

Posted on May 18, 2016

After undergoing several rounds of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and taking fertility pills to try to get pregnant following a miscarriage, finally got pregnant.

Inspired by a viral photo posted the fertility clinic of Sher Institute last year, Rodeffer put her own success story on social media. She decided to model her pregnancy announcement after the viral photo. She arranged the empty pill bottles and syringes in the shape of a heart, and positioned a photo of her latest sonogram and a onesie with the words “Worth the wait and wait and wait” inside in an Instagram photo.

Her photo too, posted a month ago actually, has gone viral now that a bunch of media outlets are finally reporting about it.

“I was adamant that my announcement not only show my joy and thankfulness, but also the struggle that it took to get there,” she told Inquisitor. “I wanted to acknowledge the struggle that anyone dealing with infertility goes through.”

Our #infertilitypregnancyannouncement is up! Click the link to read more about our story. *link in profile* . . . . . #ivfsuccess #ivf #invitrofertilization #paif #saif #pregnancyannouncement #infertility #infertilitysucks #endometriosis #malefactorinfertility #fertilitytreatments #worththewait
A photo posted by No beauty without strangeness. (@martinisandmedicine) on Apr 12, 2016 at 10:01am PDT

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Tragedy: A Family Dog in Cali Mauled & Killed a 3-Day old Newborn

Posted on April 23, 2016

A San Diego family is in grief today after their dog mauled and killed their 3-day old baby.

According to San Diego police, the parents were in a bedroom watching TV on Thursday, April 21, when the mom coughed suddenly, startling the dog which was lying in bed with them.

The dog was startled and unexpectedly attacked the baby, said San Diego Police Sgt. Tu Nguyen with the department’s child abuse unit.

The parents drove to a nearby hospital where the newborn was pronounced dead.

“It’s such a horrific, tragic incident they are going through,” Nguyen said.

H/t LA Times

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‘Pregnancy Not Part of Uniform,’ Saks Fifth Avenue D&G MakeUp Counter Employee’s Discrimination Law Suit Claims

Posted on April 19, 2016

Before Tiffany Kantrowitz got pregnant she says a supervisor discouraged her from the idea, telling the Procter & Gamble Co‘s Saks Fifth Avenue Dolce & Gabbana shop make up girl that “pregnancy is not part of the uniform.”

That supervisor’s statements were among allegations listed in a lawsuit Kantrowitz brought last Friday after she was fired last February 2015 after actually getting pregnant, Kantrowitz stated. She claims she was penalized for asking to take breaks to get off of her feet.

Neither Dolce and Gabbana nor Saks was named in the lawsuit which alleges P&G violated federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act and a similar New York City law.

Instead of accommodating Kantrowitz’s request, the lawsuit said, P&G forced her to take breaks that were deducted from the leave time she was entitled to under the Family and Medical Leave Act. She says she planned to take leave only after her baby was born.

But P&G said she was fired for taking “tester” items for personal use, according to the lawsuit. But P&G encouraged its cosmetics staff to do so, the suit says, and never warned Kantrowitz against it during her time with the company.

Pregnancy discrimination has been a top issue for groups that focus on employment protections for women, along with pay parity and wage increases in industries that employ disproportionate numbers of women.

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that United Parcel Service Inc improperly denied a pregnant driver’s request not to lift heavy packages. The court, in a 6-3 decision, said employers must offer legitimate business reasons to deny accommodations to pregnant employees and cannot simply claim it would be expensive or inconvenient.

h/t Bangor Daily News

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Is ‘Pregnancy Brain’ a Myth? Depends on Who You Ask

Posted on April 16, 2016

Is “pregnancy brain” a myth?

It’s a running joke among many pregnant women, their partners and friends that you get “mommy brain” while pregnant and shortly after, becoming absent-minded and a little bit of a duIt’s a running joke among many pregnant women, their partners and friends that you get “mommy brain” while pregnant and shortly after, becoming absent-minded and a little bit of a dunce during pregnancy. Certainly, there are probably hundreds if not thousands of women out there who can attest to this suggestion as FACT.

The answer depends on who you ask. In 2014, a New York Magazine‘s “Science of Us” stated it was a myth that was being debunked.

“[T]he idea that it’s a purely negative effect is a myth that’s in the process of being debunked,” the NYMag authors noted. “Any pregnancy-related impairments are likely a side effect of what ultimatelys is a maternal neuro-upgrade that boosts women’s ability to care for their vulnerable offspring.”

The news was welcome because it meant the demise of the baby-brain, considered a “simplistic, one-sided concept that almost certainly encourages prejudice against women.”

Not so fast.

But a 2011 study said something different.

Researchers Jessica Henry and BarbaraSherwin publishedban article in Behavioral Neuroscience which reports that women in late pregnancy and soon after birth had significantly LOWER scores than a control group on a variety of tasks. The science says our stupidness may have to do with changes in cortisol and estradiol levels.

As you probably know by now, studies are frequent and differ so take all info you get with a grain of salt.

Personally, we think it is a myth.

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The Largest Science (#STEM) Expo Comes to DC this Weekend

Posted on April 15, 2016

source: http://scienceblogs.com/

If you live in the DC Metropolitan area and are looking for something educational and fun to to take the kids to this weekend, consider heading out to the 2-day USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo that will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., from Saturday, April 16 to Sunday, April 17.

The event is a family-friendly expo designed to inspire the next generation of innovators and you and your kids will get a chance to check out 3,000 hands-on activities and marvelous stage performances.

Serial entrepreneur Larry Bock and Lockheed Martin executives started the festival, which is in its 4th year, to address the severe shortage in science and tech talent and to ignite the next generation’s interest in considering careers in science and engineering.

This expo is also the nation’s largest science festival.

Event organizers are expecting over 350,000 attendees over the two-day event.

“In partnership with the USA Science & Engineering Festival, we want to inspire and encourage the future generation of young scientists, engineers and inventors across the nation,” says Dana Points, Parents Editor-in-Chief. “The Parents Network – with a strong portfolio of top parenting brands including Parents, FamilyFun, Parents Latina and Ser Padres – has teamed up to create a dynamic, educational experience for both parents and kids.”

The Meredith Parents Network will sponsor an Innovation Lab at the Festival Expo on April 16 from 10am-6pm and April 17 from 10am-4pm. Attendees will receive complimentary gift bags and can enter to win onsite raffles.

Kids will learn how to build their own rocket car, and race them to win prizes. The booth will also feature three brand partners including Visit Williamsburg, which will offer families roller coaster demonstrations, a dig for artifacts and more, Children’s Flonase, and Lakeshore Learning.

“Our partnership with the USA Science & Engineering Festival is a great opportunity to connect with Millennial moms regarding one of THE most important things in her life: her kids and giving them the best education possible. The Festival provides kids and families with hands-on experience, inspiring them to learn how things work. We are thrilled to be a part of this event and to partner with our advertisers to showcase their brands in this interactive environment,” adds Carey Witmer, President, Meredith Parents Network.

Sounds fun!

“Science is amazing. Staying competitive as a nation means we have to encourage more kids to think about careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). What better way to capture their imaginations than gathering the rock stars of science in one place and providing activities they can really do?” says Larry Bock, Co-Founder of the USA Science & Engineering Festival.

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STUDY: Zika is a Threat During Entire pregnancy, Not Just 1st Trimester

Posted on April 15, 2016

The Zika virus may pose a threat to women and their fetuses even in the later stages of pregnancy, according to a study published online Wednesday in The BMJ, formerly known as the British Medical Journal.

The new study is being published as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has concluded that Zika is a definitive cause of birth defects such as microcephaly, in which infants are born with abnormally small heads and, in most cases, incomplete brain development. Until Wednesday, the CDC had said that Zika was strongly linked to birth defects, but that there wasn’t enough scientific evidence to make a definitive conclusion.

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New ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ PSA Presents An Alternative Positive Future for At Risk Young Boys

Posted on April 12, 2016

www.IamMBK.org Proud To Present 60 Spot YouTube

Here is something else I caught during this Sunday’s MTV Movie Awards: A new 60 second spot promoting an initiative started by the President of the United States called “I am My Brother’s Keeper“. It included flashes of bright, optimistic and hopeful looking young boys to the audio in the background of positive, impressive introductions for accomplishments, and recipients for esteemed awards and recognition.

It was moving and presented an alternative to the cycle of poverty, violence and death from inner city gang activity and other negative influences that are ever present for some children of color in many communities in the U.S. You could easily understand how opportunities and positive mentoring and influences could usher in a brighter, positive and different future for those same kids.

It’s the reason for the MBK initiative, first created in 2014 to bridge the opportunity gap for boys and young men of color, many whom are left behind and do not meet their full potential because of negative distractions in their communities.

www.IamMBK.org Proud To Present 30 Spot YouTube2

So far, the public-private partnership has led to over 200 Communities accepting the President’s My Brother’s Keeper Community Challenge and plenty corporations and foundations to invest hundreds of millions of dollars toward independent projects and initiatives inspired by the goals of My Brother’s Keeper. The NBA ( National Basketball Association) teamed up with MENTOR to create inventive innovative new campaigns like their “Mentor In Real Life” initiative.

A task force created from the campaign has announced new policy initiatives, grant programs and federal guidance to clear pathways to success for children from cradle to college and career. Cool stuff.

Check out the spot here:

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STUDY: Salmon Consumption During Pregnancy Reduces Baby’s Asthma Risk

Posted on April 11, 2016

Who would have imagined that eating fish while pregnant could have an amazing health benefit for your soon-to-be bundle of joy? A recent study discovered eating salmon during pregnancy may reduce the chance of your child being diagnosed with asthma, compared to children whose mothers did not eat the oily fish. Of course, don’t go overboard — twice a week is sufficient — but feel free to order the salmon special you were eyeing the next time you’re out to dinner.

The Salmon in Pregnancy Study found children of mothers who ate salmon twice a week from half-way through their pregnancy until birth were less likely to have asthma by the time they turned three.

Allergy tests were performed on the children at six months and then at two to three years of age. The results were compared to a control group whose mothers did not eat salmon during pregnancy. Researchers found that early on, at six months, there was no difference in allergy rate between the two groups of children.

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