Babies born to smokers have abnormal blood pressure

Babies born to smokers have abnormal blood pressure - Condition persists in first year - Babies born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy have been found to have abnormal blood pressure control which persists throughout the first year of life, according to a new study.

Scientists from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden measured the blood pressure and heart rates in 36 babies during their first weeks, at three months, and when one year old. All were of normal weight at birth and were breast fed.

Seventeen of the babies were born to mothers who smoked at least 15 cigarettes a day.

Blood pressure and heart rates were measured while the babies were asleep and tilted up at a 60 degree angle, before being laid down again.

Normally, when someone stands, the heart rate increases and blood vessels tighten to keep blood flow to the heart and brain. This causes an increase in blood pressure which then returns to normal when lying down.

However, this blood pressure response to tilting the babies upright during sleep was found to be "dramatically different" in babies born to smoking mothers compared to those born to non-smoking parents.

At a few weeks old, the babies born to non-smokers had a 2% increase in blood pressure when tilted upright at one week of age compared with a 10% increase in babies born to smokers.

When a year old, the findings were reversed. Babies born to non-smokers had a 10% increase in blood pressure when tilted compared with a 4% increase in the babies born to smokers.

At aged three months and one year, the heart rate response to tilting in the babies born to smokers was found to be "abnormal and highly exaggerated", the researchers reported.

“Infants of smokers have a hyper-reactive system in the first weeks of life because the blood pressure increases too much when they are tilted up, but at one year they under-react and are less effective in adapting to an upright position,” said Dr Gary Cohen, the senior research scientist who led the study.

The researchers plan to track the infants further to find out whether the problems continue when they become older.

“The seeds of many diseases probably are sown very early in life,” Dr. Cohen said.

“Babies of smokers may already be showing signs that they are more likely to develop high blood pressure later in life.”

The study is published in the January 25 online version of the Journal Hypertension. ( yahoo )

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Giving birth makes mother's brain grow

Giving birth makes mother's brain grow - Increases in areas linked to motivation and behaviour - Popular wisdom has it that when a woman gives birth her brain shrinks - but new research has found that the opposite appears to be true.

In the study the brains of 19 women were measured using magnetic-resonance imaging just after they had given birth, and again 4 months later.

A comparison of the two images showed that grey matter volume increased by a small but significant amount in various parts of the brain. This is an unusual result as in adults the brain rarely changes over such a short period without significant learning, brain injury, illness, or major environmental change.

Brain areas affected by the change support maternal motivation (hypothalamus), reward and emotion processing (substantia nigra and amygdala), sensory integration (parietal lobe), and reasoning and judgement (prefrontal cortex).

Interestingly, those mothers who were the most enthusiastic about their new born baby were significantly more likely to develop bigger mid-brains than the less awestruck mothers in key areas linked to maternal motivation, rewards and the regulation of emotions.

The authors of the study speculated that the intense interactive nature of the mother-baby bond may itself trigger these growth patterns - expansion in the brain's "motivation" area in particular could lead to more nurturing, which would help babies survive and thrive physically, emotionally and mentally.

These results may also provide some insight into the causes of post-natal depression, and perhaps suggest a possible avenue for treatment of the condition.

The study is published in the journal Behavioral Neuroscience. ( yahoo )

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Many baby items found to contain toxic chemicals

Many baby items found to contain toxic chemicals - Eighty percent of baby products - from nursing pillows to car seats and strollers - studied by researchers contain chemical flame retardants that are either untested or known to be toxic, according to a report being released today.

The study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, focused on flame retardants because the chemicals have been linked to increased risks for thyroid impairment, reproductive problems, endocrine disruption, cancer and other health issues. Some of the chemicals have been banned or voluntarily removed from some products but not others.

"New parents would be horrified to learn some of their baby shower presents contain the same chemical that was removed from baby pajamas in the '70s," said Arlene Blum, founder of the Green Science Policy Institute in Berkeley and an author of the report.

For example, the federal government banned a chemical known as brominated tris from children's pajamas in 1977 after it was found to cause cancer in laboratory animals. A close relative of the chemical, chlorinated tris, was substituted and then voluntarily removed by manufacturers from the pajama products.

But in 1975, California passed the nation's only flammability laws for furniture, and chlorinated tris was among many chemicals to emerge to meet the requirements and was found in many of the products tested for the study.

Mary Brune of Alameda, with son Sebastian and daughter Olivia, says she is frustrated by the lack of options for nontoxic children's products. A study found that many have flame retardants containing toxic chemicals.

100 foam samples

Researchers tested more than 100 foam samples from products sent by volunteers in California and 10 other states, Washington, D.C., and Canada. The products, which were not identified by brand name, included baby carriers, changing pads, portable cribs, rocking chairs and other items.

Eighty samples contained a flame retardant additive that was either associated with adverse health effects or had not yet been studied.

"The majority of baby products tested in this study contain flame retardant chemicals with names that resemble alphabet soup. But unlike soup, they aren't good for you," said Dr. Sarah Janssen, staff scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco. "Some of these chemicals have been linked to a lowered IQ, reproductive problems, hormone disruption and cancer.

"If this wasn't concerning enough, only a small number of flame retardants have undergone adequate testing."

The most common flame retardant detected in the samples was chlorinated tris, which was found in more than a third of the products. Though the chemical was removed from children's pajamas more than 30 years ago, it persists in other products, including furniture, carpet padding and baby products.

Chemicals detected

Another once-common flame retardant, pentaBDE, was found in only five products, probably a result of a decision by manufacturers to stop making the chemical in the United States in 2004 because of health and environmental concerns.

Blum said many of the newer products contained chlorinated tris, which she said is a probable human carcinogen.

"Is this an improvement?" she asked.

The American Chemistry Council, which represents the chemical industry, said that new flame retardants being developed today undergo extensive testing by manufacturers and that the safety data are scrutinized by government agencies in the United States and abroad.

"This study attempts to examine the existence of certain flame retardants in a small sampling of children's products; it does not address exposure or risk," the group said in a statement. "We will continue to work with government agencies and the scientific community to meet our dual objectives - using the safest possible chemistry to protect families by preventing fires from starting and limiting the spread of fires once ignited."

Ami Zota, a postdoctoral fellow in UCSF's Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment who was not involved in the study, said the results raise questions about the safety of products used by mothers and children in the early stages of development.

"These chemicals are not being tested in a thorough manner for reproductive and developmental health effects before they're used in the marketplace," she said.

Leno seeks options

A bill by state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, that have would allowed nontoxic flame retardants in furniture as an alternative to current retardants failed this month in a Senate committee.

Mary Brune, an Alameda mother of two, said she is frustrated by the lack of options to buy nontoxic products.

Brune, who founded Making Our Milk Safe, a grassroots mothers' organization whose work is aimed at eliminating toxins from breast milk, participated in a study four years ago that found disturbingly high levels of a flame retardant known as PBDEs, or polybrominated diphenyl ethers, in people, including her daughter.

Brune said she supports fire safety, but doesn't want to subject her children to dangerous chemicals.

"I can't fathom that sitting in a glider, rocking my daughter or son and nursing them on a pillow poses some imminent fire danger," she said. "This should be something we have a choice about."

The study

An abstract of the study and a link to the article "Identification of Flame Retardants in Polyurethane Foam Collected from Baby Products" is available at www.greensciencepolicy.org.

Tips to reduce chemical exposure

Here are some suggestions to reduce the toxic chemicals in your home:

Foam: Check products that contain polyurethane foam for a label stating they meet Technical Bulletin 117, the California flammability standard. Products with the label are likely to contain toxic or untested flame retardants.

Fire retardants: Consider buying baby products that contain polyester, down, wool, cotton and other materials unlikely to contain added fire retardants.

Clean well: Wash your hands frequently, vacuum often and use a wet mop to reduce dust that may contain toxic chemicals. ( sfgate.com )

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Has Your Kid Got a Fever? Don't Rush to Dole out Drugs

Has Your Kid Got a Fever? Don't Rush to Dole out Drugs - Parents, especially new ones, freak out about fevers. A third of all pediatric visits involve worried parents bringing in feverish little ones. But there's really no reason to fret when your kiddo's temperature starts to rise. And there's no reason to push drugs to alleviate the fever, according to a new clinical report published online today in the journal Pediatrics.

Fever in and of itself is not harmful. Even more than that, it can actually be helpful since it prompts the body to churn out more infection-fighting white blood cells. Because fever decreases the ability of viruses and bacteria to reproduce, it can actually shorten the duration of an illness.

It's not that you want your child to suffer in hopes that a cold will wind down sooner, but Janice Sullivan, a co-author of the study, says it's not necessary to ply children with acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) unless they're uncomfortable.

“There's a myth out there that if you have a fever, you could have brain damage or seizures. That causes parents to be very anxious,” says Sullivan, a professor of pediatric critical care and clinical pharmacology at the University of Louisville. “Sometimes children with a fever of 103 will sit and play and act completely normal.”

The report reveals that parents aren't always making the best decisions for their kids when it comes to fever. They're quick to pour a shot of bubble-gum-flavored meds for any fever, even when doctors wouldn't advise it for a temp of less than 101 degrees.

A quarter of caregivers say they'd give medicine for a fever less than 100 degrees, and 85% of parents said they'd awakened their child to give fever-reducing medication. Note to parents: don't do this. If a child's able to snooze, waking him serves only to disrupt his sleep and remind him how miserable he is.

There are a few exceptions to the don't-worry-about-fever rule: infants less than three months old with a temperature greater than 100.4 degrees should go straight to the doctor, as should babies between three and six months with a fever over 101 degrees.

But after six months of age, fevers up to 103 degrees are not typically cause for concern. Higher fevers, combined with vomiting, diarrhea and no other signs or symptoms, may warrant a doctor's visit. But if Tylenol or Advil can bring down the fever, there's probably no reason to head to the pediatrician.

Bottom line: in otherwise healthy children, there's really no temperature at which you have to treat a fever.

If you decide to, however, make sure to go about it the right way. Dosages should be decided according to weight, not age. Sullivan says half of parents incorrectly dose their children.

Also, stay away from the kitchen teaspoon; it's not a reliable way to dispense liquid medication. Instead, use a measuring device you can pick up at any pharmacy. Even those are not always fool-proof, according to an analysis in the Journal of the American Medical Association of 200 of the top-selling children's cough and cold, allergy, analgesic and gastrointestinal over-the-counter liquid medications that found disturbing levels of inconsistency in medication labeling and measuring devices.

The Pediatrics report also weighs in on the practice of alternating between acetaminophen and ibuprofen for particularly hard-to-budge fevers, citing “evidence that combining these two products is more effective than the use of a single agent alone; however, there are concerns that combined treatment may be more complicated and contribute to the unsafe use of these drugs.”

The takeaway? As with all things relating to kids and medication, proceed with caution. ( time.com )

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