Bottoms Up?: New Research Finds Some Alcohol May Be Safe In Pregnancy

OK, it’s not exactly “bottoms up”, but research published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health finds that moderate drinking during pregnancy is not harmful to a developing fetus.  I have heard this before, when I spoke with Dr. Michael Broder who wrote The Panic Free Pregnancy, but neither of us — at the time — expected the mainstream media to publish anything of the sort.  After all, everyone from the Centers for Disease Control to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says don’t drink at all while pregnant.  This new research, however, has started a conversation.  I spoke with Texas Children’s Pavillion for Women obstetrician Dr. Codi Weiner to get her thoughts on the methology and conclusions of the research, as well as to determine what she considers to be moderate drinking.  This is what she had to say:

Note:  In response to the publication of this research, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists tweeted out this statement:

@acognews: the jury may be out for researchers, but ACOG recommends that pregnant women avoid alcohol

BTW: For more on what Dr. Broder says is safe — and unsafe — for you and your fetus during pregnancy, from eating sushi to coloring your hair, you can listen to this Pea in the Podcast here.

Back-to-School Means Back-to-the-Doctor

You’re probably preparing for your child’s back-to-school pediatrician appointment, but to get the most out of it, you have to do a bit of preparation.  I spoke with Dr. Charles Goebel at Texas Health Presbyterian Plano about how to make the most of your child’s visit with their doctor.  It’s not just about physical health, but your child’s doc also cares about their academic achievement.  They’ll also want to know if they’re an athlete,

Doc Says Drug Test Your Kids

teens and young adults in suburban Dallas have been indicted in a sweeping heroin bust after three young people died of heroin overdoses last year.  These are not the kids you would imagine having a heroin problem.  They are from a middle to upper middle class bastion of suburbia. It’s a land of six bedroom homes and soccer camps and vacation bible schools.  Yet these kids are accused of trading things like guns and sex for drugs.  These kids are junkies.

Unhappy Marriages May Equal Sleepless Babies

My baby and I connected despite my strained marriage.

My marriage started to unravel before it began.  In fact, My ex-husband and I married in a misguided attempt to save our already broken relationship.  That’s never a good idea.  We separated when our daughter was two.  It was the right thing to do.

My baby was a bad sleeper.  She was cranky, colicky, and would only sleep when I was holding her, if she slept at all.  Sleep is still a struggle for her, at five.  It may always be an issue.

Now comes a study published in the journal Child Development from Oregon State University that finds a link between marital instability and infant sleep difficulties:

SpongeBob: Brain Sponge

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?  A brain sponge!  Seriously!  A new study claims that after watching just nine minutes of SpongeBob SquarePants, four-year-olds struggled with attention and learning on mental function tests.  This is compared to a group of preschoolers who watched the kids’ show Caillou, and a group who drew pictures for the same […]