Putnam - Southbridge Evening News

B10 ☎ VILLAGER NEWSPAPERS ☎ TOWN-TO-TOWN CLASSIFIEDS ☎ Friday, September 3, 2010
HEALTH
Preparing For A Healthy Delivery
(NAPS)
One of the best things
prospective parents can do for
their infants, doctors say, is to
wait for them.
THE TREND
Physicians and organizations
such as the March of
Dimes say they are concerned
about the large number of
elective deliveries (C-sections
and inductions) that are
being scheduled for nonmedical
reasons prior to 39 weeks.
This troubling trend can lead
to serious health consequences
for the baby and
potential dangers for the
mother, too. Additionally,
early and elective deliveries
add high costs to the health
care system.
Unfortunately, knowledge
of the risks associated with
early elective C-sections and
labor induction is not widespread.
In fact, a recent survey
by UnitedHealthcare of
first-time mothers found that
more than half believe it is
safe to deliver their baby
before 37 weeks, even if not
required because of a medical
complication, while 24
percent believe that full term
is reached before 37 weeks.
However, the American
Congress of Obstetricians
and Gynecologists (ACOG)
recommends that scheduled
deliveries occur only after 39
weeks’ gestation.
“It’s a common misperception
among expectant mothers
that nine months equals
36 weeks, but Mother
Nature’s formula for healthy
babies is actually a little
longer than that at 40 weeks,”
said Tina Groat, M.D., national
medical director of
Women’s Health for
UnitedHealthcare.
Babies do best when they’re allowed to grow for 39 weeks before being born.
RESEARCH REVEALS
SERIOUS RISKS
Medical research reveals
that babies born between 34
and 36 weeks are more likely
to die than full-term infants
and, if they survive, are
more likely to have developmental
delays than babies
born full term.
A study published in The
New England Journal of
Medicine found that more
than 35 percent of elective C-
section deliveries were performed
before 39 weeks’ gestation.
And, supporting
ACOG’s warning, the
research revealed that
babies born at 37 weeks were
twice as likely to have health
problems, usually respiratory
in nature, than babies
born at 39 weeks or later.
Further, neonatal intensive
care unit admissions were
5.9 percent at 39 weeks’ gestation
and rose to 8.1 percent
at 38 weeks and 12.8 percent
at 37 weeks.
“The results of this study
underscore the importance
of educating expectant
mothers on the risks associated
with elective deliveries
prior to 39 weeks,” said
Groat. “Women should talk
with their doctors about the
best time to deliver in order
to reduce complications for
the newborn baby.”
TIPS FOR EXPECTANT
PARENTS
To help, UnitedHealthcare
offers free information and
tips on having a healthy
pregnancy at www.healthypregnancy.com.
What Women Would
Rather Not Talk About
(NAPS)
Not only may women be
embarrassed to openly discuss
one of the most basic
health topics affecting them,
but many even believe it’s
more socially acceptable to
talk about men’s health.
That’s just one of the eyeopening
findings of a new
survey of more than 1,600
North American women, ages
14?35, conducted by Harris
Interactive. Seventy-two percent
of women polled felt
society is more open to discussion
of men’s health than
women’s health, while 47 percent
were more comfortable
talking about vaginal health
anonymously online than
with close friends or family.
The lack of discussion
about women’s health has led
to many misconceptions that
experts such as Dr. Tomi-Ann
Roberts, director of Colorado
College’s gender studies program,
are now determined to
correct using what Dr.
Roberts calls “truth and
transparency.” Time, then, to
separate some myths from
the facts:
MYTH: The words “down
there” cannot be used in
advertising for feminine care
products.
A recent survey discovered a surprising
fact about many American
women.
FACT: National TV networks
do not allow feminine
care commercials to even use
veiled references to vaginas,
yet male ED commercials go
as far as suggesting the sexual
act! How hypocritical!
MYTH: Everyone’s cycle
lasts exactly 28 days.
FACT: That’s just an average.
Anywhere from 21?35
days is normal, and teens’ can
last up to 45 days.
MYTH: All women get
cramps.
FACT: Roughly 50 percent
of women never, or barely,
experience them during their
periods.
MYTH: People can tell, just
by looking at you, when
you’re having your period.
FACT: About 25 percent of
all women between the ages
of 10 and 50 will be having
their periods at any one time.
Go ahead, just try to pick
them out on the street. (That
dare is courtesy of Dr.
Roberts, who U by Kotex, a
line of feminine care products
devoted to “updating the
conversation on women’s
health,” consulted with in
coming up with the questions
and answers on its very informative
website, www.ubykotex.com.)
MYTH: There’s no natural
way to relieve pain from menstrual
cramps.
FACT: Exercising activates
endorphins, the body’s natural
painkillers. It can also alleviate
water retention.
MYTH: You lose a lot of
blood during your period.
FACT: Although it may
seem that way, the average
woman loses just four to six
tablespoons.
MYTH: Dairy foods, like
ice cream, should be avoided
during your period.
FACT: Eating and drinking
foods high in calcium (e.g.,
dairy products, fortified
orange juice and soy milk)
may actually help reduce
PMS symptoms.
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It’s a bright idea to get enough vitamin D in your diet even if you can’t always get out into the
sun.
The ABCs Of Vitamin D
(NAPS)
Good news: Recent studies
show that bone and
teeth health, as well as
breast, colon and immune
system health, can be
improved simply by making
sure you get enough
vitamin D. The bad news is
that these studies also
show it can be very difficult
to do so through diet
alone. That’s why many
health experts recommend
an increase to the
Recommended Daily
Allowance for vitamin D,
suggesting you get a minimum
of 2,000 IUs each day.
While your body will
naturally produce vitamin
D when exposed to sunshine,
doctors recommend
you use sunblock when
you go out to protect yourself
from skin cancer. In
addition, the lack of sunshine
in many places
means most people are at
risk for vitamin D deficiency.
According to a surgeon
general report on bone
health and osteoporosis,
bones are constantly
renewed and grow
stronger with a good diet
and physical activity.
Fortunately, there are
steps you can take to get
the vitamin D you need.
• Consider a nutritional
supplement. One, which
has been called a supplement
as natural as the sun,
can help fill the vitamin D
gap in your diet with the
equivalent of 20 8-ounce
glasses of milk. It’s formulated
with the naturally
occurring form of vitamin
D the body produces when
exposed
to
sunlight.?What’s more, it
has vitamin K2, an excellent
complement to D
because it helps promote
calcium incorporation
into bone. Vitamin D helps
the body absorb calcium.
The supplement,
Nutrilite Vitamin D3 2,000
IU Plus Vitamin K2, comes
from a company that
strongly believes in the
power of phytonutrients
and wants to use only the
best sources, so many of
the plant concentrates that
go into its products come
from its own farms.
Registered physician
assistant Amy Hendel suggests
you can also:
• Add one tablespoon of
white cod liver oil or other
fish liver oils to your diet
daily.
• Use mushrooms in salads
and soups.
• Drink beverages fortified
with vitamin D, such
as milk, orange juice and
soy.
• Breakfast or snack on
cereal fortified with vitamin
D.
• Include several varieties
of fish in your diet,
especially salmon, mackerel,
tuna and sardines.
The vitamin supplement
is available exclusively
through Amway Global
Independent Business
Owners in North America.
To order or for more information,
visit
www.nutrilite.com or call
(800) 253-6500.