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Green Parenthood: 10 Benefits Of Yoga For Pregnant Women

There are many benefits of yoga for pregnant women:

1.      Yoga improves the blood circulation and minimizes the problems of water retention and edema.

2.      Yoga reduces the anxiety and stress and induces a relaxing sleep. It helps women adapt to the new situations.

3.      It successfully expels toxins from the body and improves digestion.

4.      Yoga is a safe way for strengthening muscles and joints.

5.      It regulates blood pressure and sugar levels in body and thus helps in preventing the risk of getting diabetes and high blood pressure during pregnancy.

6.      Yoga stimulates the nerves and calms the body and mind. Breathing exercises regulate the hormones and emotions.

7.      Yoga improves the posture and thus helps in easing back problems which are common in most of the pregnant women.

8.      Regular practice of yoga stretches many ligaments throughout the pelvic, hip and leg areas, which eases labor pain.

9.      Breathing exercises reduce mood swings, nausea and morning sickness.

10.  Yoga strengthens the abdominal muscles which take part in pushing the baby through the birth canal.

Medical News Today: New Study Reveals That Lead Exposure May Affect Blood Pressure During Pregnancy

Even minute amounts of lead may take a toll on pregnant women, according to a study published by Lynn Goldman, M.D., M.S., M.P.H., Dean of George Washington University’s School of Public Health and Health Services in D.C., and colleagues, in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. Although the levels of lead in the women’s blood remained far below thresholds set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and standards set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, women carrying more lead had significantly higher blood pressure.

“We didn’t expect to see effects at such low levels of lead exposure,” says Goldman, “but in fact we found a strong effect.” If confirmed, this would indicate that pregnant women may be as sensitive to lead toxicity as young children.

Natural News: Tonsillectomies cause kids to gain excess weight

When kids complain of sore throats and their tonsils appear infected, the condition known as tonsillitis, doctors are often quick to urge the surgical removal of these clumps of lymphatic tissue found on both sides of the throat. Tonsils are also cut out when babies and young children are found to have enlarged tonsils that are sometimes linked to heavy or raspy breathing, especially at night. In fact, tonsillectomy is the most common major surgery performed on children and it’s a huge money-maker for mainstream medicine…

And now there’s another reason to think twice about having your child’s tonsils surgically removed.  Having a tonsillectomy could lead to obesity.

According to a new report just published in the February 2011 issue of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, youngsters subjected to tonsillectomy, with or without the removal of their adenoids (adenoidectomy), are at increased risk for becoming overweight after the operation.

Pediatrics: Closely Spaced Pregnancies Are Associated With Increased Odds of Autism in California Sibling Births

METHODS Pairs of first- and second-born singleton full siblings were identified from all California births that occurred from 1992 to 2002 using birth records, and autism diagnoses were identified by using linked records of the California Department of Developmental Services…

CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that children born after shorter intervals between pregnancies are at increased risk of developing autism; the highest risk was associated with pregnancies spaced <1 year apart.

Organic Consumers Association: Study Links H1N1 Flu Shot to Narcolepsy

The World Health Organization is reviewing the safety of GlaxoSmithKline’s Pandemrix H1N1 flu vaccine after a Finnish study suggested children who got the shot were nine times more likely to suffer from narcolepsy, a rare sleeping disorder.

Narcolepsy causes a person to fall asleep suddenly and unexpectedly. Its precise cause is unknown but it is generally considered to be triggered by a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

Researchers at Finland’s National Institute for Health and Welfare (NIHW) said Tuesday their research suggested it was “most likely” the increase they found in narcolepsy was a joint effect of Pandemrix and some other factor or factors.

Their research, which was described as preliminary, was conducted by the Finnish national narcolepsy committee and published by the NIHW, found an increase in cases of narcolepsy among children aged four to 19 years who had the vaccine.