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Low hormone levels in pregnancy linked to hard birth

  • August 14, 2010 7:13 pm

Expectant mums who are low in a hormone made by the thyroid gland in the neck are more likely to struggle in labour, findings suggest. Too little of the hormone thyroxine is already known to complicate pregnancy, increasing the risk of miscarriage, premature birth and pre-eclampsia.

Now a Dutch team has found even “low to normal” levels of thyroxine may cause problems, Clinical Endocrinology says. Babies were more often positioned wrongly, making labour more difficult. Although still head down, the babies tended to face the wrong way – towards their mother’s back rather than stomach.

Not only are these labours generally longer and harder, they are also more likely to end in an assisted delivery with forceps, ventouse or a Caesarean. It does highlight the importance of checking thyroid hormone levels in pregnancy.

The researchers from the University of Tilburg believe the hormone problem is so common – affecting about one in 10 pregnancies – a blood test for it should become a routine part of the antenatal check. In their study of nearly 1,000 apparently healthy mums-to-be, lower levels of thyroxine at 36 weeks of pregnancy was strongly linked to abnormal positioning of the baby’s head and risk of assisted delivery.

Professor Victor Pop and his team believe the relative lack of hormone might stop the unborn child moving as well as it should. This means that instead of getting into the optimal position for labour, the baby is stuck in a more awkward one.

The thyroid gland in the neck makes hormones that regulate metabolism. Too much of these hormones speeds up metabolism causing symptoms like weight loss and anxiety. Too few of the hormones slows metabolism causing problems like fatigue and weight gain. Medication can correct the imbalance

Professor Pop said: “Recent findings have shown that motor development in children at the age of two is related to low levels of thyroid hormone in pregnancy.
“It follows that impaired maternal thyroid function could also influence foetal movement.” The baby is unable to make its own thyroid hormones until 20 weeks into the pregnancy. Before this, it is entirely reliant on its mother’s stores, he said.

Professor Pop said more work was needed to explain the link found and to see if giving pregnant women extra thyroxine, even if they do not have full-blown thyroid disease, would be beneficial. Professor John Lazarus, an expert in endocrinology at Cardiff University School of Medicine, said the link found was not necessarily causal. “However it does highlight the importance of checking thyroid hormone levels in pregnancy.”

Is your child retarded?

  • May 8, 2010 3:55 pm

Recently I have had people asking me if my daughter is retarded. The answer is a definite NO. The comments are based on the fact that my daughter allegedly has a big head and sits with her tongue sticking out, usually blowing raspberries. Personally I find it rude and really offensive to use this term to define anyone and with regards to my daughter it makes me rather angry, she has had all the routine tests done and is a perfectly happy little girl.

People are either stupid or ignorant if they think that sticking your tongue out or having a big head automatically makes you retarded. I think it is one thing children making unkind comments but adults should know better and it’s quite sad if an adult deems it necessary to make these kind of comments about an 11 month old baby, possibly to make themselves feel better.

Special Need Parents to get more help?

  • May 3, 2010 5:40 pm

Parents of children with special needs should be given more support, an inquiry is set to recommend.
A government-commissioned study by Brian Lamb says that a significant number of parents are not satisfied with the help they receive. In response, the government will promise measures including a national support helpline and clearer information about rights to support.

Parents have complained that feel they have to “fight the system”. The report by Mr Lamb will reflect calls for more parent-friendly support for families with children with special needs. It will say that parents want to know what help is available and to have clearer guidelines about what should happen in schools.There will also be proposals that the Local Government Ombudsman should be funded to consider parents’ complaints against local authorities.

Special needs tribunals are also set to be improved and and there will be promises for more support for children who face bullying. The National Autistic Society’s chief executive, Mark Lever, said: “A great many parents of children and young people with autism have to fight huge battles to get the education support that should be theirs by right, often at considerable emotional and financial expense. “We hear terrible stories from parents of local authorities flouting the law by ignoring diagnoses, not meeting statutory timescales, failing to write statements properly, and even saying they ‘don’t do’ statements any more.

“It is hardly surprising then that parents have little confidence in the special educational needs system, and they could be forgiven for thinking that this report will do little to change what for them is an often complicated, intimidating, and sometimes infuriating system.” Children’s Secretary Ed Balls said: “In the New Year we will set our plans to address the recommendations that Brian has made to address the changes to teaching and learning that are necessary to improve educational outcomes for children with SEN. “We are now working to ensure all parents have confidence in decision making by giving them and their children a stronger voice at the heart of the SEN system.”

Steep increase in Downs

  • December 26, 2009 7:57 pm

According to the University of London, the number of Down’s syndrome pregnancies has risen by more than 70% over the last 20 years. These statistics reflect the growing number of older women becoming pregnant, when there is a higher risk. An increase in the number of subsequent abortions and more antenatal diagnoses means slightly fewer children are being born with Down’s syndrome.

The number of Down’s syndrome pregnancies rose from 1,075 diagnoses in 1990 to 1,843 by 2008 in England and Wales. Despite this the number of Down’s pregnancies, the number of babies with Down’s syndrome has fallen by 1%, from 752 to 743. According to the study this is because improved antenatal screening means more Down’s pregnancies are being spotted and more abortions are taking place. Without the improved screening, the number of babies born with Down’s would have risen by 48%.

So what is Down’s syndrome?
A genetic disorder named after the British physician John Langdon Down, who identified it in 1866.
Inhibits the ability to learn and develop mentally.
About 60,000 people have Down’s syndrome in the UK.

Joan Morris, professor of medical statistics at Queen Mary, led the research and she said: “What we’re seeing here is a steep rise in pregnancies with Down’s syndrome but that is being offset by improvements in screening. Doctors told Natasha and Eddie Batha that there was a one-in-170 chance that their daughter Mia, who is now three, would be born with the condition, when it was discovered that Mia did have the condition they realised that it was not as bad as they had feared.

People seem to forget that there is a person behind the label who is just a little bit different, in some cases unless you were told a person has a specific condition you wouldn’t know. It would seem that if people were better informed about things like this then there may be fewer terminations because mothers are led to believe that if their child is diagnosed with something then it is the worst thing ever.

Explaining Special Needs to a child

  • October 31, 2009 10:53 pm

Unfortunately there is very little information aimed at children that explains the various conditions. I’ve found that the best approach is to wait until your child brings it up, then answer their questions honestly but try to keep the information simple and concise otherwise you may succeed in scaring your child or just confusing them due to information overload.

The reason I suggest leaving it till your child brings it up is:

  • Your child may not have noticed something, or may not be bothered so why draw attention to it?
  • There are so many conditions under this umberella you would be there forever attempting to explain them all and your child may not come across 90% of them
  • I know it sounds daft but in some cases it can generate unwanted attention to a person with one of these conditions, as they may not be aware of it, or they may be self conscious about it.
  • Also by making it into a big issue your child may start treating people who are different from them in anyway differently and not in a good way either

    • I know this isn’t particularly comprehensive but at the moment it’s the best I can do I’m afraid.

How to answer awkward questions

  • October 4, 2009 6:39 pm

Any parent knows that there will come a point when your child asks questions about topics such as periods or where baby’s come from. Answering these questions is easy enough if you are having the discussion with a child just starting puberty but when they are asked by a younger child they are not so easy. So how do you answer them?

Well when my 2 year old wandered into the bathroom whilst I was putting a sanitary towel in my underwear and asked what I was doing I told her that I had to put a special pad in my underwear. To which her response was: “why?” So I told her that it was something ladies had to do sometimes. I thought that I had got off lightly until my daughter decided to look in the toilet whilst I was pulling up my trousers and got very upset to see blood in the toilet. So I explained that it was ok and nothing to worry about, and that it was what happened to ladies when they hadn’t got a baby in their tummy. She asked if that was what the pad was for so I said yes. She accepted this answer then went off to play with her toys.

I know that some people will disagree with me for giving my daughter this much information given the fact that she is two but I believe that the best way is to be honest with your child. Obviously the amount of information you give them is up to you but I simply gave my daughter enough information to answer her question in a simple format that she could understand.

I personally find it easier to be honest with my daughter because if you lie you have to remember what you told them as they remember. Also if take the other approach and try and hide it one of two things will usually happen either their curiosity will mean that they will try to find out what you are hiding, or if they have a problem or something like managing periods when they are older, they may try to hide it themselves, be embarassed and not know how to handle it.

Due to alot of the media hype about child abuse some parents are too frightened to discuss issues such as periods, in case the child repeats what they have been told and the parents get accused of sexually abusing the child. Pregnancy never really causes too many problems explaining unless the child asks how the baby got into your tummy; to see how I explained pregnancy to my daughter see: Pregnancy and other Children.

As I have already said how much you tell your child is up to you but I would definately say that honesty is the way to go. Just make sure that you explain it in a way that they can understand, also don’t worry about what people will say as if anyone asks you can tell them what happened, chances are you are not the only person in this situation and they are also wondering how to handle the situation, because not many people will openly say; “how do you explain …….to a ….year old?” mainly because they are worried about what people will say or think.

Is Intelligence Genetic?

  • September 29, 2009 8:25 pm

One of the most commonly asked questions amongst parents is is intelligence related to nature or nurture? Research carried out over the last few decades, has convinced psychologists that genes play a large part in determining our intelligence levels. It is estimated that as much as 50% of the variation may inherited. A research team, lead by Robert Plomin at the Institute of Psychiatry in London found that a link existed between a specific gene and high intelligence.

Personally I think that the child’s environment plays a far bigger role in their intelligence than genetics purely because if you are willing to put in the time and the effort with the child then they can become very intelligent without necessarily having the gene that is supposed to be linked to intelligence. You can play with them and offer them opportunities to experience new things to give you some ideas see the articles Toys that could enhance your child’s development,Can you enhance your child’s development?,and finally just to prove that it doesn’t have to be expensive seeentertaining your child on a budget. Well I hope that this helps clarify the situation.

Baby Yoga

  • September 24, 2009 8:30 am

The word yoga means “union” in Sanskrit, the language used in ancient India where yoga originated from. What is usually referred to as “yoga” can be more accurately described by the Sanskrit word asana, which refers to the practice of physical postures or poses. Asana is only one small part of yoga; which can be divided into eight “limbs”, the majority of which are more concerned with mental and spiritual well being than physical activity.

We all know that as we age we lose flexibility, however there are a few stretches that you can do with your baby to help them maintain supple joints and also helps develop a wider range of movement.

1.Hand to Foot – With this excercise you take one of your baby’s hands and tickle the sole of the opposite foot with their fingers. Then repeat with the other hand and foot.

2.Scissors – With your baby lying on your lap, cross their arms at their chest then alternate with the opposite arm on top.

3.The Bicycle – Move your baby’s legs like they are pedaling a bike. This is great for promoting flexible hip and knee joints, it’s also great for relieving colic.

4Good morning, little feet – Cross your baby’s legs over her tummy, alternating so the other leg is on top. Then holding your baby’s ankle move their foot towards their mouth allow the knee to bend. This exercise is great for opening out the hip and maintaining hip and leg flexibility

Teach our kids to cook

  • September 21, 2009 2:40 pm

According to a PCP poll 63% of parents want kitchens in state schools so children can be taught how to cook. Andy Powell said: “Parents quite rightly want the best learning environment for their children and that includes facilities that in the past have only been available in the country’s private schools. If designed and managed correctly, with a clear vision and with dedicated staff and sponsors, new-build academies offer an opportunity to give pupils the type of learning they need, using the right facilities.”

In the 2006 Budget, Gordon Brown set out a goal to raise state school spending per pupil from £5,000 a year to the independent sector average of £8,000. The Department for Children, Schools and Families said: “Schools in England have never had such massive, sustained investment in facilities – with an eight-fold real terms rise between 1997 and 2011. Around 4,000 schools and tens of thousands of classrooms have been newly built, rebuilt or largely refurbished thanks to our £36bn capital over the last 12 years. We are committed to rebuilding or refurbishing the entire secondary school estate and half of all primary schools – giving parents, teachers and pupils outstanding classroom, music and sports facilities.”

Personally I think that this is a great idea as children should enjoy cooking and if you introduce cooking from an early age it doesn’t seem quite so intimidating and you are then able to aquire a broader range of skills in the kitchen. It may also help to reduce obesity as children will be taught how to prepare healthy snacks and meals. It may also reduce the number of adults that rely on ready meals as they don’t know how to make simple meals such as bangers and mash.

Do Bright Kids have pushy parents?

  • August 14, 2009 8:49 pm

I don’t know if anyone else has noticed but one of the main assumptions people seem to make is that if the child is bright then they must have pushy parents. In other words a child that is only just above average intelligence is being forced to become a genius. I bet Georgina’s parents got accused of being pushy when she became the youngest member of Mensa! The parents also are accused of applying pressure to the schools to get special treatment. It is not necessarily the case that if you have 2 intelligent parents that the child will be bright. However the odds are greatly increased if the parents are bright, this is usually down to nurture. At present there is no genetic cause for intelligence.

We all know some parents are pushy, these are the ones who will do anything to ensure that their child gets into the best schools etc. That’s not to say that all parents who want the best for their child is pushy I mean the parents who will move house purely to get their child into a specific school.

Some parents have a very able child, and can find it difficult, the easiest way to identify a pushy parent is to listen to the way they talk about their child they are often very smug about their child’s ability. Those that aren’t pushy parents often blame themselves when their child becomes the target of bullies.

Teachers don’t always know how to deal with the children who are exceptionally bright and often deny that the child is bright instead they claim that the child is naughty. In some cases children do act up as a result of boredom if the tasks they are set are not challenging. That is not say that all children who are labelled as naughty at school are exceptionally bright, but you know your child better than anyone else so will be able to tell if they are “being disruptive” as a result of intelligence. Some children are bored by school because the pace is too slow as can be seen in the article about an 8 year old who got an A* in maths!

If anyone reading this has a bright child it can seem hard particularly if your child is constantly needing constant attention and mental stimulation. All I will say to you is don’t worry this is perfectly normal and don’t anyone who tries to tell you that you are pushy any of the other nonsense associated with having a bright child is probably either jealous or don’t understand what it is like to have a very bright child; take it from someone who knows.