pregnancy

A new study has highlighted another important reason to maintain a healthy weight while trying to conceive: babies born to overweight and obese moms are more likely to have heart defects.

The study, conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and published in October's issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, found that:

According to new research a mother's weight, and the amount she gains during pregnancy, may have an impact on her daughter's risk of obesity decades later.

This research has important implications for the future - if women can reach a healthy weight before they begin their family, it has the potential to impact two generations. This is exciting stuff!

With the growing obesity epidemic studies like these are particularly important.

If that seems like a painstakingly long amount of time, it's possible that we've been reading too many gossip rags.

According to the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) women should not put themselves under too much pressure straight away.

New guidelines have been issued for pregnant women who are obese (BMI 30+) stating they should only gain 11 to 20lbs during the course of their pregnancy.

The old guidelines, developed in 1990, didn't take into account the difference between "overweight" women (BMI 25-30) and "obese" women (BMI 30+). But, due to a rise in obesity levels in the past two decades, health officials guided by the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council, felt that the guidelines needed updating.

According to a survey of five thousand men in the UK, the average weight gain was 14lbs (6.35 kg) - equating to an extra two inches on the waist.

This article is a response to Light Drinking While Pregnant Now Okay?. Emphasis added by Diet Blog Editor.

A rash of recent newspaper stories suggesting that light drinking during pregnancy may be beneficial for an unborn child are alarming to many of those in the medical community. These misleading and irresponsible reports followed a recently published study by the University College, London suggesting that 3-year-old children whose mothers drank "lightly" during pregnancy were not at risk for certain behavioral problems. The erroneous interpretation by the lay press about some "beneficial" effects of drinking during pregnancy was NOT part of the study's findings.

Indeed, the comments by the media also run counter to research studies indicating that low levels of alcohol can damage a fetus.

Results from a recent study in the UK suggest that light drinking while pregnant does not cause any harm to the unborn baby.

Doctor Yvonne Kelly, from University College London, carried out the study (which involved 12,495 children and is available online from the International Journal of Epidemiology).

Yet another buzzword (file alongside Drunkorexia) has found its way into the papers.

In a recent Us Weekly Magazine interview, former Bachelor star Trista Sutter talks about about her "mission" to lose her post-pregnancy weight.

“I’m definitely not pleased when I look in the mirror,” the article quotes Sutter as saying, noting that she now wears a size 4 and weighs 116 pounds. "“When I fit into my size 26 Hudson jeans, then I’ll be happy.”

Is this how most women feel after they've given birth? And it a healthy trend or sign of screwed-up priorities?

New research shows it takes just three things to lose the post-pregnancy pounds.

Gwyneth Paltrow announces that there is no dieting for her. Just good, fresh, organic foods. As for losing the post-pregnancy weight: just lots of working out.