Pregnant Women take autism test

Researchers hope recruiting pregnant women for a large study will shed some light on the cause of autism. The women are all required to have a child diagnosed with autism, and who are pregnant again.

Researchers at one of several research centers -- in Philadelphia, Baltimore and northern California -- plan to examine blood and urine throughout the woman's pregnancy. Samples from the placenta and umbilical cord will also be collected. The babies-- along with their older siblings -- will also go through developmental testing.

Experts think both genetics and environmental factors in the womb and early in life may play a role in autism. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 1 in 150 U.S. children have some form of autism spectrum disorder.

You can find more information on the study's website at www.earlistudy.org

From the website: EARLI is short for the Early Autism Risk Longitudinal Investigation. EARLI is dedicated to studying families that already have a child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder who are pregnant or who might become pregnant in the future. The EARLI Study focuses on the prenatal (the time
between conception and birth) and early life periods in newborns who have brothers or sisters already diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.

EARLI will closely follow families from the start of the pregnancy to the time the baby reaches age three. The comprehensive data we collect will be analyzed to help us better understand the complex causes of Autism Spectrum Disorders. The study will take place at four locations across the country: Southeast Pennsylvania: by researchers from Drexel University, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania Northeast Maryland: by researchers from Johns Hopkins University and Kennedy Krieger Institute Northern California, UC Davis: by researchers from University of California, Davis, and the M.I.N.D. Institute Northern California, Kaiser Permanente: by researchers from Kaiser Permanente Division of Research

1.How environmental exposures during pregnancy and early life might play a role in the development of an Autism Spectrum Disorder

2. How genetics may influence risk of Autism Spectrum Disorders - especially how genetic make-up might make certain children more vulnerable to environmental exposures

3.Whether there are biological markers (for example, things we can easily measure in blood or urine) that will predict whether a baby eventually develops an Autism Spectrum Disorder

4. How the behavior of newborn siblings of children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder changes over time and what behaviors might be early signs of an Autism Spectrum Disorder

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Teenagers and Sleep

There's a good chance you didn't get enough sleep as a teenager. You stayed up late talking on the phone or watching t.v. (now-a-days it's probably the Internet.) That problem could be bigger than you realize. We talked about teenagers and depression earlier this week.

It looks like one reason for it can be a simple lack of sleep. They need at least nine hours a night. And if a teen stays up later on the weekends and messes with their circadian rhythm it can take a few days for them to get back on track. So it makes sense that teenagers always seem tired.

For millions of parents with teenagers who like to stay up late, getting them to go to bed at a decent hour on school nights is a struggle.. But new research shows just how important it is for young people to get enough sleep.

On a typical weekday morning Anjay Dandavati wakes before six , after less
than six hours sleep SOT Anjay "It's a struggle getting through the day sometimes." Parents just got another important weapon in what, for many, is an unending battle to get their teenagers to go to sleep earlier. This latest study from Columbia University surveyed more than 15,000 teens and found that levels of depression and thoughts of suicide are higher in kids who have later bedtimes on school nights.

SOT Dr. Charles Bae, Cleveland Clinic "This is a good study that shows the relationship of actually not sleeping enough to mental health, especially in adolescents." Teenagers whose parents gave them a weekday bedtime of midnight or later were 25 per cent more likely to have signs of depression, and 20 per cent more likely to have occasional thoughts about suicide compared to teenagers with bedtimes of 10 pm or earlier.

Those are not huge differences, but experts say they are important nonetheless.
SOT Dr. Bae "In children and adolescents any amount of depression is serious and should be
looked at. And anything that can prevent it from happening short of medication should be looked at seriously."

Countless earlier studies have shown that adolescents don't get enough sleep, and the lack of sleep impacts everything from school performance to driving, and even weight control.
SOT Dr. Judith Owens, Brown University "The average 12th grader is getting something on the order of less than seven hours sleep when they actually need more like nine."

-NewsAnchorMomJen

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Get Your Requests In!

Just a reminder, I am doing interviews that will air on WHOI through November. If you have a non-profit event takinhg place before then or a topic you want to talk about in a live interview, please let me know! I only have a few months until maternity leave and I want to make sure I don't miss any big events! Thanks, Jen

Does IntelliGender work?

So last night on the news we ran a story about the home gender prediction test called Intelligender. You mix your urine with this kit they send you. I think it cost around $25.00. Green is boy. Orange means girls. I tried it with this pregnancy. Sure enough at 10 weeks along it said I was having a boy! That was confirmed at 18 weeks by an ultrasound. The company says the "boy results" are about 80% accurate.

I just did this for fun. I really thought the test would be wrong because this pregnancy has been so different. I really thought it was a girl this time. Even though my test was correct, I don't know if I would take it again. I read a blog on the Internet from a woman who had four boys and Intelligender said she was having a girl. She had a fifth boy! I don't think I could handle that! (not that I am planning 5 kids or anything.) I will be overwhelmed with 3! Had that happened to me, I would have been seriously disappointed!

I didn't find out the sex of the baby with my second child, but I just had to know with the third.

Would you take this test? Did you find out the sex of your baby during ultrasound or wait until the birth?

NBC: Pregnant? Wondering if you're carrying a Mark or a Mary? Well, one company claims that its simple urine test can tell parents-to-be whether they're having a baby girl or boy. If the urine turns orange- it's a girl. Green? You're having a baby boy.

Intelligender, the Plano, Texas, creator of the "boy or girl gender prediction test," says its researchers have isolated certain hormones that when combined with a mix of chemicals react differently if a woman is carrying a male or female child. Intelligender would not say what hormones or chemicals it uses in its test because of a pending patent.

The company claims that within 10 minutes of taking the urine test, a woman will be able to tell her baby's gender and that the test can be used as early as 10 weeks into the pregnancy. couples typically don't find out until about 20 weeks.

But a caveat here: the company says the test only boasts a 78-to-80 percent
accuracy rate.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Taking Multi-Vitamins

FROM NBC: Taking multi-vitamins during pregnancy may reduce the risk of delivering a baby with a low birth weight.

Right now, the world health organization recommends pregnant women take an iron-folic acid supplement instead of a multi-vitamin. But a new Canadian study finds multi-vitamins reduce low birth weights by 17-percent -- which is more effective than iron-folic acid supplements.

Researchers say one-point-five million babies born with a low birth weight could be avoided each year, if mothers get and take these prenatal multi-vitamins.

Experts say women should talk with their doctors before changing or adding any vitamins during their pregnancy.

So my reaction to this is, "Don't most pregnant women take a muli-vitamin?" Even the over the counter vitamins for pregnant women are multi. They have iron, folic acid and a whole lot more in them. Did you take a multi-vitamin or just an iron-folic acid vitamin during pregnancy?

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Car Seat vs. Train

The car seat company Britax sent me this story last week. Honestly, I figured it was one of the hundreds of emails I get each month from people trying to get me to give them a free advertisement for their product/service. So I just now read it and it is an amazing story! I don't understand how, but a 2-year-old survived being hit by a train. He wasn't injured and neither was his car seat! Amazing!

FROM WTMJ: ELM GROVE - Inside the mangled wreckage of a minivan struck by a train in Elm Grove is a car seat. It's still strapped in and not damaged a bit."It saved my nephew's life," said Peggy Partenfelder Moede. The 2-year-old boy was in the van when the train slammed into it. He wasn't even injured.

Assistant Police Chief Gus Moulas says when he survey's the damage, he was amazed no one was killed. "In my opinion, anyone seated in the passenger seat or even the driver's seat would've succumbed to a fatal injury," he said.Peggy says she hopes other people learn from her nephew's miraculous survival. "You never think that this is going to happen to your family and when it does, it's the little things like having the properly installed car seat," she said.

The train was breaking when it hit the minivan, but police think it was still going pretty fast. For those who are interested the car seat is a Britax Roundabout.

What do you think after reading this? Did the car seat save the child's life or is it getting too much credit?What brand of car seat do you use?

-NewsAnchorMomJen

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Mattel sold lead toys

FROM ABC: Toy maker Mattel Inc. and its Fisher-Price subsidiary have agreed to pay a $2.3 million civil penalty for importing and selling toys with excessive levels of lead. The penalty is part of a settlement the companies reached with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which announced Friday, that the toymaker had knowingly violated a 30-year-old federal ban on lead paint in toys.

The companies deny having willfully violated the ban. The penalty stems from a series of recalls by Mattel and Fisher-Price in 2007, when the companies recalled nearly 2 million popular Big Bird, Elmo, Dora and other toys because of excessive levels of lead found in the paint on the toys.

Barbie doll accessories and "Sarge" toy cars were also part of the recalls.

The commission says the fine is the biggest for a lead paint violation involving children's toys.

Mattel and Fisher-Price were among dozens of manufacturers that yanked millions of Chinese-made toys from store shelves in the months leading up to the 2007 holiday shopping season. The recalls made parents uneasy as they shopped for gifts for small children.

The Mattel and Fisher-Price fine is the commission's first penalty resulting from those recalls.

"These highly publicized toy recalls helped spur congressional action last year to strengthen CPSC and make even stricter the ban on lead paint on toys," said the commission's acting chairman Thomas Moore. "This penalty should serve notice to toy makers that CPSC is committed to the safety of children."

"Today's settlement announcement by the U.S. CPSC resolves Mattel's outstanding issues with the agency related to certain matters that arose in 2007," Mattel said. "Mattel promptly took a series of steps after discovering compliance issues with some of our toys at that time.

"We were able to effectively minimize any potential concerns by launching a fast-track recall of the affected product in conjunction with the CPSC and other global regulatory agencies, and by taking several steps to enhance our product compliance protocols and procedures to confirm that every Mattel toy is safe for children to enjoy," Mattel said. Fisher-Price referred calls to Mattel.

Mattel, based in El Segundo, Calif., has not had any lead paint recalls since the 2007 cases, which spurred congressional action and a new law last summer — called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act — that restricts the amount of lead allowed in children's products.

Lead poisoning in children can cause neurological damage, delayed mental and physical development, learning deficiencies, and other problems.

In case you don't already know, it is solely up to the toy manufacturers to make sure there is no lead in toys before they go on store shelves. The Consumer Product Safety Commission randomly tests toys AFTER they are sold to unsuspecting parents. So be extra careful when picking up toys for kids who are teething. Several teethers have been found to have excessive amounts of lead. It's a scary thought. Obviously, these are big toy names so don't assume a name brand is safe either. I had some teethers tested with an XRF machine last year. That's really the only way to make sure there's no lead paint on the toys. The machine costs $25,000-$30,000, so it's not likely something parents will have! Yikes! I can't believe I have to go through this again with a new baby coming in September!

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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