Pregnancy and Cell Phones

This seems ridiculous to me, but if that's what the studies are showing, I guess we should take note and stay off our cell phones while pregnant. I think kids who are typically developing have enough behavioral problems of their own. I wouldn't want to make things worse!

FROM NBC: Pregnant women who regularly use their cell phone may be increasing the chance their child will have behavioral problems. A study of 28 thousand Danish seven year olds finds those who were exposed to cell phones before and after birth were fifty percent more likely to have behavioral problems.

This finding persisted even when researchers took factors like mother's age, prenatal alcohol exposure, and the baby's birth weight into account. An earlier study of thirteen thousand children had similar results. Experts say it is too early to say cell phones *cause* behavioral problems - they are planning more studies.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Are you having an acne emergency? Soderstrom Skin Institute can help. We treat acne seriously and in most cases will see you within a week. Evening and Saturday appointments are available. Call 309-674-SKIN and make your appointment today.

Can a Flat Head be Prevented?

We have talked several times on this blog about plagiocephaly-or flat headed babies. My second child had this. I was well aware of it at just 4 weeks old. He had a tendency to turn his head to a certain angle every time he fell asleep. I was constantly trying to reposition his head. I put toys on the opposite side. He was persistent. Of course, he ended up with a flat spot and needed a helmet. This article makes it sound easy to prevent a flat headed baby, but I don't think it's always as simple as it sounds. I caught it extremely early and still wasn't able to prevent it. So don't beat yourself up if your baby has a flat head. Just do what you can to prevent it and take them to the doctor by four months old if you suspect a flat spot is forming.

FROM NBC: Parents are faced with tough choices everyday in their bid to keep children safe.

Now the fear of one deadly syndrome may be leading to new complications. As a recent study has shown four in ten babies have flatheads.
There's plenty to worry about as a new parent.
And at the top of Chris Doucher's list...
making sure his four month old daughter,
Kirsi, sleeps on her back.

Chris Doucher/Father "In the first little while, with sleep deprivation, you're always watching her... and for sure they're really serious about it... and you've heard horror stories."

Doctors recommend babies sleep on their back to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome... or SIDS. But there can be a side effect for babies
laying on their back.... plagiocephaly or flat headed babies.

Sixteen-month-old Kash Searle wars a helmet 23 hours a day to help correct a flattening of his head on one side.

Alison Searle/Mother: "His head was misshapen from the moment he was born..But it got really worse after from when he was 6 months old." Researchers suspect the length of time babies are left in car seats and other infant chairs
is largely to blame.

New born skulls are soft and pliable, making them prone to flatten.

The worry is... the condition could lead to developmental delays. And a recent study found 40 per cent of children could have some form of plagiocephaly.


Aliyah Mawji/PhD Student, University of Calgary: "I was surprised. But at the same time, when we think of everything we tell new mums to do in terms of always putting babies to sleep on their back, that's part of why they end up with flat heads."

Luckily, the problem is preventable.

Barb Mikkelsen/Physiotherapist: "Alternate the position of their head at night when they are sleeping so that they are not always looking to the same side... and when they're awake, doing some tummy time, which is really important... time off the head."

Chris Doucher has heard the warnings.

Chris Doucher/Father: "You definitely don't want it... you don't want to go through the states of having to reconstruct the head so it's normal... we're just diligent about putting her on her back and watching her."

Careful to prevent the preventable.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Are you having an acne emergency? Soderstrom Skin Institute can help. We treat acne seriously and in most cases will see you within a week. Evening and Saturday appointments are available. Call 309-674-SKIN and make your appointment today.

Technology has really failed me

I was trying to post on my blog last night and I couldn't get on the Internet. I felt like I went back in time when it took an eternity to log on and the key board looked like this picture. I still don't know why I couldn't get on. It just kept searching.

So I decided to watch Grey's Anatomy. There was no audio. Then I tried to post to my blog on my phone. It would only let me post in the 'Title' and not in the body of the script. So.. I wrote a little something in the title. However, when I got up this morning, I realized I wrote in on the 'test' NewsAnchorMom site and not the real site. What a mess!

I was planning on ordering a couple things on-line last night. I really think the technology failure was a sign for me to stop doing that. It just seems so much easier! I just get carried away and buy everything that looks like a good deal. Yikes! I hope your Holiday shopping is going better than mine!

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Are you having an acne emergency? Soderstrom Skin Institute can help. We treat acne seriously and in most cases will see you within a week. Evening and Saturday appointments are available. Call 309-674-SKIN and make your appointment today.

Holiday Giveaway Winners!

Please contact me if you haven't made arrangements to pick-up your winnings! Thank you!
newsanchormom (at) gmail (dot) com
Friday: 11-19-10

The Greenhouse Flower Shoppe:Linda Cooper, Washington

Bremer Jewelry: Sherry Ropp, Tremont

Frantz & Co.: Jennifer Klaus, Atlanta

Firehouse Pizza: Sybil Grimes, Washington

RiverPlex: Angela Huffman, Kewanee

Thursday 11-18-10

3 month membership to the RiverPlex: Alexis Barnes, Bloomington

The Greenhouse Flower Shoppe: Lisa Friend, East Peoria

Bremer Jewelry: Lisa Richmond, Pekin

Frantz & Co. Pest Control: Jamie Wibben, Atlanta

Firehouse Pizza: Lois Engstrom, Alpha

Skin Dimensions Day Spa: Patti Vance, Tremont

Wednesday 11-17-10

3 Month Membership to RiverPlex: Deborah Fischer, Manito

Bremer Jewelry: Bev Holford

Firehouse Pizza: Carla Allen, Metamora

Frantz & Co: Vivian Moon, Edelstein

The Greenhouse Flower Shoppe: Amy Crusen, Hanna City

Skin Dimensions Day Spa: Lisa Fay, East Peoria


Tuesday 11-16-10

Soderstrom Skin Institute: Yvonne Tucker, Chillicothe

3 Month RiverPlex Membership:Kathy Walters, Bartonville

Firehouse Pizza: Jennifer Quine, Bartonville

Bremer Jewelry: Lisa Jennings, Pontiac

The Greenhouse Flower Shoppe: Catherine McClarey, Dwight

Frantz & Co: Angie Aeschliman, Dunlap

Monday 11-15-10

Soderstrom Skin Institute: Kay Wilson, Normal

3 Month RiverPlex Membership: Dena Day, Washington

Firehouse Pizza: Heidi Abbott, North Pekin

Bremer Jewelry: Kristin Tuley, Pontiac

The Greenhouse Flower Shoppe: Pearl Mabry

Frantz $ Company Pest Control: Judi Landino, Washington

We will announce more winners tomorrow at 10p.m.!

If you won tonight, you can pick up for gift certificate at:
WHOI/WEEK
2907 Springfield Road
East Peoria, IL 61610

Don't forget to thank the sponsors!!

Closer to an Autism Test

Most of you know, the earlier you detect autism, the faster your child can be treated. Early treatment makes a big difference in how kids with autism function later in life. So, if there were a test that said definitely 'yes' or 'no' for autism, that would be huge! This is very promising!

FROM CNN:

Scientists are finding more pieces of the autism puzzle of with the help of MRI scans of brain circuitry, according to a study published Thursday online in the journal Autism Research.

By scanning the brain for 10 minutes using magnetic resonance imaging, researchers were able to measure six physical differences of microscopic fibers in the brains of 30 males with confirmed high-functioning autism and 30 males without autism.

The images of the brains helped researchers correctly identify those with autism with 94 percent accuracy, says Nicholas Lange, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and one of the study authors.

"No one has measured what we measured," says Lange of the MRI test he and Dr. Janet Lainhart from the University of Utah developed.

While previous studies using different types of scans have been able to identify people with autism, Lange says, "no one has looked at it [the brain] the way we have and no one has gotten these type of results."

Lange is quick to caution that this type of test is not yet ready for prime time. "We do not want to give anyone false hopes that this is ready for the clinic yet. This method, this test, needs to be tried [and confirmed] with many more subjects outside our laboratory," he says. Plus, the research needs to be expanded to many more study participants and tried on younger people with autism and those who are not as high-functioning as the subjects in this first trial.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Are you having an acne emergency? Soderstrom Skin Institute can help. We treat acne seriously and in most cases will see you within a week. Evening and Saturday appointments are available. Call 309-674-SKIN and make your appointment today.

Eating those fruits and veggies

I can get my kids to do the fruit thing, but the veggies are still challenging. I do grind up vegetables and hide them in food when I have time(which isn't very often.) Although, I actually made three meals this week. No one liked or ate the first two. I am hopeful tonight's Mexican casserole was a big hit. I will soon find out. I did ad corn to the recipe because it didn't have any veggies in it. My kids still won't eat raw vegetables. They will take a couple bites, but they still spit them out. :(

FROM NBC: Kids who eat their fruit and veggies will have healthy hearts as adults. A study of 16 hundred children who were followed for more than 25 years finds those who consistently ate vegetables and fruit from childhood to adulthood had a lower risk for stiff arteries as adults. Those who didn't follow mom's advice performed worse on arterial stiffness tests. The risk persisted even when factors that increase the risk for heart disease were accounted for -- like cholesterol. Experts say making fruit and vegetable shopping fun, including kids in meal preparation, and giving kids choices are all ways to get them to eat the healthy stuff.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Are you having an acne emergency? Soderstrom Skin Institute can help. We treat acne seriously and in most cases will see you within a week. Evening and Saturday appointments are available. Call 309-674-SKIN and make your appointment today.