Do Painkillers Cause Miscarriage?

Do common painkillers such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn) cause miscarriage? A recent study by a group of medical researchers in the United States found no evidence that links miscarriages with use of over-the-counter painkillers during early pregnancy.

“Our findings suggest that use of nonprescription over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in early pregnancy does not put women at increased risk of spontaneous abortion,” note the researchers in their conclusion.

They arrived at said conclusion by interviewing nearly 3000 pregnant women who were part of the Right from the Start cohort study about their medication exposure as well as their pregnancy outcomes.

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Should Doctors and Hospitals Give out Free Infant Formula?

Should Doctors and Hospitals Give out Free Infant Formula? Should hospitals give out free infant formula? No, say public health advocates who are now petitioning hospitals in the United States to end the practice, saying it undermines breastfeeding.

There’s really no going around it, they say. Breast milk is the ideal food for newborns and babies up to two years old, and no manufactured formula can confer the many unique benefits of breast milk.

“These benefits, very well chronicled in the scientific literature, are stunningly comprehensive,” says Dr. David L. Katz, founding director of Yale University’s Prevention Research Center, in an April 9 blog piece syndicated by the Huffington Post’s Healthy Living.

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Obese Mothers More Likely to Have Children With Autism?

A new provocative study shows that compared to healthy-weight mothers, obese women are 67 percent more likely to have a child with autism. They were also about twice as likely to have a child with another developmental disorder.

Can autism be preventable? Scientists say, yes. And autism research points to early diagnosis and intervention — as early as when the child is eight months old — as the best way to stop this disabling brain disorder in its tracks.

But really being able to prevent autism requires a complete understanding of its causes — and scientists are still putting together that picture, despite intensive research for many decades.

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Can Autistic Children Bloom & Develop Later?

Autistic kids “bloom,” outgrow symptoms if given one-on-one early intervention. There’s good news and there’s bad news. And in between, there’s a whole new set of reasons to encourage parents of autistic children to keep plodding on.

Findings of a new study from Columbia University give parents of autistic children more hope — boosting the conventional wisdom that they should persist in making sure their kids get all the help they can need.

The study found about one in ten children diagnosed with severe autism goes on to experience rapid gains in skills — progressing from severely affected to high functioning. What’s more, by the time they turn 8 years old, this small group of autistic kids may even shed many symptoms of their disorder. Some may even grow out of their diagnosis by their teens.

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What Causes Autism? Is There an Autism Epidemic in the US?

What Causes Autism? Is There an Autism Epidemic in the US? Advocacy group Autism Speaks says: “Autism is now officially becoming an epidemic in the United States. We are dealing with a national emergency that is in need of a national plan.”

When figures a few years ago showed that as many as one child in 110 in the United States had autism, leading autism research advocates called for health officials to declare a new “national emergency” and an “epidemic” that needed urgent attention.

Today, the situation is even more dire: One out of 88 children is believed to have autism or a related disorder, according to health officials who said on March 29 that autism appears to be on the rise, with the rate rising 23 percent in two years.

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Is Gerber Safe for Your Baby? Gerber Recalls Baby Formula For Off-odor

Gerber Safe for Your Baby: Gerber Recalls Baby Formula For Off-odor. Due to complaints of foul odor and gastrointestinal problems, Gerber Products Co has voluntarily recalled some of its Good Start Gentle powdered infant formula, both the company and the federal regular announced on March 9.

Geber said it’s offering a replacement for the recalled formula — a 23.2 ounce plastic package from batch GXP1684.

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