For the Week Ending April 28, 2019.
Move over CBD oil. The new trendy food additive acronym may be HMO – human milk oligosaccharide, i.e. sugar found in breast milk. This indigestible sugar passes right through babies’ stomachs into their colons, where it promotes the growth of healthy bacterial species in their microbiome. Chemical companies are hoping that recombinant versions of the sugar will do the same for adults. Read more here.
This is important for you because if you are able to do it, breastfeeding your baby is super healthy for both of you.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex – Harry and Meghan – do things their own way. And that includes giving birth. The couple is forgoing the royal baby shoot that this little one’s first cousins have undergone – and the press is none too happy about it. Read more here.
This is important for you because you are the baby’s mother, and you get to decide what’s right for her. If Harry and Meghan can defy the British royal family and tabloids, you can fend off some pushy parents, in-laws, or even well meaning friends.
Conventional wisdom holds that men desire sex more and more frequently than women, whose sexual attitudes and activities have been portrayed as “complicated.” But as is so often the case, conventional wisdom is probably wrong. These outdated views arose from skewed experimental designs and methodologies, designed primarily by male researchers. But work done since the year 2000 indicates that both sexes have similarly complicated sexual lives. Read more here.
This is important for you even if sex is not how you got pregnant in the first place.
Endometriosis is a condition in which the endometrium, the tissue lining the uterine wall, grows in other organs outside of the uterus. It can be very painful, and can lead to infertility. Johns Hopkins University has just created a virtual multidisciplinary center to coordinate treatment, which may require a number of different specialists. This should make patients’ lives much easier. Read more here.
This is important for you because even if you don’t suffer from endometriosis, universities’ focusing on women’s health and patient experience is good for everyone.
The most popular article on The Pulse this week was Vaginal Discharge During Pregnancy: Normal Or Not? Read it here.
