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Pregnancy and Lactation Weekly Digest

For the Week Ending November 11, 2018. 

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The Great Eight Plus One

Eight allergens must be declared on food labels per FDA law: peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, dairy, soy, wheat, fish, and shellfish. Sesame is poised to join that list; rates of sesame allergies are rising in this country, and may already affect 0.1% of the population – similar to fish and soy allergies. Read more here.

This is important for you because tons of kids have scary food allergies – something to be aware of once your start feeding your little one solid foods.

No hitting

The American Academy of Pediatrics has just issued its most strongly worded statement yet affirming that parents should not spank their children, and that pediatricians should recommend against it. It is not an effective disciplinary method, and can have negative ramifications for the child. Read more here.

This is important for you because although there will come moments when your kids will drive you up the wall and you will be very tempted to smack them – don’t. Follow the same rules you set for them: hitting is not ok. Use your words.

Not just for pregnant women anymore

Ultrasounds are a mainstay of prenatal care, but the technology can be applied much more broadly. Wearable patches that use ultrasound can continuously monitor people’s central blood pressure all day long, which can be used for earlier detection of heart trouble than just measuring the peripheral blood pressure in your arm once in a doctor’s office. Read more here.

This is important for you because advances in medical technology, be they directly intended for pregnant women or not, can help everyone.

How to Raise a Kid

Huffpost Parents had a conference. Its goal was to help like-minded parents negotiate raising a kid today, and dealt with weighty and timely issues like bullying, technology, addiction, gun violence in school, mental health, and sexual politics. Watch it here.

This is important for you because whatever you are grappling with, chances are other parents have grappled with it before. Their experience and support can be invaluable.

The most popular article on The Pulse this week was Sex After Childbirth: What You Should Know. Your body, mind, and relationship will likely be different, so sex likely will too. But remember; these changes are temporary. Read it here.

Diana Gitig
Dr. Diana Gitig has a Ph.D. in cell biology and genetics from Cornell University, and has been writing about issues in biology – from molecular biology to cancer to immunology to neuroscience to nutrition to agriculture - for the past fifteen years. She has three teenaged children.

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