There are some new recommendations out for women having a C-Section that could save them from a deadly blood clot.
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, blood clots during pregnancy are a leading cause of maternal death here in the U.S. Pregnancy itself can increase the risk of developing a blood clot and women are at risk of developing one even up to six weeks after delivering their child. But, this group representing the nation's obstetricians also say that C-Sections double a woman's risk of developing this type of clot and that most of these start off in the deep veins of the left leg.
Because of this, they are now recommending all women having a Cesarean delivery use special inflating boots that are strapped onto their legs before the C-Section and these boots stay strapped on until a woman is able to walk after delivery.
These are the same types of inflatable boots commonly used to prevent leg blood clots after other major operations, especially orthopedic ones like hip replacements. Because these special boots self-inflate, they help keep the blood flowing in the legs which cuts down on the chances of developing a potentially deadly blood clot. But these expert OB/GYN doctors also want to remind us that these special compression boots shouldn't lull a new mom into thinking she can spend more time resting in bed rather than pushing herself to walk. The goal is to prevent that clot from forming in the first place by getting up and about as soon as possible.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Best Bet For Losing Body Fat
When it comes to working out, we all want to get the best workout in the limited time most of us have.
So, what's your best bet?
That depends on what your goal is, but if it's losing weight and body fat, then jogging is going to be your best bet.
Researchers out of Duke University wanted to answer this very question, if you want to lose weight, and more importantly bell fat, is it better to lift weights or run? So, they recruited overweight non-exercising adults who, over an 8-month period did both. They either jogged or lifted weights. Then they looked to see what happened to the fat around the participants' bellies, the so-called spare tire many of us carry around. The researchers particularly focused on this area since belly fat is associated with a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes and some types of cancer. Turns out the aerobic exercise, jogging, significantly decreased the amount of belly fat participants started the study with. Resistance training, lifting weights, didn't.
That's not to say that resistance training doesn't have its place. If you're looking to increase strength and muscle mass, then lifting weights is part of what you want to do. But, if you're looking to lose some weight and more importantly some inches from your waistline then your best bet is to tie up those running shoes and hit the road.
So, what's your best bet?
That depends on what your goal is, but if it's losing weight and body fat, then jogging is going to be your best bet.
Researchers out of Duke University wanted to answer this very question, if you want to lose weight, and more importantly bell fat, is it better to lift weights or run? So, they recruited overweight non-exercising adults who, over an 8-month period did both. They either jogged or lifted weights. Then they looked to see what happened to the fat around the participants' bellies, the so-called spare tire many of us carry around. The researchers particularly focused on this area since belly fat is associated with a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes and some types of cancer. Turns out the aerobic exercise, jogging, significantly decreased the amount of belly fat participants started the study with. Resistance training, lifting weights, didn't.
That's not to say that resistance training doesn't have its place. If you're looking to increase strength and muscle mass, then lifting weights is part of what you want to do. But, if you're looking to lose some weight and more importantly some inches from your waistline then your best bet is to tie up those running shoes and hit the road.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Children & Window Dangers
When it comes to keeping your children safe at home you need to take a second look at your house's windows.
That's because of the number of children hurt each year when they do fall out of windows in their homes. Some of them even end up getting hospitalized.
According to the latest bit of information, 14 children end up in the Emergency Room each day in the U.S. because they got hurt falling out of a window. That's over 5,000 kids a year. And 65% of these injuries occur to children 4 and under.
According to the authors of the study, done by the The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Ohio, parents simply aren't aware of how frequently windows cause serious accidents and injuries. And the reason toddlers have more of these injuries is because they tend to be curious, don't yet understand the dangers of falling and also have a high center of gravity. This high center of gravity means that as they lean out a window to look they have a hard time not tumbling over. And almost half of these children have injuries to their heads or faces as a result of the fall.
But perhaps most surprising is that most of these falls happen from a second story window, like ones we have plenty of here in Colorado, and not a high rise apartment window.
So, the authors of this study are hoping more parents look at their own houses and upgrade their window safety measures. This includes window guards or stops, especially on upstairs windows. Most importantly remember that window screens themselves won't do much good at holding back even a small toddler.
That's because of the number of children hurt each year when they do fall out of windows in their homes. Some of them even end up getting hospitalized.
According to the latest bit of information, 14 children end up in the Emergency Room each day in the U.S. because they got hurt falling out of a window. That's over 5,000 kids a year. And 65% of these injuries occur to children 4 and under.
According to the authors of the study, done by the The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Ohio, parents simply aren't aware of how frequently windows cause serious accidents and injuries. And the reason toddlers have more of these injuries is because they tend to be curious, don't yet understand the dangers of falling and also have a high center of gravity. This high center of gravity means that as they lean out a window to look they have a hard time not tumbling over. And almost half of these children have injuries to their heads or faces as a result of the fall.
But perhaps most surprising is that most of these falls happen from a second story window, like ones we have plenty of here in Colorado, and not a high rise apartment window.
So, the authors of this study are hoping more parents look at their own houses and upgrade their window safety measures. This includes window guards or stops, especially on upstairs windows. Most importantly remember that window screens themselves won't do much good at holding back even a small toddler.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Working Moms & Depression
You work hard then come home and take care of the family. You're supermom. But could doing all of that raise your risk of depression?
It's sort of a two answer question. Seems like working moms overall are less likely to be depressed, but certain types actually have higher levels of depression.
I know this all sounds a bit confusing, but a new study is showing there is a bit of disparity when it comes to mom, especially those that work.
According to researchers, working moms show less signs of depression than stay-at-home moms. But for some working moms the pressures of work and family along with unrealistic expectations about balancing both can lead to some higher levels of depression.
Prior studies have shown that outside work is actually beneficial to women's mental health. But the not so secret secret behind not getting depression is to have realistic expectations about how much you can actually do. Trying to be the so called “supermom” that does it all won't help. Instead, delegating some tasks and letting others slide can help working mom's better cope with both family and outside responsibilities.
It's sort of a two answer question. Seems like working moms overall are less likely to be depressed, but certain types actually have higher levels of depression.
I know this all sounds a bit confusing, but a new study is showing there is a bit of disparity when it comes to mom, especially those that work.
According to researchers, working moms show less signs of depression than stay-at-home moms. But for some working moms the pressures of work and family along with unrealistic expectations about balancing both can lead to some higher levels of depression.
Prior studies have shown that outside work is actually beneficial to women's mental health. But the not so secret secret behind not getting depression is to have realistic expectations about how much you can actually do. Trying to be the so called “supermom” that does it all won't help. Instead, delegating some tasks and letting others slide can help working mom's better cope with both family and outside responsibilities.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Diet Soda & Weight Gain
Grabbing a diet soda to avoid gaining weight might just have the opposite effect from what you think.
It turns out that drinking diet soda could be causing you to gain those unwanted inches to your waistline instead of actually losing weight.
A new study out of the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio looked at the drinking habits of adults and followed them for 12 years to see what would happen. The results are pretty surprising.
Diet soda drinkers ended up gaining more inches to their waistline than those who didn't drink diet sodas. Overall, the waistlines of those who drank diet sodas expanded 3 times more than those who drank water, juice or even regular sodas. And those drinking 2 or more diet sodas a day gained 6 times more in the waist area.
This is especially concerning since extra fat in the waistline means more fat surrounding your internal organs. And this can increase your chances of having a heart attack or stroke.
Although this sounds a bit odd, that drinking diet sodas can actually make you gain weight, scientist think this might have to do with what you body is thinking as you down that artificially sweetened beverage. The thought is that your body recognizes the sweetness so starts looking for the calories. It doesn't find them in the drink so you start going for the sweetened snacks. And that adds on the pounds. The bad part about this is that you don't even realize you're doing it.
As the researchers put it, diet sodas may be free of calories but not of consequences.
It turns out that drinking diet soda could be causing you to gain those unwanted inches to your waistline instead of actually losing weight.
A new study out of the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio looked at the drinking habits of adults and followed them for 12 years to see what would happen. The results are pretty surprising.
Diet soda drinkers ended up gaining more inches to their waistline than those who didn't drink diet sodas. Overall, the waistlines of those who drank diet sodas expanded 3 times more than those who drank water, juice or even regular sodas. And those drinking 2 or more diet sodas a day gained 6 times more in the waist area.
This is especially concerning since extra fat in the waistline means more fat surrounding your internal organs. And this can increase your chances of having a heart attack or stroke.
Although this sounds a bit odd, that drinking diet sodas can actually make you gain weight, scientist think this might have to do with what you body is thinking as you down that artificially sweetened beverage. The thought is that your body recognizes the sweetness so starts looking for the calories. It doesn't find them in the drink so you start going for the sweetened snacks. And that adds on the pounds. The bad part about this is that you don't even realize you're doing it.
As the researchers put it, diet sodas may be free of calories but not of consequences.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Video Games & Blood Clots
You might have heard of blood clots from long airplane flights, but how about one from playing video games too long?
Economy class syndrome. That's when you get a blood clot in your legs from sitting in a cramped position for too long during a flight. Now it seems that a 20-year-old might have died from the same thing only he didn't fly; he just played video games.
A young man out of the UK recently died from what the coroner says was a blood clot to his leg that broke off and ended up in his lung. This type of clot, called a deep vein thrombosis, or DVT for short, forms when someone is inactive for long periods of time. According to the man's father, the 20-year-old would play his video games on line for up to 12 hours in one stretch. He thinks this is what caused the blood clot to form in the first place. This is a very rare occurrence, but does highlight the need to stay as active as possible.
Whether you're sitting on an airplane for hours on end, or sitting down at your computer or video game console, the bottom line is the same. You need to take breaks, get up and stretch and walk around a bit. Doing this, and keeping hydrated, both at home or on an airplane, can help prevent that clot from forming.
Economy class syndrome. That's when you get a blood clot in your legs from sitting in a cramped position for too long during a flight. Now it seems that a 20-year-old might have died from the same thing only he didn't fly; he just played video games.
A young man out of the UK recently died from what the coroner says was a blood clot to his leg that broke off and ended up in his lung. This type of clot, called a deep vein thrombosis, or DVT for short, forms when someone is inactive for long periods of time. According to the man's father, the 20-year-old would play his video games on line for up to 12 hours in one stretch. He thinks this is what caused the blood clot to form in the first place. This is a very rare occurrence, but does highlight the need to stay as active as possible.
Whether you're sitting on an airplane for hours on end, or sitting down at your computer or video game console, the bottom line is the same. You need to take breaks, get up and stretch and walk around a bit. Doing this, and keeping hydrated, both at home or on an airplane, can help prevent that clot from forming.
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