More Evidence that Breast is Best

More evidence has emerged (Pediatrics, 2008) that breastfeeding for at least 4 months, compared with feeding formula made with intact cow milk protein, prevents or delays the occurrence of atopic dermatitis, cow milk allergy, and wheezing in early childhood.

There are a vast array of other reasons why breast is best for your baby says UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown Dip.ION (mBANT), specialist in pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy, including having a higher IQ, developing fewer colds, ear infections, gastric infections and pneumonia. Breastfeeding is also best for you as it can help you lose weight more easily – breastfeeding uses up 500 calories a day! It also promotes greater bonding between mum and baby.

Sadly, less than a third of mums in the UK are still breastfeeding at 4 months. One of the key reasons appears to be insufficient milk and that new mums find it too exhausting.

However, optimising your diet during your pregnancy and while breastfeeding may help ensure you have the correct nutrients to provide a plentiful supply of milk and give you enough energy to keep going while your breastmilk flow is established and you and your baby learn how best to breastfeed – this takes around 6 weeks!

I have written a free e-book on how you can improve your diet during your pregnancy. To find out more, contact UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown Dip.ION (mBANT), specialist in pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy care in the city of London, EC2.

More evidence that diet and lifestyle can significantly improve fertility

According to Dr Jorge Chavarro, lead author of the study, which was published in November 2007 in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, following a "fertility diet" may favourably influence fertility in healthy women and that the majority of infertility cases due to ovulation disorders may be preventable through modifications of diet and lifestyle.

What this means says UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown Dip.ION (mBANT), specialist in pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy is that certain foods and lifestyle factors can significantly affect hormone levels and improve fertility in women with ovulation problems - a common cause of infertility.

A combination of five or more low-risk lifestyle factors, including diet, weight control, and physical activity are important, according to the Harvard based researchers.

The ‘best diet’ appears to be one with more fruit and vegetables, less meat and carbohydrates, more healthy fats and few or no trans fats. The fertility diet may influence ovulation because of the affect it has on insulin levels. Insulin levels, in turn, can affect sex-hormone-binding globulin, which can affect the amount of free androgen in a women's body – and too much can suppress ovulation. “The most surprisingly result was that fat from diary products appeared to increase fertility”, says UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown Dip.ION. “However, this may not appear as counter-intuitive as it seems, as it is important to remember that saturated fats in moderation are essential for your body to operate effectively”.

To find out more, contact UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown Dip.ION (mBANT), specialist in pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy care in the city of London, EC2.

Being overweight reduces your chances of becoming pregnant

It is well known that if you are overweight it affects your fertility and chances of becoming pregnant naturally and another study published last year by researchers at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam have again drawn the same conclusion.

It is known that obesity disrupts ovulation and many women who are overweight do not ovulate regularly. However, what was not known for certain is it that fertility also declines among overweight women who are ovulating regularly.

After following over 3,000 couples, the study found that women with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher (which is considered obese) had a significantly lower probability of becoming pregnant naturally than women with BMIs between 21 and 29 (which is considered normal weight).

Further, the more obese the woman was, the harder time she had with conception. Compared with normal weight women, women with a BMI of 35 had a 26 percent lower chance of getting pregnant naturally, while women with a BMI of 40 had a 43 percent lower chance. This means that the more overweight you are, the harder it becomes to get pregnant.

Obese women may have disturbed hormone levels, which decrease their chances of successful fertilization, researchers said.

Fortunately, there was also recent review into the most effective diet to lose weight and it was concluded that you lose more weight on a low glycaemic diet, which is the diet (or healthy eating pattern) that I promote to all my clients whether or not they are overweight.

To find out more, contact UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown Dip.ION (mBANT), specialist in pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy care in the city of London, EC2.

Maternal shortage of vitamin D linked to an increase in rickets among children

Recent research has shown that doctors fear a resurgence of rickets – particularly in Asian or dark skinned children, where the incidence may be as high as 1 in a 100 - due to a lack of vitamin D.

Rickets is a bone disease mainly caused by a lack of the vitamin. It can lead to deformities, stunted growth and general ill-health.

"If a pregnant or breastfeeding woman is lacking in vitamin D, the baby will also have low vitamin D and calcium levels which can lead babies to develop seizures in the first months of life." Further complications mean that there is a chance that your child may become anaemic (when the blood is unable to carry enough oxygen around the body) and this not only affects your child’s behaviour, but may lead to lack of attention and the inability to concentrate at school.

Dr Colin Michie, a paediatrician at Ealing Hospital, says the biggest problem is maternal shortage of vitamin D. "Mothers and babies are simply not getting enough of this important vitamin.
Pregnant or breastfeeding women have been urged to boost their vitamin D intake particularly in the winter months amid warnings that cases of rickets in children are increasing. There are two ways of getting sufficient vitamin D – one is through sunlight and the other is through certain foods or supplementation.

It is thought that most people in the UK may get enough vitamin D from sunlight – from 15-20 minutes of sun exposure to the arms, head and shoulders each day during the summer months - to make enough vitamin D for good health. However, research has shown that in winter months at latitudes of 52 degrees north (above Birmingham), there is no ultraviolet light of the appropriate wavelength for the body to make vitamin D in the skin. Furthermore, there is no accurate way to assess what is adequate sunshine exposure for any given infant or child.

Melody Mackeown, Nutritionist & Foresight Practitioner, says as vitamin D also helps calcium to be absorbed and this has implications for the normal development of bones, teeth, and nerves, as well as heart health. If you are pregnant or are trying to conceive and do not obtain sufficient vitamin D from your diet or lifestyle then this may adversely affect your children later on. You may also be affected directly by developing soft bones.

UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown Dip.ION (mBANT) offers pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy care right in the city of London, EC2.

Sources: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7161458.stm
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/111/4/908
http://www.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab006164.html
http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2004/9241546123_chap3.pdf

Having an older brother may decrease Fertility

Research looking at historical data by The University of Sheffield has concluded that having boys takes more out of a mother and may reduce her lifespan. One theory is that male fetuses produce more of the sex hormone testosterone and the stress hormone cortisol. Both these hormones may make a mother’s immune system weaker, thereby making her more vulnerable to illnesses and disease.

Surprisingly, it was also found that offspring to mothers whose first child was a boy were likely to have fewer children, than those in families where the first child was a girl. This was true regardless of the gender of your second or subsequent child (i.e. whether you have a boy or girl). This may also be a result of the mother having a weaker immune after first having a boy. It may also be due to the first born boy depleting more nutrients from the mother’s stores. Consequently, younger siblings may not receive the same nutrients throughout pregnancy.

“What this suggests”, says UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown, “is that optimizing your diet before and during all pregnancies is vital for a mother’s immune system (especially if you are having a boy) and then for your children for their reproductive health later in life (especially it would seem for younger siblings).

The best way to do this is to eat a good, balanced diet rich in fruit and vegetables (at least five portions a day) and protein sources such as meat, poultry and fish. Meat is a good source of animal protein and important minerals such as iron and zinc, with zinc being especially important for male fertility. Fatty fish is a very good source of essential fats, which are important in the development of the foetus.