Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich biodiversity of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating give us pleasure. …
most couples assume that whenever they want to have children, all they need to do is stop using birth control measures. For many, it really is that simple. But for millions of others, it is not that easy. An estimated 10-15 per cent of couples are infertile, which is defined …
nothing illustrates better the ill-effects of excessive and unnecessary intervention in the field of reproductive and child health more than the rising rates of ectopic pregnancy
Women's longevity may depend on the age at which they get pregnant, say Rudi Westendorp of the Netherlands and Thomas Kirkwood of the UK. Those who have their first pregnancy at a late age seem to live longer than those who bear children earlier, they add. The duo also says …
politicians and economists look at the latest gross domestic product ( gdp) figures to see how their nations are doing. I look at the infant mortality rate or imr . It is the number of babies out of every 1,000 born who die before they reach their first birthday. For …
millions of couples the world over often face this question: Is there an ideal period between the birth of the first and second child? It is known in medical circles that having babies too close together can be bad for an infant's health as the mother's body does not get …
GANDHAR KARMAKAR is nine years old. He has only one eye, and suffers from paralysis. Elder to him by three years is Motiram. He suffers from osteoporosis (general bone damage). Dunia Uraon, also just short of his teens, is another unfortunate adolescent. His mother suffered three miscarriages before giving birth …
OFFICIALS from the World Bank (wb) and the World Health Organisation (who) have reported that there has been little progress in the area of maternal mortality, mostly from easily preventable diseases. In developing countries, one in every 48 women dies from pregnancy-related omplications each year, compared to one in 4,000 …
Doctors know that children whose mothers smoke have a higher risk of smoking during their adolescence, but they are yet to find out why. However, a recent study says it probably involves the learning of flavours. A variety of flavours are transmitted from the mother's diet to the baby through …
Unsafe abortions are primary killers of women between the ages of 14 and 44 in Ghana. Poverty and ignorance among people allows quacks to have a flourishing business. According to the health minister, approximately 1,200 women die each year due to this illegal practice. Worldwide around 20 million unsafe abortions …
Infants - of humans as well as other species - need an unusually large amount of time and nurturing for their development. Some scientists believe that this may as well be one the reasons for the longevity of women, who are the primary 'care-givers'. Now, scientists have confirmed that it …
ONE of the biggest threats that we face as we take the last few steps towards the new millennium is from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS. Spreading more rapidly than the proverbial wildfire, this universally-feared disease infects over 16,000 new victims every day. And in developing countries, the situation is …
Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa are at a critical turning point in their effort to address the problems of rapid population growth and poor reproductive health, says a study of Population Action International (pai). The economic growth of countries such as Kenya, South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe largely depend on …
a recent study conducted in Delhi has found alarming levels of metals such as lead and cadmium in several placental tissues. This has sharply highlighted the hazards of air pollution as these metals are both toxic and often, are the cause many irreversible health effects. The threat unborn babies face …
Mothers should breast-feed their babies for at least the first year as it benefits both the baby and the mother, says the American Academy of Paediatrics. In a policy statement issued recently, the academy says that studies have shown that breast-feeding can decrease the incidence or severity of conditions such …
A pregnant woman's exposure to chemicals and possibly to alcohol may make the baby prone to leukaemia, reports a new study. Mel Graves and his team from the Institute of Cancer Research, USA, recently isolated DNA from the cells of leukaemia -infected children aged five months to two years. In …
studies show that calcium intake does not help prevent bone loss in lactating women. At present, doctors prescribe calcium doses for such women to prevent loss of bone density. Heidi J Kalkwarf and his colleagues at the Children Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, usa , have found that calcium intake of …
nutrition plays a vital role in the development of a baby's immune system, even in the womb. A team of researchers led by Andrew Prentice of the Medical Research Council's Dunn Nutrition Unit, Cambridge, uk, has confirmed the relationship after analysing the births and deaths of nearly 1,000 people in …
Women can help prevent deterioration of their child's intelligence in later years by avoiding toxins and leading a healthy life during pregnancy. The environment of the womb plays a crucial role in deciding a child's intelligence quotient (IQ), according to a team of researchers led by Bernard Devlin at the …
Until now pregnant women were under the misconception that if they had morning sickness, they were less prone to a miscarriage. Kathleen O'Conner of Pennsylvania State University, University Park, says that morning sickness is simply more frequent in younger women. She randomly selected 708 married women (age 18-47 years) in …
