Stressing about pregnancy bad for baby?

Pregnancy-specific anxiety may be worse for a baby than normal stress according to modern research.

Pregnant women are commonly told to relax and reduce stress with the belief that life’s everyday stresses could harm the baby. But it may not be normal daily stress that does its worst.

Modern research is finding that pregnant women who say they are managing daily stress actually aren’t harming their baby that much. But when it comes to stressing about the pregnancy itself, woman may be doing more harm than they think.

“Most of my patients are so anxious it’s outrageous,” Laura Riley, medical director of labor and delivery at Massachusetts General Hospital, told the Wall Street Journal.

“It’s amazing how many people will come to my office and say, ‘I’ve read that stress is very bad for pregnancy, and I’m all stressed out.”‘ Riley goes on to tell her patients: “Now you’re all stressed-out about being stressed. This is just not helpful.”

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine recently published study results in the journal Child Development concerning an independent link between early “pregnancy-specific anxiety” and lower cognitive development scores in one year olds.

A 2009 study published in Infant and Child Development found that anxiety related to the pregnancy could be linked to temperamental problems in infants afterwards.

While its not fully understood how this specific type of anxiety is linked to the health of the child, obstetricians are increasingly telling their patients to not stress about the pregnancy itself. Many are recommending a special program called Centering Pregnancy.

Sharon Rising, the executive director of the Centering Healthcare Institute, told the Wall Street Journal that nearly 300 medical facilities in the U.S. are offering Centering Pregnancy groups. These groups gather pregnant women at or near the same point in pregnancy to first receive normal medical checkups and then huddle together to talk about their pregnancy concerns.

In 2007, a group of researchers looked at over 1,000 women who attended such groups and found that they were a third less likely to suffer a preterm birth. Additional research into maternal stress reduction has found similar results.

In light of such research, many researchers are suggesting women gain increased stress resiliency before they become pregnant. Learning how to stop worrying about the pregnancy itself and deal with problems with adversity makes it more likely that baby will be born with fewer problems.

         

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Madonna Reveals What Its Like Working With Her 13 Year Old Daughter

Madonna will be launching her new junior’s clothing line this falls and recently revealed what it was like working with her partner - her 13 year old daughter Lourdes (Lola).

Madonna calls herself “boring” compared to her daughter. She says, “I am boring basically. She reminds me of me when I was younger. She just goes for it and tries different things. It doesn’t look like she thought too much about it. That is how I used to be, but after years and years of everybody commenting on the way I look and dress and being photographed, one starts to become self-conscious and starts to plan things more. You end up judging yourself more, what looks good and what doesn’t.”

When it comes to Madonna’s working relationship with her Lola, it appears to be nothing but professional. “It is good because she does have good taste in fashion,” Madonna says. “I respect her taste and I rarely disagree with her…. I see her more as a creative person, as an artist and less as my daughter as we are working, and then every once and a while I remembered she is my daughter.”

Lola has apparently been interested in fashion since a young age. Madonna reveals, “Lola has been bothering me for ages about designing clothes. Stella McCartney is a good friend of mine and she got her mind thinking when Lola was a little girl, about 8 years old. She started giving Lola fabrics and inviting her into her showroom and asking her opinion on things, giving her sketch books and stuff like that. Stella always pushed her. I have a lot of friends who are clothing designers whether it is Gaultier or Dolce and Gabbana. (Lola) has been around all of the shoots I have done and all of the campaigns I have done. She is always hanging out backstage. The last two tours I have done, she has been working in the wardrobe department. On this last tour she dressed all of the dancers.”

Although Madonna values her daughter’s opinion and she helps here more than most people know, she does want to keep her out of the spotlight for now. “I feel like she needs to get into high school and focus on her studies, her lessons. She got into the high school of the performing arts. She has a lot of work to do. I don’t want her to be distracted. She will eventually be able to talk about it. I am going to be happy when she does because she can speak much more clearly in and in a more informed way than I can about a line she is ultimately designing. I just stand in the background and go, ‘That’s cool. That’s not cool.’”

So, who influences Lola style? According to Madonna, “Lola spent most of her childhood growing up in England. According to her, she thinks people have more style in London, especially the boys. French boys in particular have very good style, according to Lola. I think she has been very influenced by European fashion. She is very influenced by the music she listens to, different bands she is in to. She has favorite models. She takes all kinds of dance classes. She is inspired by different items people wear as dancers whether it is a hip- hop class or a jazz class or ballet class. … Of course she is inspired by my closet. My Christian Dior shoes will go missing and then some fabulous bag I won’t be able to find or my skinny jeans, the only pair that fit me are gone.”

Lourdes is the oldest of Madonna’s children. Madonna also has a 3 other children, Rocco, David, and Mercy.

         

Katie Price Uses Her Kids for Models for Her New Collection of Riding Clothes

Katie Price launched the fourth collection for KP Equestrian and this time used her two kids, Junior, 4, and Princess, 2, as the models for the children’s collection.

Katie is keeping it all in the family this time around for her new riding clothes collection. Junior and Princess can be seen modeling various outfits from her 2010 spring/summer collection on her website for KP Equestrian.

Katie says, “‘I can’t believe this is the fourth collection for KP Equestrian.  How time flies!”

Some people are creating a controversy over these modeling pictures, but there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with Katie using her kids as the models. A spokesperson for Peter Andre, who is the father of Katie’s kids, did not have a comment. Katie and Peter have had several rows over the children since splitting early last year.

         

Woman skydives for ectopic pregnancy charity

A British woman has skydived to raise awareness about a potentially life-threatening condition called ectopic pregnancy.

Earlier this year Helen Tedman, of Fordham, England, lost her baby to ectopic pregnancy, a condition when a woman’s fertilized egg is implanted outside of the womb.

With many questions and concerns about her future fertility status, Tedman turned to the Ectopic Pregnancy Trust to get answers.

“The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust helped me, through the forums and information on the Web site, and made me realise that it is actually quite common, and that all who experience it feel the same way,” Tedman told The Ely Standard.

Through the site, Tedman found that the condition occurs in around one in every 80 pregnancies and kills around five women a year in the U.K. “For many it involves considerable emotional and physical pain, surgery or powerful medical treatments,” said the trust.

Thankful for the information provided by the trust, Tedman took to the sky on February 27, with hopes of raising at least 450 pounds for the Ectopic Pregnancy Trust.

“It was my first ever sky dive. It was a tandem jump, and the experience was absolutely incredible,” said Tedman, 23. “I am now looking forward to another challenge, perhaps a bungee jump in the future.”

In all, Tedman was able to raise 550 pounds for the trust. The trust’s service and support manager, Izzie Oakley, was thankful, telling The Ely Standard, “In the absence of government funding, it’s entirely due to the efforts of people like Helen that we are able to continue to deliver the information, education and support that our service users ask us for.”

For more information about Tedman’s efforts, please visit her donation page on the trust’s Web site.

         

Mario Lopez Wants To Be Suprised When It Comes to Sex of the Baby

Mario Lopez recently announced that him and his girlfriend Courtney Mazza are expecting a baby, but one thing he won’t be announcing anytime soon is the sex of the baby.

Mario Lopez was a guest yesterday on The Ellen DeGeneres show and most of the talk was about his first child who is due this fall. Mario revealed that him and Courtney will be having a surprise delivery.

He said, “People are very upset that I’m not finding out what the sex is going to be. I think that is one of life’s great surprises. I want to be, ‘Oh, it’s a girl’ and ‘Oh, it’s a boy.’”

Mario, who says he is “excited” to be a dad, also revealed that the couple doesn’t have any baby names picked out yet.

This will be the first child for Mario and Courtney.

         

Gisele Bundchen Introduces Baby Benjamin to Her Brazilian Family

Gisele Bundchen and her husband Tom Brady took their 16 week old son Benjamin to Brazil to attend Gisele’s twin sister’s wedding and meet the rest of her Brazilian family.

The Bundchen-Brady family headed to Barra Do Ribeiro, Brazil so that Gisele could be the maid of honor in her twin sister Patricia’s wedding and everyone could meet her son Benjamin. This was the first holiday for Benjamin and the first time that he got to meet his great grandparents and great uncles and aunts.

Bundchen told the press that she only speaks to her son in Portuguese. She said, “I only talk in Portuguese when I’m with him. I think he must get used to the language and learn it - it is important to be bilingual. He’s not just Brady, he’s a Bundchen too.”

Gisele and Tom married in February 2009. Benjamin is the first child between Gisele and Tom. Tom has a 2 year old son with his ex Bridget Moynahan.

         

Webber Admits Denise Van Outen Was Axed from Show Due to Pregnancy

Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber has admitted that Denise Van Outen was fired from the new show Over the Rainbow due to her being pregnant.

Last month Van Outen claimed that she failed to get the job as a judge on Over the Rainbow because she was pregnant. Despite her claims the BBC insisted that they just took a different direction with the show and it had nothing to do with Denise’s pregnancy.

However, now Andrew Lloyd Webber, as come out and admitted that Denise’s pregnancy did play a role in why she was not hired for the show as she thought she was going to be.

“The truth is that she is having a baby,” he said. “I’m a great friend of Denise, I wish her the absolute best, but we have to think of our girls on the show. It wouldn’t be fair on the girls if we had to draft somebody in for three shows who hadn’t been working with them.”

Webber has said that it was not his choice to axe Denise.

Denise has said that she is “disappointed” that she was dropped from the show as it is something that she is “passionate about.”

Denise and her husband Lee Mead are expecting their first child, a girl in May.

         

Beyonce’s Rep: Pregnancy Rumors are “Untrue”

It appears that another rumor that Beyonce is pregnant has been shot down by the singer’s rep.

Last week the website Media Take Out claimed that they had a “rock solid source” which told them that Beyonce was pregnant. The site even claimed that Beyonce was “fine and resting now” but would continue to work up until the delivery.

Well apparently, the rock solid source wasn’t so rock solid. A rep for Beyonce has released a statement saying that the reports that the singer is pregnancy are “untrue.”

This is not the first time that rumors have started that Beyonce and her husband Jay Z are expecting. The couple married in April 2008 and have always kept their relationship private.

         

Celebrities Bring Out Their Kids for the Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards

It was all about the kids on Saturday in Los Angeles as celebrities walked the red carpet with their kids at the 23rd Annual Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards.

The kids of different celebrities got to show off this past weekend on the red carpet and attend a fun event made for them.

Just some of the families that showed up at the Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards include:

• Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith with their kids Trey, 17, Jaden, 11, and Willow, 9.
• Actress Maria Bello and her son Jackson, 9.
• Actress Marlee Matlin and her daughter Sara Rose, 15.
• Former Spice Girl Melanie Brown and her husband Stephen Belafonte with their kids Phoenix, 11, Giselle, 6, and Angel, 3.
• Rapper Snoop Dogg and his wife Shante Taylor with their children Corde, 16, Cordell, 13, and Cori, 10.
• Actor Chris Rock and his wife Malaak Compton-Rock and their daughters Lola, 7, and Zahra, 5.

         

Amy Adams Celebrates at Her Baby Shower

Actress Amy Adams celebrated the impending birth of her first child with a baby shower in Brentwood, CA with her friends and family.

There were several other A-list actresses who came out to celebrate with Amy’s pregnancy. Her friends Debra Messing and Emily Blunt were just a few that showed up this weekend at her baby shower.

Amy is due in a few weeks around the beginning of May. Although she has mentioned that she would be finding out the sex of the baby she has not revealed to the public what it is.

This will be the first child for Amy and her fiance Darren Le Gallo. The couple have been together since 2001 and engaged since 2008.

         

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