Folic acid which is a form of the B vitamin folate has just been mandated as an additive to bread-flour in a quest to reduce the number of neural tube defects in babies such as spina bifida. Folate ideal for young women and reduces the risk of abnormalities in births.

Accredited Nutritionist, Glenn Cardwell says, “While this move will help to bring folate intake among women up to the recommended level of 400 micrograms (mcg) a day, everyone should remember that one of the most natural and simplest ways to increase folate intake is to eat a banana.

Bananas are a great source of folate providing up to 10 percent of the recommended daily intake making them ideal for young women and also as an adjunct to avoiding heart disease and dementia.

According to Food Standards Australia and New Zealand, “Neural tube defects are the most serious birth defects. With spina bifida, the spinal column does not close properly and the baby is born with exposed nerves and damages vertebrae. Children with spina bifida can face paralysis, problems with mobility, muscle control, coordination and learning.”

Cardwell says, “The National Health and Medical Research Council recommends that pregnant women take a folic acid supplement at least a month before falling pregnant and for three months after conception, and because almost 50% of pregnancies are unplanned in Australia, snacking on a banana every day is a great start to boosting that folate intake just in case.

“A medium banana provides about 20 mcg of folate In comparison, bread will now have about 50 mcg/slice. Put another way, a banana sandwich could provide 120mcg folate, about 30% of daily folate needs.

“Of course, if you don't eat a lot of bread or want to limit your bread intake, then grab a banana.

“Bananas are also an ideal food to control over-eating because bananas quickly fill your appetite needs,” Cardwell says.

• Wait as least six weeks before even attempting to do any exercise other than the gentle postnatal pelvic exercises advised by your midwife. Speak to your doctor before resuming high-impact sport (usually from three months after the birth).
• Eat several small meals a day instead of three large ones, this will help to help curb the breastfeeding hunger and it’s also a great way to kick start your metabolism. Decrease calories very gradually. That way you'll be able to tell if it's affecting your milk supply.
• Don't run or jump as your ligaments will still be relaxed from pregnancy. This lasts between six and 12 weeks and any return to high-impact sport should be gradual. Exercise that was good in pregnancy is generally good afterwards - brisk walking, swimming and postnatal yoga.
• Don’t be worried about working up a sweat though, but do make sure you're drinking enough water to remain hydrated, especially if breastfeeding. Resistance training, for instance, with bands or light weights, is an excellent way to build-up muscle mass. A person with more muscle mass burns more calories throughout the day, even while sitting.
• Try to think about your posture and hold your stomach in, especially when pushing a buggy. By engaging your core stability muscle, you'll be helping flatten your stomach, as well as possibly preventing back problems.

The Bank will be a first of its kind in Australia and will provide donated breastmilk to premature or sick babies whose mothers, for a variety of reasons, cannot provide sufficient breastmilk for their baby. It will collect and pasteurise the donated breastmilk. Once the breastmilk is pasteurised, it will be frozen and stored until required. Freezing the breastmilk also means that it can be delivered to babies in other hospitals.

Mercy Hospital for Women is one of Australia’s pre-eminent hospitals for women and babies. Although this is relatively new to Australia, babies from overseas have been benefiting from breastmilk banks for years. The launch of Mercy Breastmilk Bank is therefore a significant development for Australian mums and their babies.

Once established, Mercy Breastmilk Bank hopes to have the capacity to broaden out the service to sick babies being cared for in other intensive care nurseries. In order to deliver this essential and worth while service, Mercy Breastmilk Bank is calling on Australians to make much needed donations to this worthy cause. Making a donation you can give sick and premature babies the benefits of potentially life-saving breastmilk.

Media personality and mother of three, Kim Watkins, is an avid supporter of Mercy Breastmilk Bank and says; “when a baby is sick in intensive care, the trauma can leave mums stressed and unable to produce breastmilk. That's where the Mercy Breastmilk Bank will help. It is, literally, a life-saver.”

The advantages of offering premature and sick babies breastmilk includes:
• Babies in the Special Care Nursery or Neonatal Intensive Care Unit who are fed breastmilk progress to normal health 25% faster than if they were fed formula.
• The protein in breastmilk is more easily digested than that of formula.
• Babies fed breastmilk are better equipped to fight infections because breastmilk enhances immunological development.
• Premature babies fed breastmilk are six times less likely to suffer a life threatening gastro-intestinal condition called necrotising enterocolitis.

Dr Gillian Opie, Neonatal Paediatric specialist at Mercy Hospital for Women says; “Mercy Breastmilk Bank will provide sick and premature babies with the best possible alternative nutrition when their mother's own milk is insufficient or not available.”

For more information visit www.mercybreastmilkbank.com.au or call 1300 063 729.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) suggests that there is no safe level of drinking alcohol during pregnancy and that abstaining is the safest approach. A recent report in the United States supports the WHO recommendation and advises that all pregnant women should avoid alcohol completely.

The attitude towards alcohol consumption varies largely from country to country with recommendations being less stringent in the UK and Europe. Experts in Australia have not yet arrived at a consensus on what is considered a safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

However, professionals agree that there is no particular period during pregnancy when drinking is considered to be one hundred per cent safe. As a result, the Australian Drug Foundation (ADF) recommends that pregnant women limit their alcohol consumption to small, infrequent amounts.

The Effects

Many pregnant women admit to drinking alcohol during pregnancy, particularly before realising that they have conceived, and their babies have been born healthy. Although research is still being carried out into the long-term side effects, it is generally thought that a few drinks is unlikely to seriously harm the developing baby.

What must be taken into account is the fact that everybody metabolises alcohol at varying rates and what affects one person may affect another quite differently.

It is known that the detrimental effects of alcohol are compounded if you smoke, have nutritional imbalances, consume high levels of caffeine or take certain types of medication. It is these "unknown" factors that often prompt women to avoid alcohol altogether.

In the same way that women respond differently to alcohol, babies also respond in different ways. The effects of alcohol on the unborn child can vary considerably. The effects may be influenced by:

• the quantity of alcohol consumed
• the type of alcohol consumed
• whether or not the alcohol was consumed over a period of time or during a drinking binge
• the developmental stage of the pregnancy

Babies born to women who have been heavily dependent on alcohol during pregnancy may suffer from withdrawal after birth. Symptoms of this reaction may include a bloated abdomen, irritability and tremors and fits.

Foetal Alcohol Syndrome

Heavy drinking during pregnancy is of great concern and can cause Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), a condition that is known to produce the following:

• Damage to the baby's central nervous system causing mental retardation or severe learning disabilities
• Low birthweight and severely reduced weight gain following birth
• Facial deformities, including eye problems
• Other deformities, including spinal curvature, abnormally-formed toes and fingers
• Defects of the organs

Heavy drinking during the final three months of pregnancy may increase the risk of still-birth, thought to be caused by a reduction in the amount of oxygen being delivered to the developing baby.

Foetal Alcohol Effect

Some babies who are born to mothers who are heavy drinkers escape FAS but are born with the less serious condition of Foetal Alcohol Effect (FAE). Babies with FAE may be born with low birthweight, have difficulties sleeping and feeding, and may experience problems with their hearing and vision. It is also thought that some behavioural and emotional problems are linked to FAE.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) more than 300 million people in the world are obese due to poor nutrition and a lack of exercise.

Obesity is increasing at an alarming rate globally causing serious health repercussions including female reproductive problems and infertility.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) more than 300 million people in the world are obese due to poor nutrition and a lack of exercise.

In Australia the prevalence of excess weight and its extreme obesity, has more than doubled in the past 20 years. Experts are linking the rise to sedentary lifestyles and a lack of education.

A recent Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study found that almost 60% of men and women were considered overweight or obese as defined by body or waist circumference.

By measuring waist circumference, the prevalence of obesity was found to be higher in women than men.

In the United Kingdom, an epidemic of child obesity is tipped to cause a drop in life expectancy for the first time in a century. Obesity is being identified in children as young as three years.

One in forty UK women are now "morbidly obese" meaning their health is severely at risk from excess weight. In fact it is estimated that two thirds of the UK population needs to shed pounds - the exact opposite of a century ago when the same proportion of population was underweight due to malnutrition.

In the United States the prevalence of obesity alone rose from 15.0% to 30.9% between 1980 and 2000 and continues to increase. Poor nutrition and physical inactivity now accounts for some 300,000 premature deaths each year.

Studies have found that excessive weight can cause fertility problems due to menstrual irregularities and irregular ovulation, and greatly increases the risk of pregnancy complications such as gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia.

With obesity comes metabolic changes which human physiology was never designed to withstand. Blood pressure rises as do cholesterol and insulin resistance, the latter leading to an increase in the prevalence of diabetes.

In the space of a single generation in the UK heart problems, diabetes, cancer and respiratory illnesses (non-communicable diseases) now account for more deaths each year than infections such as HIV and malaria.

Yet obesity is not confined to those living in developed nations. In Thailand 15% children obese – up from 12% two years ago. In cities in China one in five adults is obese and there are more than 20 million diabetics.

In Greece, a nation celebrated for its abundance of fresh olive oil and salads, there are high rates of obesity in children.

Foods high in saturated fats, salt and sugar are recognised as the major contributor to obesity and overweight. In other words it is the consumption of highly-processed junk food found on supermarket shelves and served up by the fast food industry that is making our population larger figured. As a result food giants and advertisers have come under fire by action groups and health organisations.

Children have become the target of advertising campaigns by high profile multi-national companies with the use of sporting heroes and celebrities to endorse a plethora of junk food.

Furthermore, the use of computers both at work and play, watching television and other home entertainment has all added to a more sedentary life style. The WHO believes that more than half of the world’s population fails to do 30 minutes of moderate activity a day.

To find out how excess weight and obesity effect fertility and pregnancy click here.

DID YOU KNOW?

• It takes 90 minutes of running to burn off the calories of a Mars Bar.
• Coca Cola increased sales by 7 % in 2001 when it teamed up with Warner to promote the movie Harry Potter The Philosopher’s Stone.
• In the UK £452 million is spent on food advertising. The fast food chain McDonalds accounts for £42 million of this amount.
• A boy aged eight is the ideal consumer for soft drink companies and the like as he has 65 years consumption ahead of him.

THE SURVEY

The Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study carried out between 1999 and 2000 to measure the prevalence of overweight and obesity in adults involved participants aged 25 years and over from 42 randomly selected districts throughout Australia. Guidelines of Body Mass Index or BMI (a formula that identifies the percentage of body tissue that is actually fat by taking your weight in kilograms and dividing it by the square of your height in metres) and waist circumference were used to determine overweight and/or obesity as follows:

• A Body Mass Index greater than or equal to 25.0kg/m(2) for both men and women
• A waist circumference greater than 80cm for women
• A waist circumference greater than or equal to 94.0cm for men

Of 20,347 eligible people who completed a household interview, 11,247 attended the physical examination at local survey sites providing a 55% response rate.

It will be news to some that an accepted way of treating women with high-risk pregnancies isn’t necessarily as helpful across the board as previously thought. New research shows to much bedrest with certain people can effect birth weight and lead to other complications.

Bed rest is a standard prescription for mothers-to-be with threatening prematurity of term and other complications. In some cases it still may be recommended but current research is seeking further trials to determine just when ‘lying down on the job’ is NOT helpful.

The biggest no-no seems to be that bed rest contributes to a woman’s weight loss in the later stages of pregnancy when putting on weight is so important. This is bad for mother and child and can result in a newborn with lower-than-ideal birthweight.

A study reported in Biological Research for Nursing also found

bed-resting mothers suffer from more aches and pains; headaches,

backaches, soreness, muscle shrinkage and also depression.

Researchists recommend further studies comparing high-risk pregnant mums who get about as usual with those resting up more in bed in order to determine when bed rest is advisable and when it isn’t.

Last year controversy sparked Netball Australia's decision to ban pregnant women from playing competitive netball. The ban was finally lifted earlier this year but pregnant women were still being warned about contact sports. Now, after the release of national guidelines on the issue and netballer Trudy Gardner's plans to sue Netball Australia, the topic is in the news again.

On June 18 2001 Netball Australia banned pregnant women from playing at all grades due to fears of injuries and insurance concerns. The decision sparked criticism from doctors, players and women nation wide. Particular pressure from Adelaide Ravens skipper Trudy Gardner, who challenged the ban at the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, helped to force Netball Australia to finally reverse their ban on March 23 2002. Netball Australia however has still continued to recommend that pregnant women do not play.

Controversy over pregnant women participating in sport forced the Australian Sports Commission to release national guidelines on the issue in early May this year. The guidelines stress that pregnant women should consult medical advice before participating in sport but the final decision should be left to the individual. The report also found that the benefits of continuing to play sport at some level throughout pregnancy could outweigh the potential risks and that sporting mishaps were unlikely to harm the unborn baby. Keeping fit throughout pregnancy can really help the birth and early motherhood.

The federal government report also found that a ban on pregnant women participating in sport may contravene state and federal anti-discrimination laws. As a result of the report women in some sports may be asked to sign legal disclaimers yet it also recognises that legal waivers will not stop her unborn child from taking legal action in the future. Warning signs at sporting venues and pregnancy testing was also a possibility however it would be illegal if the test was used to discriminate against a pregnant woman.

Despite winning a court injunction, allowing her to continue playing netball last year while she was pregnant, Trudy Gardner is taking Netball Australia to court. The case was terminated earlier this month after they were unable to resolve their disagreement in the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. On matters of principle Gardner was determined not to give up and would be seeking damages for distress, pain, suffering and also a small amount for loss of match payments and sponsorship money when she was banned from playing netball.

Breast-feeding mums’ should take a close look at their diet as it could be associated with colic in their babies. Ten to 20 per cent of newborns suffer from colic, thought to be caused by stomach pain, however new studies show that a low-allergen diet can reduce colic.

Researchers from Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital have found that colic is caused by allergies to particular foods passed on through breast milk. A study was carried out on a group of breast-feeding mother’s who were put on low-allergen diets by eliminating foods such as eggs, milk, nuts, fish and wheat. It revealed that their babies, all under six weeks old, cried for an average of two hours less each day, with three-quarters of them showing an improvement.

A second group of mother’s were put on a diet containing high-allergy foods. Only one-third of babies showed an improvement with an average reduction in crying of only 30 minutes (this improvement indicates the babies are simply growing out of their colic). Researchers suggest that the allergies passed on through breast milk develop into colic in some babies and eczema in others.

Source: Melbourne Royal Children’s Hospital

Louise and Tim were both smokers. In fact Tim (24) described Louise (25) as a "hard-core smoker" as it wasn’t unusual for her to smoke a packet of cigarettes in one night, particularly if they were out meeting friends in a bar.

When Louise became pregnant, they both decided to quit cigarettes for their baby Will. Louise was so determined to kick her 10-year habit that she stopped within three days of finding out that she was pregnant.

"There really has been a significant shift in identity for me, not only becoming a mother but a non-smoker," says Louise, having smoked since she was 15 years old. "For me having a baby and giving up smoking was an enormous lifestyle change."

So how did she do it?
"At times during my pregnancy I became nostalgic for the old me," she admits.

This is her story:

Why I Quit

Before my pregnancy I smoked about 15 cigarettes a day and often as much as a packet when I went out socially. I decided to quit smoking because I didn’t want to harm our baby in any way. I also knew that if I didn’t quit I would subject myself to the disapproving eyes of judgmental onlookers.

Money was also a big incentive for giving up smoking. We knew we wouldn’t have much money after our baby was born. When I was smoking I would spend up to $60.00 a week on cigarettes. I wanted to spend this money on Will’s future and our lives together.

Some people, mostly smokers, believed that it would be more stressful for the baby if I gave up smoking during pregnancy. But I thought bulls**t.

How I Quit

I gave up within three days of discovering that I was pregnant. It was easier than I had thought it would be. I decided to completely abstain from coffee and alcohol in the first trimester and this really helped me to quit due to the association I had between drinking coffee or alcohol and having a cigarette. I also experienced morning sickness during the first trimester and as a consequence my cravings were significantly reduced. Sometimes if was around people who were smoking I would feel really sick, particularly early on during the first trimester.

I had tried to quit heaps of times before but without success. I had always told myself that I would give up if I became pregnant so there was a significant psychological factor driving my motivation. Having a baby was the best motivation.

How I Felt

Once I quit smoking I felt sh*t but ongoing morning sickness was also contributing to my sense of well-being. I was very emotional and very snappy. Once the morning sickness abated I encountered moments where I felt like having a cigarette. On occasions I gave into my resolve, but only ever in a social context and usually when I was having a glass of alcohol. At about 20 weeks I felt our baby kicking really hard after I had had a cigarette or two. Our baby was clearly distressed from the cigarette smoke I had inhaled. This incident was significant in strengthening my resolve not to smoke.

How I Coped

If I felt like a cigarette I would just think about our baby and that would normally be enough to stop me from having one. Sometimes I would have something nice to eat and that would take my mind off wanting a cigarette.

At times I resented not being able to smoke especially if I went to a party where my friends were smoking and drinking. I felt left out. Previous to my pregnancy I was smoking and drinking a lot and out having fun. For me having a baby and giving up smoking was an enormous lifestyle change. At times during my pregnancy I became nostalgic for the old me.

On those odd occasions when I did have a cigarette I received dagger looks from the people who were around me and felt publicly scrutinised. I felt particularly offended and upset when friends criticised me especially when I had been trying so hard to give up completely. I resented feeling like public property and people passing judgement on me, especially my friends.

How I Regard Smoking Now

I don’t want to be a smoker, but sometimes I still feel like having a cigarette when I have a glass of alcohol, usually when I go out. It is difficult because so many of my friends and family smoke.

Smoking the occasional cigarette whilst breastfeeding hasn’t seemed to affect Will. He’s a very healthy and robust baby.

The new policy on restricting smoking in restaurants has been fantastic. We now can go out to the pub and have a meal or meet friends and not have to worry about Will being exposed to passive smoking. We’re very careful about exposing Will to cigarette smoke and take every precaution we can.

How I Feel Now

My complexion is much clearer, my energy levels, vitality and respiratory fitness have increased. I am also much more inclined to participate in exercise than I did prior to becoming pregnant.

There really has been a significant shift in identity for me, not only becoming a mother but a non-smoker. Sometimes throughout my pregnancy I felt lost about who I am now. I guess I just didn’t know who I was. However, now I feel I have a better relationship with my partner’s family, as I know they disapproved of me smoking. Giving up smoking has also had a positive influence on my relationship with Tim, our sex life has improved and kissing is much better!

I am really glad I gave up and if I become pregnant again I know I won’t smoke.

Common sense to save your back:

1. Become aware of how you sit.
2. If you spend a lot of the time on the phone, make sure you swap the telephone from side to side.
3. If you are sitting in front of a computer, position yourself so that you are square-on and not twisted at an angle.
4. Become aware of how you stand and try to avoid thrusting your stomach out in front as this places undue pressure on your lower back.
5. Avoid wearing high heels for long periods of time as these place strain on the lower back.
6. Alternate shoes during the day and from day to day.
7. From the midpoint of pregnancy spend as much time as possible with your feet up.
8. If standing for long periods of time, keep your feet at hip width and square on.
9. When picking up heavy objects, always bend your knees. This is particularly relevant during pregnancy to avoid placing strain on the pelvic floor muscles and womb.
10. Yoga, pilates, massage, acupressure and acupuncture will help maintain good posture.
11. If you already have toddlers, encourage hem to stand on a chair before you pick them up.
12. Divide heavy loads into smaller ones.