There have always been myths circulating about the birth control pill. From users convinced it made them gain weight, to its connection with cancer, questions abound. Here is a list of popular myths (meaning ideas that are NOT true) about the Pill:
Being over 35 meant lower pregnancy rates, higher chances of miscarriage for couple, study finds.
MONDAY, July 7 (HealthDay News) — Among couples with fertility problems, those in which the man is over age 35 have lower pregnancy rates and increased chances of miscarriage, a new study shows.
To come to this conclusion, French researchers looked at more than 12,000 couples who went to a fertility clinic in France.
In most of the cases, the couples were being treated due to the man’s infertility. The couples underwent a total of 21,239 intrauterine inseminations (IUIs).
The researchers found that women over age 35 had a pregnancy rate of 8.9 percent, compared to 14.5 percent in younger women.
“But we also found that the age of the father was important in pregnancy rates — men over 35 had a negative effect. And, perhaps more surprisingly, miscarriage rates increased where the father was over 35,” study author Dr. Stephanie Belloc, of the Eylau Center for Assisted Reproduction in Paris, said in a prepared statement. Read more…
According to Robert Preidt
Your jaw pops like a bowl of Rice Krispies—in meetings, at mealtime, during candlelight moments. Is it a joint that needs fixing, or just an annoying sound you can live with? Most body noises, although embarrassing, are harmless, but occasionally they’re a signal that something’s not quite right. Here, we decode what your body is telling you—from top to bottom—and what to do about it. Read more…
According to Alicia Potter
First time pregnancies have a 1 in 4 odd of ending up in a miscarriage. But did you know that caffeine doubles the risk of a miscarriage regardless of which pregnancy it is for the mother?
Pregnant women who drink two or more cups of coffee a day have twice the risk of having a miscarriage as those who avoid caffeine, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
They said the study provides strong evidence that high doses of caffeine during pregnancy — 200 milligrams or more per day or the equivalent of two cups of coffee — significantly increase the risk of miscarriage.
And they said the research may finally put to rest conflicting reports about the link between caffeine consumption and miscarriage.
“Women who are pregnant or are actively seeking to become pregnant should stop drinking coffee for three months or hopefully throughout pregnancy,” said Dr. De-Kun Li of Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, whose study appears in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
“There has been a lot of uncertainty about this,” Li said in a telephone interview. “There was no firm advice from professional societies to say what a pregnant woman should do about caffeine intake.”
Li said anywhere from 15 to 18 studies have found a link between caffeine use during pregnancy and miscarriage. But that association has been clouded by the fact that many pregnant women avoid caffeine because it makes them nauseated, which could skew the results.
Read more.
Women who want to become pregnant, are pregnant or breast-feeding should eat at least 12 ounces of fatty fish such as tuna every week to help themselves and their babies, experts will recommend later on Thursday.
Really, I always thought fish was bad, due to mercury levels. Anyway, read more.
A recent study done on rats has shown that pregnant females who nibbled on junk foods such as sweets and chips, gave birth to rats who ended up munching on the same foods.
This idea has been reflected in the pattern of eating habits in human beings and mothers-to-be are constantly being told to be careful with their sugar and junk food intake for more than merely their own health.
“Royal Veterinary College researchers found that when pregnant rats were fed a diet of biscuits, crisps and sweets, their babies ate more unhealthy food.
They said the British Journal of Nutrition study showed the rats’ behaviour was “programmed” in the womb.”
Read the full details.
Earlier this year a study suggested that fish crops would last until 2048, partially because people have turned on to fish’s health benefits. Of course, too much of a good thing is a bad thing, for some: pregnant women:
Pregnant women who eat fish more than three times a week could be putting their baby at risk because of higher mercury levels in their blood, according to a study by Taiwanese researchers.
Mercury exposure is especially risky for fetuses when their internal organs are developing, and can result in neuronal, kidney and brain damage, and stunt growth.
Expectant Chinese mothers tend to eat more fish as they believe it is healthier than red or white meat.
Read more.
Choosing back surgery over exercise to treat a herniated disc generally provides more relief, but the difference is minimal and fears related to skipping surgery are unfounded, researchers said on Tuesday.
A study involving more than 1,200 patients at 13 U.S. hospitals found either surgery to remove a bulging back disc or a course of physical therapy both helped ease the pain and discomfort two years after treatment.
A herniated disk, where the doughnut-shaped soft tissue cushioning the vertebra protrudes and impinges on nerves running along the spine, is a common problem that can recede with time and with the help of exercise, the report in the Journal of the American Medical Association said.
Read more.
Awareness about human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and its link to cervical cancer, is relatively low among American women, according to a survey of 3,076 women 18 to 75 years of age.
Only 40 percent of women responding to the 2005 Health Information National Trends Survey had ever heard about HPV and, of those, less than 20 percent knew that HPV could sometimes lead to cervical cancer.
Sixty-four percent of women knew that HPV was sexually transmitted and 79 percent knew it could cause abnormal Pap smears.
“Therefore, one of our main findings is that being aware of HPV does not guarantee accurate knowledge,” Dr. Jasmin A. Tiro, of the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, told the American Association for Cancer Research’s Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Meeting in Boston.
Younger women, those with higher education levels, and those exposed to more health information were more likely to have heard about HPV. “But the only factors associated with having accurate knowledge — knowing that it could lead to cervical cancer — was an abnormal Pap test or testing positive on an HPV test,” Tiro said.
Read more.
This is certainly true for me. I pass / fail (depending on how you see it) every test here.
We live in the Information Age, when a vast resource of facts, opinions and personal accounts is available to anyone at any time. In the field of health alone there are hundreds of TV programs, radio talk shows, magazines, Web sites and books covering everything from bunions to brain disease. It’s enough to make us believe we can get to the bottom of any problem.
But the human body is so exceptionally complex, and everyone so physiologically unique, that the mountain of available media provides only a molehill of help when it comes to diagnosing a condition. Let’s consider some of the available resources and how we use—or misuse—information when evaluating our health.
Read more.
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