Written by Jessica Patella, ND. Analysis of 695 children (3 years post-delivery) revealed that children of mothers who supplemented with fish oil in the third trimester of their pregnancies had a 16.9% reduction in persistent wheeze and asthma compared to 23.7% in the control group, corresponding to a relative reduction of 30.7%.
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Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. One hundred three pregnant women, who took 600 mg of DHA during the last 6 weeks of their pregnancies, had a significant reduction in the number of preterm births. These numbers translate into tremendous cost savings to the US healthcare system.
Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. A probiotic, when given to pregnant women 4 weeks prior to anticipated delivery, significantly improved immune cytokines in the nursing newborns.
Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Women who used either a combination of lavender cream and footbath or lavender cream alone for 8 weeks, experienced a significant improvement in anxiety and stress; however, the greatest improvement was seen in depression, which decreased by 62.2% in the lavender and foot bath group and 40.9% in the lavender group when compared to the placebo group. (more…)
Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. A cup of lavender tea, consumed daily for 2 weeks, significantly improved fatigue, depression, and bonding in postpartum women; however, their quality of sleep did not improve significantly.
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Written by Jessica Patella, ND. Of the 133 participating women with gestational diabetes, those who took 50,000 IUs of Vitamin D every 2 weeks (4000 IU daily) or 50,000 IU monthly (2000 IU daily), had significant decreases in insulin and cholesterol levels compared to those who took only 200 IU per day. Antioxidant levels were significantly improved in all participants with gestational diabetes.
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Written by Jessica Patella, ND. Participating mothers, who received 200,000 IU injections of Vitamin A just 24 hours postpartum, had a significant 134 % Vitamin A increase in colostrum and a 16.4 % decrease in Vitamin E. Researchers suggested that Vitamin E be added to the Vitamin A injections to compensate for this decrease.
Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Mothers who drank at least 3 cups of fenugreek tea had significantly more milk volume; in addition, their infants weighed more and regained their weight faster than the mothers –infants pairs in the placebo and control groups. (more…)
Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Women with gestational diabetes, who supplemented with 1000 mg of omega 3 fatty acids from flaxseed oil and 400 IU of Vitamin E for 6 weeks, improved their fasting blood sugars by 11 % and HOMAR IR (a measure of insulin resistance) by 69.4% compared to the control group.
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Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Pregnant women with gestational diabetes, who took probiotics for 6 weeks, significantly improved their fasting blood sugar by 5% and, in addition, experienced a 14.2 % lower weight gain compared to the control group. (more…)
Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Review of studies shows that physical exercise during pregnancy decreased risk of diabetes mellitus by 31%. (more…)
Written by Jessica Patella, ND. This study demonstrates that iron deficiency during pregnancy increases the risk of having premature babies and babies with low birth weights and anemia. (more…)
Written by Jessica Patella, ND. Of the 89 participating postpartum mothers, those who supplemented with 200 or 400 mg of DHA for 6 weeks had significantly greater DHA levels of breast milk than the placebo group. (154% increase in DHA breast milk levels in the high DHA group.) After 6 weeks of supplementation, maternal DHA blood levels increased 71% in the low dose and 101% in the high dose groups compared to the placebo. (more…)
Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Of the 70 participating women with gestational diabetes, those who supplemented with selenium for 6 weeks had a significant improvement in blood sugar control, and an 11.5 % increase in glutathione blood levels as well as improved inflammation levels. (more…)
Written by Jessica Patella, ND. This first study of its kind found that 2% cinnamon extract ointment is beneficial in healing and reducing the pain of the episiotomy wound. (more…)
Written by Dr. Patrick B. Massey, MD, PhD. Study shows that vitamin C and beta-carotene supplementation significantly reduced the incidence of infertility while obesity and older age increased it. (more…)
Written by Chrystal Moulton, Staff Writer. In a study with 50 pregnant women researchers found the cause of maternity blues may be due to low tryptophan levels. (more…)
Written by Jessica Patella, ND. Fasting glucose, insulin levels, and insulin resistance showed substantial improvement when given 50,000 IU vitamin D daily. (more…)
Written by Jessica Patella, ND. Early choline supplementation was associated with better infant brain function. (more…)
