Experts recommend that women choose types of fish that tend to be low in mercury, such as salmon, and avoid eating large species like shark and swordfish that can harbor higher levels of the toxic metal. Although the FDA recommends that women avoid raw fish because it may contain parasites and bacteria, some experts maintain that pregnant women don’t have to give it up. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that women avoid raw shellfish, however. Listeria can also grow in packaged lunch meats and hot dogs, so experts recommend that women avoid those foods — or heat them until they’re steaming. Doctors used to caution women against working out during pregnancy, but now it’s agreed that moderate exercise is an important part of maintaining maternal — and fetal — health. read more

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Description The Endocrine Society announces the release of new clinical practice guidelines for the management of thyroid problems present during pregnancy and in the postpartum. Newswise — The Endocrine Society announces the release of new clinical practice guidelines for the management of thyroid problems present during pregnancy and in the postpartum. Management of thyroid diseases during pregnancy requires special considerations since pregnancy may affect the course of thyroid disorders and, conversely, thyroid diseases may affect the course of pregnancy. Furthermore, pregnancy should be avoided six months to one year in women with thyroid cancer who receive therapeutic RAI doses to ensure stability of thyroid function and confirm remission of thyroid cancer. Members of the task force included representatives from The Endocrine Society, American Thyroid Association, Association of American Clinical Endocrinologists, European Thyroid Association, and the Latin American Thyroid Society. read more

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It’s “remarkable” that the doubling of the risk of obesity can be completely reversed in these children, said study author Teresa Hillier, an endocrinologist and senior investigator with the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research Northwest and Hawaii. Diabetes that develops during pregnancy, known as gestational diabetes, is a common problem for mothers. In the new study, Hillier and her colleagues examined Kaiser Permanente health records of 9,439 women who gave birth between 1995 and 2000 to see how untreated gestational diabetes would affect children at ages 5 to 7. The study, funded by the American Diabetes Association, is published in the September issue of Diabetes Care . If the mother’s gestational diabetes wasn’t treated, a child’s risk of being overweight or obese was 82 percent to 89 percent higher, according to the study. read more

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