Safe Pregnancy Spacing
Want your kids to be close in age? Don’t take your plan to extremes:
A recent study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and
Gynecology found that conceiving less than six months after you
give birth increases your chance of preterm delivery by 41 percent. The risk
sinks to 14 percent if you wait six to 12 months, then nearly disappears after
12 to 18 months. Back-to-back births may be dangerous because you don’t
get a chance to rebuild the nutrients you lose during pregnancy and nursing.
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We’ve all blamed killer stomach
cramps on a “bug that’s going
around,” but many of those so-called
bugs are actually food poisoning.
“Most mild cases probably go
undiagnosed because the symptoms
mimic those of the stomach flu,” says
Mary McHugh, M.D., a pathologist
at Mount Carmel St. Ann’s Hospital,
in Westerville, Ohio. The only
difference: Food-poisoning symptoms
appear earlier (two to 24 hours after
you ate contaminated food; signs of
stomach f lu show up one to ten days
after you were around a sick person).
The worst effects of food poisoning
usually go away after a few hours, but
call a doctor if you’re pregnant (even
if your symptoms are mild) or if you
have any of these problems.
È Vomiting or severe diarrhea that
lasts longer than one day
È Symptoms of severe dehydration
(decrease in urination, dry mouth and
throat, and dizziness when you stand)
È Difficulty keeping down fluids
È A high fever
È Blood in your vomit or blood or
pus in your diarrhea
È Signs of botulism (blurred or
double vision, difficulty swallowing
or breathing)
Breast-Health Danger Trans fat may hurt more than your
heart and waistline—it could be a threat to your breasts too. According to a recent
study in the American Journal of Epidemiology, women with the lowest amount of
trans fat in their blood had half the risk of developing breast cancer compared with
those with the highest levels. Protect yourself by reading labels and sticking to the
two-grams-per-day limit, but don’t assume that all foods with a “no trans fat” claim
get a green light. The FDA allows food manufacturers to use this wording on any
product containing less than half a gram of trans fat per serving, so you can easily
eat more than two grams without knowing it.
Think twice before
eating these.
