Exposure to the common crop pesticide chlorpyrifos during pregnancy may harm your baby's brain because it may be linked with abnormal changes in a child's developing brain, according to a new research report.

Scientists at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University reported that those with high exposure to the pesticide chlorpyrifos had abnormalities in the cortex (the outer area of the brain which helps govern intelligence, personality, muscle movement, and other tasks). In other studies, higher exposure to the pesticide is linked with lower IQs and a decline in working memory in children.

The U.S. EPA has banned the residential use of chlorpyrifos in 2001 but still allows its use on crops and can still be sprayed in public places such as golf courses.

Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate that works by blocking an enzyme needed by pests (and people!) for proper nerve functioning.

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), symptoms of poisoning from chlorpyrifos include nausea, dizziness, confusion, and sometimes loss of respiratory muscle control and death. Currently, the EPA is reviewing the role of chlorpyrifos in agriculture, since the NRDC petitioned in 2007 to cancel all agricultural registrations for this pesticide.

Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences' Early Edition, the research findings raise an alarm for concern and once again reminds us, especially pregnant women to wash fresh produce (fruits and vegetables) thoroughly before eating or cooking them.

A link between exposure to pesticides before birth and low intelligence is being drawn by current research. The chemicals that were studied are called organophosphates, or OP's. These can be found in many products, from the pesticides sprayed on crops to the bug killers used in our homes.

Three different studies that were published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives found that a correlation between prenatal OP exposure and lower IQ in children did exist. Pesticide levels in pregnant moms were measured in the studies, and one of them found that women with the highest levels went on to have children who had an IQ average that was seven points lower than other children. This research is considered significant because it followed mothers and their offspring over an extended period of time.

Since cesarean childbirth is something most mothers do not like to opt for and natural childbirth is the way to go. There have been tips provided on how to avoid cesarean childbirth. Most deliveries in the U.S. are of cesarean childbirth type and it is impossible to visualize a natural delivery. According to Marilyn Curl, President of Lamaze International- a company promoting safe pregnancy-there has been so many cesarean childbirths in the U.S. now that it seems that it is a very safe option which it is not.
Mothers can control cesarean childbirths and convert them into natural childbirth by following a few tips. Mothers should choose a medical provider with low cesarean childbirth rate. Also mothers should be skeptical about doctors providing them reasons that are not backed by research for cesarean childbirths. Also, labor should start on its own and should not be started by medication; it will help in reducing the probability of a cesarean childbirth. Mothers should also keep skilled labor personnel by their side.
Mothers should also take childbirth courses. This will help them a lot during the actual delivery process.

Deaths from pregnancy-related causes, which usually occur around the time of birth, have risen dramatically in the US over the last decade. A new report cites an increase in caesarean-section births as a major contributor to this disturbing trend. Other risk factors identified in the report include a high rate of obesity among many women and underlying cardiovascular disease.

Caesarean sections now account for almost one-third of all US births. The operation or the the anesthesia administered during the procedure was one of the contributing factors to higher maternal death rates. Most of these were unplanned or emergency surgeries to try to save the lives of the mother and infant, but previous caesarean sections were also cited as complications in some of the cases. Minority women and poor women with little access to prenatal care were found to be most at risk of complications.

The families of two women in Uganda took a legal action. They forced Ugandan Government to tackle the shortage of doctors and nurses, drug stock-outs and absence of ambulances. These factors killed 16 women in a day. Two women died during childbirth and their families took a legal action against the Government of Uganda.

Inadequate care and facilities provided for pregnant women caused their deaths, violating the constitution and women's rights to life and health. A report shows that 16 women die in Uganda because of the complications of pregnancy and childbirth every day. There are shortages of doctors to carry out a caesarean to save the lives of mothers and their babies. Only a few ambulances to get the women to the hospital are available. It has also been found that the staff members at hospital treat women with abuse at the time of childbirth.

Celebrity stylist and reality star Rachel Zoe is celebrating the birth of her first child with her husband Rodger Berman. The baby birth went very well for Zoe, and she is now the proud mother of a son, named Skyler Morrison Berman.

He weighed in a 6 lbs, 12 oz and was 20 inches long at birth. Zoe and Birman have been together sine meeting in Washington DC in the early 1990s, and they issued a statement to People magazine shortly after the birth saying that they could not be happier or more in love with their son. Zoe also posted on Twitter thanking her fans for their love and support. She said that her son is everything to her now. The family received many warm wishes on the social networking site, including one from fellow Bravo star Patti Stanger who tweeted "Mazel tov" and said she couldn't wait to see the first baby pictures.

Dr Nicola Heslehurst, from Teesside University's Health and Social Care Institute led a research team that has found that maternal obesity has more than doubled over the last twenty years with one in six pregnant women now facing extra dangers for themselves and their babies, pre and post childbirth.
More than half of the pregnant women who die during pregnancy or childbirth are obese or overweight. Obesity increases the likelihood of conditions like cardiac disease, diabetes and pre-eclampsia and can also be a cause for premature birth, stillbirth and congenital anomalies.
Dr. Heslehurst's feels that not a lot is being done nationally to support women in achieving a healthy weight before childbirth. National guidelines regarding advice and support for women with these problems need to be put into place.

Right after baby birth, it is very important that the baby be kept warm and dry, because newborn babies don't have the ability to control their temperature well. In the hospital the medical staff will cover the baby with a warm towel or blanket and give him a cap to keep his head warm. They will place the baby with the mother right away so that she can hold the baby and keep warm, and allows for bonding between mother and baby to begin as well.

The doctor will also collect a tube of blood from the umbilical cord to check the baby's blood type and possibly perform other tests as needed. If the newborn baby seems to have too much fluid in the mouth or nose, the doctor may do a suctioning to remove this. At one and five minutes after birth an Apgar assessment will be done to evaluate the baby's physical health.

Nitrous oxide, otherwise known as laughing gas, as an option during childbirth fell out of use a long time ago in the US, and there are only two hospitals in the country -in San Francisco and Seattle-that still offer it. Yet there is renewed interest among other respected hospitals in returning to this old standard of care. Some women would prefer this option because unlike an epidural, it doesn't affect the baby in any way.

Nitrous oxide is still commonly used overseas for labour pain relief, but in the US the epidural is the most common treatment. Because an epidural must be administered by an anaesthesiologist, it is a significantly more expensive option then the nitrous, although both are covered by insurance. Some people in the US tend to think that because nitrous is old-fashioned that it must not be as effective or safe as the newer methods, but some medical professionals say this is not the case.

While pregnancy and childbirth are natural processes, there are always risks involved. Preeclampsia (out of control hypertension), for example, is the number one cause of maternal death world-wide. In the United States there is another threat to mothers and their babies, and this threat is obesity. It turns out that obesity increases the risk of all other pregnancy-related complications.

More the half of all US women are classified as overweight or obese when they become pregnant, this is a serious problem. Fat cells can produce inflammation, and for pregnant women, that inflammation affects the placenta. Obese women tend to have smaller babies, more premature babies, and higher chances of complications during a C-section because their airways can be compromised as tissues swell more readily. In addition, you do not get the same quality of image in a sonogram in obese women, so the chance of missing a problem is higher.