Word: birth
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...labor and delivery, when you're going through it for the first time, you don't really know what to expect. So, if an obstetrician offers to shorten the time it takes for your baby to be born by making a little incision in the tissue below the birth canal, chances are you'll be tempted to gasp out a yes! The procedure, called an episiotomy, may bring you immediate relief, but it often leads to a longer recovery, more pain and other postdelivery complications. Most of the time, it doesn't even benefit the baby. In fact, under normal...
...common justification for an episiotomy is to avoid tears in the perineum, the tissue just below the opening of the birth canal. "But people generally underestimate how well the perineum stretches," Feldman says. All it takes is a little time and holding off on pushing to give the perineum a chance to adjust. Also perineal massage during the final six weeks of pregnancy reduces the risk of tears...
...GIRL? Mothers who conceive in warmer countries are more likely to have boys, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Victor Grech, a pediatrician in Malta, surveyed 17 countries' birth statistics. After separating them into three climatic bands, he determined that the coldest group had the lowest rate of male births and the hottest group had a consistently high proportion of baby boys. Researchers are still examining the results to figure out why heat affects gender...
...discovery of a final theory could have a cultural influence as well, one comparable to what was felt at the birth of modern science. It has been said that the spread of the scientific spirit in the 17th and 18th centuries was one of the things that stopped the burning of witches. Learning how the universe is governed by the impersonal principles of a final theory may not end mankind's persistent superstitions, but at least it will leave them a little less room...
...network asks callers to identify themselves by entering their birth dates and the last four digits of their Social Security numbers, and allows them to call only once...