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In Australia, experts can now predict if a newborn baby is at risk of childhood obesity by 8 to 9 years old.
Experts from the University of Queensland designed and validated the i-PATHWAY model. It uses simple risk factors that researchers mainly gathered during routine doctor visits at 12 months of age to predict future childhood obesity.
Dr. Oliver Canfell, a research fellow and an expert on diet and nutrition, said that the said model could measure the risk of childhood obesity with 74.6% accuracy.
The risk factors used are the newborn baby s weight change in their first year, mother s height and weight before pregnancy, father s height and weight, and the newborn baby s sleep pattern in the first year. Premature birth, if the mother smoked during her pregnancy and if the baby is female, was also used.
Conventional wisdom suggests that pregnant mothers should have a healthier lifestyle for their babies.
During pregnancy, the mother s medical conditions and pre-existing conditions are observed to know these conditions can impact their baby.
The recent study
A pregnant mother s health condition is important during pregnancy. However, a recent study says that miscarriage or stillbirth is influenced by the father s health as much as the mother s health does.
The study was led by an associate professor from Stanford University School of Medicine, Michael Eisenberg. It was published in the journal Human Reproduction.
Before determining that a father s health is related to stillbirth and miscarriages, the study observed millions of pregnancies in the United States.
What they know about postpartum may be false
Once moms know that they are pregnant, postpartum may come to mind. Since this may translate to after delivery , people may think that a pregnant woman has 40 more weeks before having to handle the risk of mental health concerns, although this is not entirely the case.
Simple baby blues are usually not simple
One valid reason why moms should also take care of their prenatal mental health is that what seem to be simple baby blues are not simple. Being aware that some of the shifts in your emotional state are expected to be helpful to normalize the process.