Peds/OB/GYN

As one food allergy resolves, another may develop
Some children who outgrow one type of food allergy may then develop another type of allergy, more severe and more persistent, to the same food. A new study by pediatric allergy experts suggests that health care providers and caregivers carefully monitor children with food allergies to recognize early signs of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a severe and often painful type of allergy that has been increasing in recent years. Eurekalert!

Exercising during pregnancy enhances maternal health
Excessive weight gain during pregnancy increases the risk of suffering illnesses such as hypertension and gestational diabetes, or of having a premature birth or a birth by Caesarean; furthermore, it also has negative effects on the newly-born and increases the risk of infants being overweight by 30%.

Aware of the importance of preventing gestational weight gain, both in mother and child, researchers from the University of Granada, Madrid Polytechnic University and the European University carried out a study on the benefits of exercising during pregnancy to prevent weight gain, entitled "Supervised Exercise – Based Intervention to Prevent Excessive Gestational Weight Gain: A Randomized Controlled Trial", which has been published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings. MedicalXpress

Baby 'sleep machines' could damage hearing, study suggests
Some of the "sleep machines" marketed to soothe infants seem capable of generating enough noise to potentially damage a baby's hearing, a new study suggests. The findings, reported online March 3 and in the April print issue of Pediatrics, may not sound sweet to parents' ears. MedicalXpress

Featured in NEJM Journal Watch: Protection Wanes After the First Dose of DTaP
Pertussis protection is good during the first year but wanes without subsequent booster doses, according to a study in Pediatrics. Journal Watch

Study shows male hormones play an important role in female fertility
A new study suggests that male hormones, also called androgens, help drive the development of follicles – structures that contain and ultimately release an egg that can be fertilized by a man's sperm. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the research also details how male hormones boost the production of follicles in mice. Authors believe the study provides potential biological targets to enhance fertility in women with diminished ovarian reserve, who produce few or no follicles in response to IVF drugs designed to boost follicle development. MedicalXpress

Half of pregnant women are passive smokers, due to their partners
As shown in a study carried out by researchers at 13 research centres in Asturias, Gipuzkoa, Sabadell and Valencia, over half of non-smoking pregnant women, 55%, are passive smokers.These women are under the effect of tobacco smoke to a considerable extent because a member of the household, their partner in particular, smokes at home.The result of the study has been published in the journal Science of the Total Environment. MedicalXpress