January 19th, 2012
It’s generally considered common knowledge that drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) but little is known about how much alcohol and at which point during a woman’s pregnancy the damage is done. Results of a long-term study have recently helped to pinpoint some of the details behind the disorder.
Over 900 women were recruited between 1975 and 2005 by researchers when they called a helpline in California to find out more about harmful substances during pregnancy. They were asked about how much alcohol they consumed at several points throughout their pregnancy and then their babies were examined for signs of FAS after birth. Doctors who examined the babies were unaware of which of the babies’ mothers had drank. The conclusion of the research was that for each additional drink imbibed daily during pregnancy, there was an increased chance of the baby having a misshaped head, malformed lips or eyes. These symptoms also suggest neurological disorders.
The point at which women drank during their pregnancies had an influence as well. Women who drank at the end of the first trimester were more likely to have babies with symptoms of FAS and the risk increased for each extra drink they consumed a day. Each extra drink equated to a 25% increased risk of a malformed lip, a 12% increase in a smaller-than-normal head, and a 16% increase in low birth weight. In contrast, each extra drink consumed during the third trimester only correlated with a smaller length at birth.
Although the study sheds some light on a time when the fetus is more vulnerable to the influence of alcohol, still so much of how alcohol effects the fetus is unknown. It’s unclear how some women who binge drink will have babies with no evident problems, while other babies will develop FAS. However, researchers attribute differences in body fat, diet, environment and genetics. Due to the individualized chances of developing FAS, it’s still advisable that pregnant women avoid alcohol consumption altogether.
Do you indulge in the occasional glass of wine?
Alcohol Risk to Fetus Is Highest at End of 1st Trimester [MyHealthDailyNews]
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January 18th, 2012
Babies learn language in many ways. Scientists have discovered that babies are good at listening for grammatical trends to decipher meaning, assigning physical properties to new sounds, detecting emotions in a person’s voice and so much more. Now researchers have discovered a different skill used for language acquisition by babies: lip reading.
When you hear your baby babbling about “baba,” “shooshoo,” and “whoa, whoa, whoa,” it seems clear that they’re trying to work out the sounds of words, but they might be trying to replicate the shape of a person’s lips too. Scientists have discovered that during the transition between gibberish and actually pronouncing their first words that babies are intently watching the lips of those who are talking to them and trying to mimic the movements used to make the same sounds. David Lewkowicz, head researcher of the Florida Atlantic University research team that made the discovery, says: “The baby in order to imitate you has to figure out how to shape their lips to make that particular sound they’re hearing.” The transition period typically occurs at approximately six months of age and by about one year, babies begin looking people in the eyes more often as they speak. However, babies who hear a new language at this age will return to staring at a person’s lip as they speak.
The discovery was made by introducing babies of varying ages to different languages and seeing where their visual attention was drawn. While watching someone speak English, the four-month-olds mostly looked into the speaker’s eyes, the six-month-olds looked about equally as often into the person’s eyes as at their lips and the eight-month-olds mostly gazed at the person’s lips. The 12-month-olds gazed in the speaker’s eyes more often. Once the speaker spoke Spanish, the 12-month-olds turned their gaze back towards the lips.
The findings shed a lot of light on language development and could provide some clues for babies with developmental disorders, such as autism. Overall, the research clearly illustrates the importance of face-to-face time with young infants.
Do you notice your baby looking at your lips while you speak?
HEALTHBEAT: Babies don’t just listen, they try lip-reading while turning babble into words [WashPo]
