Bacteria Linked to Infant Deaths

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is one of the leading causes of death for children under the age of one. British researchers have found that bacteria may play a big part in SIDS. They found possibly dangerous bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli, in almost half of all babies who died of SIDS.

Researchers are not sure if bacteria are the cause or if the bacteria are identifying other possible risk factors. The higher levels of bacteria might be evidence of other conditions, such as a room being too hot or bad room ventilation for the baby.

SIDS is usually diagnosed when there aren’t any other causes of death that can be found when a healthy infant dies, usually in their sleep. At birth, mothers transfer some of their antibodies against infection to their babies but when the babies are between eight to ten weeks old, the antibodies from the mother are nearly gone and the babies have to start making their own. This could make the babies more vulnerable to bacterial infections. SIDS usually affects babies that are between eight and ten weeks old.

To prevent SIDS it is recommended to have babies sleep on their backs and to not put too many blankets on them.

Top Countries to be a Working Mother

In the country of Bulgaria, mothers receive 45 days of paid leave before their due date and they can take two entire years of paid leave off after the child is born for each child they have. Pregnant women and mothers of young children are also protected from working overtime.

In Sweden, all working parents get 18 months of parental leave that are usually paid. Some of the months would have to be used by the father of the child to encourage both parents to be involved in taking care of the child. Mothers that aren’t working are entitled to compensation too.

In Germany, billions of euros have been allocated for maternity benefits. If a new mom chooses not to go to work for a year, she would still receive 67 percent of her net salary. The benefit would continue if the father stays home for two months.

What a Mother Eats Can Determine Sex of Baby

A new British research suggests that what a woman eats before getting pregnant can affect the gender of what the baby will be. Eating potassium-rich foods, including bananas, and eating breakfast each day can raise the chances of having a boy.

The study was based on 700 first-time pregnant women in the United Kingdom who didn’t know the sex of their fetuses and they were asked about their eating habits in the year before they had gotten pregnant. 56 percent of the women with the highest calorie intake before pregnancy had boys and only 45 percent of the women with the lowest calorie intake had boys.

The women who ate at least one bowl of breakfast cereal each day were 87 percent more likely to have a baby boy than the women who ate less than one bowl of cereal each week. The women who gave birth to boys also ate an additional 300 milligrams of potassium each day on average before getting pregnant. The women who had boys also ate about 400 calories more each day on average than the women who had girls.

Doctors Create Schizophrenic Mice

It is reported that scientists have created the world’s first schizophrenic mice so that they could have a better understanding of the illness and be able to develop treatments. The mice were created by modifying their DNA to mimic a mutant gene first found in a Scottish family with a high incidence of schizophrenia. The egg cells of mice were genetically changed by injecting a gene associated with schizophrenia into their DNA. The eggs were fertilized and grown into baby mice using surrogate mothers.

The mice’s brains were found to have features similar to humans with schizophrenia, such as depression and hyperactivity.