Pregnancy

Analysis and Comment (21)

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Timing sex around ovulation doesn’t change the odds of having a boy or girl. Image from shutterstock.com

Monday’s medical myth: you can control the sex of your baby

By Monique Robinson, University of Western Australia

Despite most parents ultimately just wishing for a healthy baby, there are many cultural and social factors that can drive the desire for a baby of a particular sex. The medical technology for sex selection…
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Ultrasound footage of wallabies in the uterus could help threatened marsupials reproduce. Arthur Chapman

Womb with a view: ultrasound escapades of fetal wallabies

By Brandon Menzies, University of Melbourne

The private lives of marsupials are difficult to study. Many of them are nocturnal, very rare or overly sensitive to being put under intensive surveillance in captivity. Until now we’ve had to be satisfied…
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There has been very little scientific evidence so far to support sex as a method of inducing labour. Image from shutterstock.com

Monday’s medical myth: sex induces labour

By Monique Robinson, University of Western Australia

Sex. It’s what got you into pregnancy, but is it also the pathway to getting you out? Around a quarter of all Australian pregnancies are medically induced, with a third of those inductions occurring due…
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Chrissie Swan and her management have attracted massive media attention in the aftermath of photos of her smoking being published. AAP/Tracey Nearmy

Tears, shame, smoking and PR

By Mike Daube, Curtin University

The past week has seen a torrent of news coverage about Chrissie Swan, who “confessed” to smoking while pregnant with her third child. The confession was followed by myriad commentators and op-eds criticising…
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Why do we feel the need to judge Swan for having a few sneaky cigs while pregnant? AAP/Tracey Nearmy

Lay off Chrissie Swan for smoking while pregnant

By Meredith Nash, University of Tasmania

Broadcaster and commentator Chrissie Swan certainly opened her own can of worms yesterday with her admission she has been smoking while pregnant with her third child. Swan’s “confession” came to light…
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Most pregnant women only need to eat the equivalent of an extra two pieces of fruit and half a glass of milk a day. Flickr/flequi

Monday’s medical myth: eat for two during pregnancy

By Susie de Jersey, Queensland University of Technology

We’ve all heard people sprout the phrase, “go on, you’re eating for two now” at barbecues, dinner parties and wherever food is being served, forcing pregnant women to decline offers of more and more food…
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Kate Middleton’s path to motherhood, like any woman’s, could take unexpected turns. AAP

The perils of announcing a pregnancy in public

By Meredith Nash, University of Tasmania

After weeks of speculation about the contents of her uterus, it was revealed overnight that Catherine Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, is indeed pregnant. However, Catherine is in the early weeks of her…
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There is no evidence to support the claim that eating peanuts or peanut butter during pregnancy will make your child allergic to peanuts. Image from shutterstock.com

Monday’s medical myth: peanuts in pregnancy cause allergies

By Monique Robinson, University of Western Australia

Anyone else have the feeling something radical has happened with peanut allergy in the past 30 years? I don’t recall knowing anyone allergic to peanuts or peanut butter as a child in the 1980s, yet today…
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The public backslapping around the hiring of a pregnant Marissa Mayer as Yahoo’s CEO acknowledges this type of discrimination is alive and well. AAP

Marissa Mayer and the business case for hiring pregnant women

By Diann Rodgers-Healey, James Cook University

The public praise heaped upon the struggling Yahoo for hiring a pregnant Marissa Mayer as its new chief executive shows a covert acknowledgement that this form of bias against women remains alive and…
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Warning labels proposed by the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation. AERF

Health expert challenges wine body on pregnancy labels

By Justin Norrie, The Conversation

A claim by Australia’s peak wine body that warning labels on bottles could prompt pregnant women to seek terminations is an “outrageous attempt to put commercial interests ahead of public health”, a drugs…
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Overly optimistic expectations about the birthing process may taint the experience for many women. Muus Creation/Flickr

Great expectations: mothers too optimistic about birth intervention

By Alexis Shub, University of Melbourne

Many women believe they’re likely to go through labour and give birth without medical intervention. But data from Victoria shows that, more often than not, labour does require intervention. The disconnect…
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You can use all kinds of iPhone apps to track and improve your health. chunghow33

Reviewing the top medical iPhone apps … what’s the diagnosis?

By Merlin Thomas, Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute; Daniel Quintana; Gary Sacks, Deakin University; Harrison Weisinger, Deakin University; Karen Simmer, University of Western Australia; Nasser Dhim; Neale Cohen, Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute, and Sally Ferguson

Want to quit smoking, lose weight, manage your diabetes or get a good night’s sleep? No worries. There’s an app for all of that. But it’s not always clear which medical apps are based on solid evidence…
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Many extremely premature babies will have lifelong physical and intellectual deficiencies. kqedquest

Balancing hope and fear for babies born at 24 weeks gestation

By Janet Green, University of Technology, Sydney

Imagine how frightening it must be for a woman to go into labour when she is just over halfway through her pregnancy and her baby has only had 23 or 24 weeks to grow. She and her family are overcome with…
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Social realities have a bigger impact on when women have babies than “medical facts”. ECohen

Are older women selfish for having babies?

By Karen O'Connell, University of Technology, Sydney

It seems we have a new “barbecue stopper” about women and families, after comments last week by Perth obstetrician Barry Walters that it is selfish for older women to have babies. Defending himself from…
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Aside from folate, most pregnant women get all the nutrients they need from a balanced diet. Flickr/Future Street

Explainer: what to eat and avoid during pregnancy

By Allison Cummins, University of Technology, Sydney

If you’ve ever been pregnant, you’ll know what it’s like to be bombarded with mixed messages from well-meaning friends and family about what you should eat and avoid to protect your growing baby. It can…

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