The other day when I was in a pub with my friends I saw a couple of women in fairly advanced stage of pregnancy gulping down beer after beer with full abandon. I was shocked and almost felt like going up to them and giving them a little shake and informing them how it could affect their newborn. I only prayed that this was one off drinking episodes with these ladies.

Women who are pregnant should understand that alcohol use or rather abuse can lead to mental retardation and birth defects. Besides this it can cause increased risk of miscarriage, low birth weight, and also stillbirth.

Drinking alcohol when you are pregnant can cause serious defects in the baby called Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Babies with FAS have may have:

1)    face deformities: small heads, small upturned noses, small eyes, uncoordinated eyes, webbing between eyes and nose, drooping eyelids, etc.
2)    organ and skeletal deformities: kidney and heart abnormalities, genital malformations, etc.
3)    neurological handicaps: retardation, poor memory, poor language skills, poor coordination, attention deficit, etc.
4)    developmental problems: small stature, failure to ‘catch up’, delayed milestones, etc.
5)    behavioral problems: anxiety, social withdrawal, etc.

Doctors usually advice a woman who even planning to be pregnant to avoid all alcohol and alcoholic beverages.

Alcohol abuse in pregnancy may affect some babies more and other babies less, and we don’t know yet why this happens. Even if a baby appears healthy, he will have problems getting along with people, paying attention, and other behavioral issues if his mother drank alcohol when she was pregnant with him.

Remember: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is a serious birth defect, but it is 100% preventable.

Do you drink but think that you are not addicted? Take this test:

Self-screening for alcohol

Read More

1. About the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

2. South African children ravaged by Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

3. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause future cognitive problems for your baby

Some more on autism and how attitude and teaching matter.

To take a small example – autistic children rarely look at others in the eye. To get them to look at you, teachers and therapists may suggest exercises like making the room dark by turning off all the lights and then shining a flashlight into your eyes.

I tried this out and yes, it does seem to work. But then an autistic child is also more likely to make eye contact with someone who is friendly with him, affectionate, smiling, and in a good mood.

Go to any special school for autistic children, and you will notice that children of mothers who are cheerful seem to be happier than other children and learn better too. Are the mothers happy because their children are better or are the children better because the mothers are happy?

Psychologists and psychiatrists may debate but I wish every parent and teacher with autistic children would remember that they, like all other children, do much better when the adults in their lives have a positive attitude about them and accept them and respect their differences.

It bothers me how so much of the literature on autism and other lesser problems like ADD and ADHD  concentrate on, basically, how the neurons ‘misfire’ in the brain.

Read more about:

1. What is autism?

2. The drug Lupron – doctors say it is unsuitable for autism.

3. A portable communication system for autistic children

I have son with features of autism, and the news article how the brain processes speech caught my eye. The latest research on autism is ties it to faulty parts of the brain, in layman’s terms, and ‘sensory imbalances’ (it means autistic people seem to have over- or under-sensitive senses of sound, sight, and touch).

But then there is research again showing how training and practice can change the brain – the most well known is probably one showing how taxi drivers have bigger hippocampus compared to others. This is the part of the brain that helps us navigate around a space.

The notion that autism is all faulty wiring in the brain implies that you can do nothing about ‘such children’, and this troubles me. While doctors and professionals use it to educate people that you should not blame autism on parents and faulty upbringing (which is good), it brands children who have difficulty communicating. It comforts parents with overwhelming guilt, but I am not sure how much it helps the children.

The fact is you can teach ‘autistic’ children. I am no expert on brains and the neural pathways of speech, but training (not just drugs) can change brains. Doctors acknowledge this, and parents and teachers of children with special needs should remember it.

Some more irrational human behavior again: binge-drinking college students (see today’s news about binge-drinking in the UK).

It’s getting more common right here in my conservative home city Chennai. Before I went to college I thought it happened only in faraway decadent countries, and I had never seen a drunk person.

After having seen more than I care to remember, I can understand even less why people should drink, and I have definitely become more conservative  (I used to think in my school days it’s okay to drink if you know when to stop). Now my advise is: don’t drink and stay away from people who drink.

The fact is, I have not seen many who know where to stop. What did my ‘friends’ who drink gain from it? One got expelled for being found drunk in college premises, another threw up and had friends who were forced to clean up complain bitterly to everyone they knew. Later, a good friend lost a husband when she was just 22. He and a friend had been drinking at a party all night before they drove home in early morning, and the car crashed.

No, I don’t understand why smart, educated, informed young people with a bright future ahead of them should ever drink.

None of these hapless friends of mine thought they had a drinking problem till they got into really serious trouble. Maybe you think your drinking is under control too? Use this calculator to see if you are drinking more than is good for you (and for people around you):

Alcohol screening test

Read more about the dangers of drinking here:

1.  Drinking more can lead to depression

2. Alcohol-related injuries

3.  Binge-drinking and the teen brain

4. Drinking increases risk of dementia

Besides ads for tobacco and cigarettes (read today’s news about how tobacco companies duped cigarette smokers with claims about ‘light’ cigarettes), remember this when you see ads for potato chips and all kinds of snacks, candy, medicines for colds and headaches, and baby foods.

Consider baby foods. Of course, it’s illegal to advertise any kind of baby food for children under two years old in India. But where there is money to be made and a will to sell, marketers will find a way.

Even though you cannot see advertisements for baby formula and Cerelac and other foods on TV and print media, most people – even educated people who should know better – seem to believe that they are in fact more ‘nutritious’ than ‘gentle’ than homemade foods. Baby formulas like Nan use the picture of a baby bird and it mother because it is illegal to use the picture of a healthy human baby and happy mother to sell baby food for children under two.

Baby food marketers also use attractive packaging and ‘free information’, sponsorships and ‘chance’ mentions in other media to create an aura that their products are better than anything a mother can easily provide from home. Cigarette companies regularly sponsor sporting events (for example, Benson and Hedges sponsor cricket).

I consider myself intelligent and immune to ads for any form of tobacco, but I have to confess that I am one of the dupees where baby food is concerned. I fed my son rather a lot of commercial baby food before I realized the error of my ways.

High heels particularly the stiletto type have been the symbol of sexy legs to men.  However umpteen number of reports in the literature have shown that they can be bad for posture  and the back. They are also responsible for all kind of problems and deformity related to toes.

A new report from Italy however has given woman wearing high heels good  reason to celebrate. The study indicates that wearing high heels also means good sex.  And why is this so – the explanation provided by them is that high heels makes the muscles of pelvis strong.  Standing on stilettos or on the tip toes does require some amount of balancing and this results in the muscles of pelvis getting stronger.  The group of these muscles enclose three important structures – urinary pipe (urethra), Vaginal passage  and the anal passage.  The ballet dancers and the  gymnasts are a classical example and most of them are very strong and supple around d their pelvis and hips.

Good muscular support work wonders during intercourse as the women is able to  contract and relax better and hence the thrust from a man is better controlled and enjoyed by the woman whether she is on top or in the missionary position. Dr Maria Cerruto, of the University of Verona, Italy, did a study  with 66 women under 50 about their sex lives, exercise regime and shoes. She reports that wearing a pair of ‘moderately high heeled shoes’ had beneficial effects for a woman’s sex life.  She adds – ‘‘Wearing heels during daily activity may reduce the need for the pelvic floor exercises necessary to keep that part of a woman’s anatomy toned and elastic.’’

Exercise of muscles of pelvic zone can also help a woman to “hold her water better.”  Apparently 25 to 33% of women worldwide leak urine and pelvic floor toning can help in overcoming these embarrassing moments.

The next time you are choosing your stilettos and someone objects you can use this argument with a wink, in your favour if you like.

Related links

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Japan said Sunday that 20 more people had tested positive for swine flu, bringing the total number of cases to 32 amid fears the virus has a foothold in the west of the country.

The latest group of flu sufferers included 18 high school students in Osaka prefecture and the city of Kobe in neighbouring Hyogo prefecture, where eight students were already ill from the virus, a health ministry official told AFP.

A college student in his 20s and a teacher in his 40s, both in Ko…

Air conditioning in cars cuts out more than 80 percent of germs, fungal spores and particles from outside air, providing a boon for people with respiratory problems or allergies, German scientists say.

In a study released at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID), a Hannover Medical School team monitored air quality in three cars between five and 10 years old that had been fitted with air conditioning.

The microbiological quality o…

A YouTube video clip showing pigs being culled in Egypt as part of swine flu measures has caused outrage at the apparent barbarity of the method of slaughtering the animals.

The clip posted by independent newspaper Al-Masri Al-Yom includes gory images of pigs being beaten with iron bars, piglets being stabbed and animals being kicked alive into bulldozer buckets.

Since going on line on YouTube this weekend, the clip has sparked horrified reactions from Muslims and from th…

The US traditions of handshakes at graduation and slapping a high five during sports competitions were banned when fears of a swine flu pandemic were at their peak, but are gingerly making a comeback.

“Did you see that? We touched skin,” an 11-year-old boy said after he and his baseball teammates tapped forearms with the opposing side after a Little League game in the Washington suburb of Rockville.

Not quite a high five, but a long way from the directive sent out two wee…

The WHO’s annual assembly opening on Monday is set to be dominated by swine flu with infections across the globe having soared above 8,000 and Japan closing hundreds of schools to battle an outbreak.

The A(H1N1) virus has already had an impact on the meeting of 193 member states: the WHO has proposed shortening the gathering from 10 days to five to minimise the time senior health officials are away from their countries.

The UN health agency has said they are needed back h…

Development of a swine flu vaccine was partly triggered by evidence that seasonal influenza strains are developing resistance to antiviral drug Tamiflu, a World Health Organisation expert said Tuesday.

Nikki Shindo said relatively high rates of hospitalisation for swine flu in the United States and Mexico “rightly” prompted vaccine development “because we are also facing the risk of having resistant viruses.”

“Last year we have seen widespread evidence of oseltamivir resi…

Hotels on Mexico’s Caribbean coast on Tuesday offered free vacations for three years to any tourist catching swine flu while on holiday there, in a bid to counter swine flu’s blow to the industry.

The A(H1N1) outbreak in Mexico, from which 58 have died, has sparked mass cancelations of tourist bookings to one of the world’s top tourist destinations.

“The ‘flu-free guarantee’ assures three years of free holidays to travelers who present flu symptoms eight days after return…

A Dutch appeals court ruled Tuesday that small bars with no staff except their owners are exempt from a national smoking ban introduced for the hospitality industry last July.

The appeals court of Den Bosch, in the southern Netherlands, found two owners of the Victoria cafe in Breda, near the Belgian border, not guilty of having contravened the ban.

“The court finds that the (ban) is partly non-binding, as it lacks legal grounding” regarding establishments with no staff, …

Thai scientists who infected newborn pigs with the swine flu virus have found they developed symptoms similar to those found in humans, a researcher said on Tuesday.

Researchers at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University found the piglets showed symptoms of coughing, sneezing, nasal discharge and conjunctivitis within four days of being infected with the A(H1N1) virus.

But none of the 22-day-old animals died, said Roongroje Thanawongnuwech, who led the research.

“T…

Thailand on Tuesday confirmed its first two cases of swine flu in people who had travelled to Mexico, becoming the only Southeast Asian nation hit by the virus so far.

Public Health Minister Witthaya Keawparadai said the patients, both Thai nationals, had recovered and there were no signs that the A(H1N1) virus had spread.

“There are two confirmed cases of A(H1N1), both of them contracted from Mexico,” Witthaya told a press conference in Bangkok.

The cases cam…

China ramped up efforts to contain swine flu and awaited confirmation Wednesday of a second suspected case on the mainland, as the number of infections worldwide soared past the 5,000 mark.

State news agency Xinhua said a man was under treatment in eastern China’s Shandong province where he had arrived by train after flying to Beijing from Canada.

China has already isolated 349 people, including foreigners, who travelled with the mainland’s first swine flu case.
…

More than 1,800 chickens have been culled in southeastern Bangladesh this week after avian flu was detected on a farm, an official said Tuesday.

Veterinary surgeon Rupen Chakma, of the Cox’s Bazar livestock office, told AFP that tests were conducted after a farmer reported sudden chicken deaths.

“We took samples and tests confirmed the presence of the H5N1 strain of flu and so the chickens were all culled,” he said.

Bangladesh was hit by bird flu in February 2…

Popular US breakfast cereal Cheerios is a drug, at least if the claims made on the label by its manufacturer General Mills are anything to go by, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said.

“Based on claims made on your product’s label, we have determined that your Cheerios Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal is promoted for conditions that cause it to be a drug,” the FDA said in a letter to General Mills which was posted on the federal agency’s website Tuesday.

Cheeri…

China on Tuesday ordered stepped up flu monitoring nationwide after confirming the mainland’s first swine flu case, and said it had found and isolated nearly all those who travelled with the patient.

The national alert came one day after the government said a 30-year-old Chinese man had tested positive for the A(H1N1) virus after arriving in China from the United States.

The health ministry ordered its departments nationwide to “completely and effectively control those wh…

Fourteen Mexican nationals remain quarantined in China and one in Singapore due to fears created by the swine flu epidemic, the Mexican Foreign Ministry announced.

According to a ministry statement, 10 of those are held in hospitals in Shanghai, three in Guangzhou an one in Beijing.

The ministry added that all those quarantined knew of the Chinese measure “in advance of the trip.”

Mexico and China have clashed since the outbreak of the A(H1N1) flu virus, which…

The third US fatality from swine flu has been confirmed in the northwestern state of Washington as officials pointed out that the spreading disease posed a serious problem.

State health officials said in a statement a man in his 30s with an underlying heart condition died last week with what appeared to be complications from the A(H1N1) influenza virus.

“This death is tragic. Our thoughts are with all those affected by this man?s passing,” Washington Governor Chris Gregoi…

The Statue of Liberty’s crown, off limits to the public since the September 11, 2001 attacks, will once again be open to visitors beginning July 4, US independence day, US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Friday.

In a television interview from the head of the celebrated statue, Salazar called the reopening a symbol of President Barack Obama’s agenda for “a new beginning, restoring confidence in the American people, in their government, and in our place in the world.”

A…

Men who were grossly overweight at the age of 18 had nearly 50 percent less chance of being married by their 30s and 40s, an international conference on obesity heard in Amsterdam on Thursday.

The findings, which held true regardless of the men’s intellectual performance or socio-economic position, could suggest that women rank a man’s appearance higher than other traits when choosing a partner.

“Yes, that may be one explanation,” researcher Malin Kark of the Swedish Karo…

Russia lifted a ban on pork imports from five US states after deciding that they posed no risk of swine flu but added Illinois to its interdiction list, veterinary authorities said Thursday.

“Due to the absence of worsening epidemic/outbreak conditions in certain US states, the ban … on imports from Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Nevada and Ohio is lifted,” the sanitary and veterinary authority said in a statement.

A separate statement, however, said pork products from Illi…

Asians and Africans see religion as most important in their daily lives, with Europeans least of the view that faith matters, according to a study published Thursday.

The study also found that Muslims in key European states identify with their country of residence more than the general population, contrary to the widespread view that they are not loyal to their homeland.

Bangladesh is the country with the most people, 99 percent, agreeing that religion is part of their da…

The secret of staying thin could be at least partly down to a good night’s rest, an international conference on obesity heard in Amsterdam on Thursday.

“After a bad night’s sleep, people ate 550 calories (22 percent) more than normal,” said the findings of a study by the European Centre of Taste Science in Dijon in central France, presented at the gathering.

This represented about one large hamburger.

Feelings of hunger were higher among a test group who slept…

The huge numbers of women dying while giving birth due to lack of medical facilities in Africa has not abated over the past decade, a World Health Organisation expert said on Thursday.

“The maternal mortality ratio is extremely high at about 1,000 deaths per 100,000 live births … This indicator did not improve in sub-Saharan Africa during the last 10 years,” said Luis Sambo, the WHO director for Africa.

Ministers of health from African Union’s 53 member states are meeti…

Botswana, which has one of the world’s highest HIV infection rates, has launched a scheme to circumcise nearly half a million men to curb the spread the disease, the health ministry said Thursday.

The country hopes to circumcise 460,000 men over the next five years, after a series of studies found that circumcised men were two to three times less likely to contract HIV, said Janet Mwambona, a public health specialist in charge of the project.

“For the public health benefi…

A US researcher at work developing a vaccine for the swine flu said he hopes to have it ready for testing in mice in two to three weeks.

Purdue University professor Suresh Mittal said the vaccine could be ready for production in a few months.

“We would like to have a vaccine in two to three weeks to start testing in mice,” said Mittal, a professor of comparative pathobiology in the School of Veterinary Medicine.

Mittal and collaborators at the Centers for Dise…