PREGNANCY SPEAK: “Pregnancy revolutionizes your vocabulary. Vbacs replace iPods, Bugaboos transplant Toyotas, and gliders no longer fly, they rock.” - Catherine Porter, “Where the Water Never Breaks, The Toronto Star, December 20, 2005
WATCH YOUR FIGURINES.... “Don’t let motherhood smother your intellect....A collection of records or a collection of china dogs, the development of your garden or a deep and abiding interest in the community in which you live—all these give you a healthy outside interest for both you and your husband.” - Kate Aitken, It’s Fun Raising A Family: A Practical Guide for the Care and Training of Your Child from Infancy to the Sixth Year. Toronto: William Collins and Sons, 1955.
PUTTING AN OLD WIVES' TALE TO BED: Researchers at Ohio State University have tossed cold water on the theory which says that having sex in the final weeks of pregnancy will help to bring on labour. Their study of 93 moms-to-be found that women who indulged in a late-pregnancy romp between the sheets tended to go into labour at 39.9 weeks, while those who abstained from doing the deed went into labour about a half a week earlier—around 39.3 weeks.
HEALTHY MOMS, HEALTHY KIDS: Moms who are depressed are less likely to follow through on important child safety recommendations and they're more likely to resort to resort to physical punishment when it comes to disciplining their kids, according to a study published in the July 2006 issue of the medical journal Pediatrics. That's why it's so important for healthcare professionals to screen moms for symptoms of depression at their kids' well-baby and well-toddler checkups. After all, a healthy child begins with a healthy mom.
THE DIVA OF DREAMLAND: Your baby isn't the only one who feels better when you start crooning a lullaby. The physiological processes involved in singing help you to relax. (It's almost impossible to sing if you're a human stress-ball.) So the next time you're looking for a way to relax and unwind—and maybe even lull an unhappy baby off to Dreamland, too—dust off that Karaoke machine and let loose with a few lullaby-style lounge tunes. Pretty soon you'll be calling yourself The Diva of Dreamland.
PILLOW TALK: A Japanese firm has invented a pillow that uses sensors to measure the quality of your sleep. According to New Scientist, the product—known as the Sleep Doctor—then follows up with helpful suggestions so that you can improve the quality of your sleep. (There's no word on whether the product will factor in whether your newborn was up every hour on the hour before it chimes in with that "helpful" advice.)
TUB THERAPY: Who knew that hitting the tub with a novel could actually make you a better mom? Researchers at the University of Toronto have discovered that reading fiction makes you more empathetic. So the next time you're craving tub time, remind yourself that you're not being self-indulgent: you're scheduling self-development. In fact, your kids should be thanking you for taking this crash course in "Living With Difficult People," courtesy of Danielle Steele.
THAT '70s PREGNANCY! Think that pregnant belly makes you a magnet for wacky advice? Consider the dubious wisdom that was directed at moms a generation ago.
HEALTH: "If you are used to doing all your own housework, there is no reason to stop, provided you don't get overtired. Stop for little rests more often than usual, especially if you are doing anything that requires long and hard work. Don't scrub and wax the floors on one day. Try to arrange to sit down when ironing." From The Canadian Mother and Child. Ottawa: Department of National Health and Welfare Canada, 3rd edition, 4th printing, 1970.
BEAUTY: "Hair-do? Your object is to balance The Bump. The larger it gets, the tinier your head will look in comparison. Instinctively, pregnant women seem to switch to fuller, fluffier coiffures in the later months to achieve an esthetic balance." From Marcia Morton. Pregnancy Notebook: A Month-by-Month Guide Covering All Those Non-Medical Things the Doctor Doesn't Tell You. New York: Workman Publishing Inc., 1972.
