LOVE IS THE DRUG: Oxytocin—the hormone that is released during breastfeeding—is pretty powerful stuff. In fact, even cocaine can’t compete with the natural high of nursing a newborn, according to mothers who’ve done both. Well, mother rats, that is. The jury’s still out on whether the effect carries over to humans, according to researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School who’ve studied the addictive affects of oxytocin, but the takeaway message is clear: you can get high on motherhood.
MOMS’ GROUPS—IT’S A BABOON THING: Hanging out with other moms is good for you and your kids, whether you’re human or a baboon, according to a Kenyan research study. A group of researchers—who reported on their findings in the journal Science—have found that the more a mama baboon hang out with other mothers, the more likely her baby is to survive to adulthood.
“HOW SHALL I TELL MY DAUGHTER?”: “Why get all involved trying to explain the facts of menstruation to your little girl...when there’s a simple, easy way to do this dreaded task?” - December 1942 advertisement for Kotex® Sanitary Napkins The Museum of Menstruation and Women’s Health (www.mum.org) features an online collection of vintage menstrual information booklets for mothers and daughters, including the Canadian editions of Marjorie May’s 12th Birthday (1935), Marjory May Learns About Life (1936), and Facts About Menstruation That Every Woman Should Know (1936). These types of booklets were published by sanitary napkin and tampon manufacturers until into the 1980s, at which point booklets like How Shall I Tell My Daughter? and Very Personally Yours quietly went out of print. The entire menstrual advice genre had simply lost its relevance. After all, how many girls who spent their teen years watching Madonna vamp her way through the 1980s hit video “Like a Virgin” were seriously worried about the possibility of losing their virginity to a tampon?
OH BOY....: The longer it takes you to get pregnant, the greater your odds of conceiving a boy. Researchers at Maastricht University in the Netherlands found that a couple’s odds of conceiving a baby boy is 51% of they conceive during their first year of trying, but that those odds jump by 4% during each subsequent year of trying.
TESTING, ONE, TWO, THREE...: Watching the pregnancy test turn positive may seem like a time-honored tradition of motherhood, but it wasn’t that long ago that a physical exam at the doctor’s office was the only way to confirm that there was a baby on the way. Learn about the history of pregnancy tests—including where the ill-fated bunnies fit into the story—at history.nih.gov/exhibits/thinblueline
YOU GOTTA GET YOU SOME GIRLFRIENDS: “If a new Mom asked me for the single most important advice I could give her, it would be ‘Get some girlfriends!’ No matter what your circumstances are, your life will be richer and more rewarding if you make connections with other women. They are the best lifelines there are.” - Amy Tiemann, PhD, Mojo Mom: Nurturing Your Self While Raising a Family (Spark Press).
SHOPPING SCIENCE: Researchers at Ohio State University have confirmed what you may have long suspected: store clerks in women’s clothing stores tend to lavish their attention on those customers who appear to have the most money to spend. And the criteria store clerks use to size up customers—fancy clothing, top-of-the-line purses and accessories, and perfect hair and makeup—could cause these clerks to miss the mark when it comes to moms. After all, if you know you’re going to be changing diapers on the run or feeding your baby puréed peas in the food court, you’re likely to leave your designer duds at home. If you feel like you’re being treated like a second class—or invisible—customer by a clueless sales clerk, vote with your feet. There are other mom-savvy retailers who will give you the customer service you deserve.
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.