Amy Webb`intelligent infant care

7.31: news.care/Amy Webb`intelligent infant care:
"Here & Now" radio:
. Amy and her husband have a new daughter,
and they do a lot of data collection:
they noticed that when reading to her,
she was most attentive and contented
when the reader was more interested
in what they were reading;
so, instead of plodding through nursery rhymes,
they were reading their news magazines aloud .
. they also noted that a study has shown
infants exposed to a higher vocabulary
had higher IQ's or cognitive development .

3rd trimester choline improves fetal cortisol levels

5.14: news.health/prenatal/
choline during 3rd trimester reduces cortisol levels:

The Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology,
first human study to suggest
a role for choline
in the "programming" of
key biological processes in the fetus .
. a group of third-trimester pregnancies
consumed 930 milligrams of choline,
more than double the recommended
450 milligram daily intake.
The result for their babies was a
33 % lower concentration of cortisol
- a hormone produced in response to stress
that also increases blood sugar -
compared to those from a control group of women
who consumed about 480 milligrams of choline.
Dietary sources of choline include egg yolks,
beef, pork, chicken, milk, legumes and some vegetables.
Most prenatal vitamin supplements
do not include choline.

sports training for babies

5.12: web.care/sports training for babies:
. headline had me curious; but,
wasn't much of a story here except that
business was excited about feeding on new ways
that you could micromanage your kid ever-earlier
to help your kid get into an elite college .
. those who sell sports training for babies
got into trouble saying they make a difference,
so they don't say that any more,
but I was reminded of Tiger Woods:
how would you find out that guy is a natural at golf
unless you started him at age 4 ?
. some training I had in mind for literal babies
would be interaction that
kept their eyes following you;
for exercise, there is massage
and getting them to pull
with their reflexive grasping:
they will hold your fingers
and you can partially lift them this way .
www.nytimes.com/2010/12/01/sports/01babies.html
www.babiestoday.info/baby-development-stages
...sports-training..for-babies
www.momsteam.com/organized-sports-toddlers
-dont-give-them-edge-parents-are-promised

reducing risk of food allergies

1.14: news.health/breastfeeding/breastfeed exclusively up to four months:
in the British Medical Journal
. babies not introduced to certain foods
earlier than six months
may have a higher incidence of food allergies.
Countries where peanuts are used as weaning foods
have low incidences of peanut allergy (Israel, for example)
. coeliac disease rose in Sweden
following advice to mothers to delay the introduction of gluten
into their child's diet until after six months,
and it fell when the recommendation
reverted to four months .
. failing to start weaning before six months
 appears to raise risks for iron deficiency anaemia,
"known to be linked to irreversible adverse
mental, motor or psychosocial outcomes."
. Exclusive breastfeeding protects against
infections, such as gastroenteritis
which is critical in developing countries,
but less important where sanitation is better.