Breast feeding and bed wetting

A study just published in the journal Pediatrics presents evidence that kids who were breast fed are less likely to have bed wetting problems later. It is believed that some bed wetting problems are due to delayed neurodevelopment and that breast fed babies may have a developmental advantage. Of course none of this implies that not breast feeding will cause a child to be a bed wetter - and I won’t even get into the whole Department of Health and Human Services campaign that is resulting in more women being made to feel guilty for not breast feeding. Breast feed if you can - it may give your child some number of benefits, but don’t feel bad if you can’t. Many of us weren’t and are doing just fine!

Ovarian cancer and acetaminophen

The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and BBC report that regular use of acetaminophen (also known as paracetamol) may reduce the chance of developing ovarian cancer later in life. The study looked at 746,000 women over 6 years and found a reduction in ovarian cancer of around 30% in those that took the OTC pain killer regularly. Long term use of acetaminophen could result in liver and kidney failure however, so it is not recommended that women try taking it just to reduce their chances of getting ovarian cancer. Future research may determine what the connection between the two are and whether or not it is worth the health risk for women with a high risk of developing ovarian cancer.

(Technorati Tags: breast feeding, acetaminophen, paracetamol, ovarian cancer, health)