Could taking probiotics help the post-baby blues?

New study reveals taking a live bacteria tablet during pregnancy could HALVE a mother's risk of post-natal depression

• New research reveals the benefits of taking probiotics during pregnancy
• Probiotics are a live 'bacteria' that can be found in fermented foods
• Study points to a simple way mothers could manage their mental health
• The outcome of this trial suggests an alternative to traditional medications

Women at risk of depression while pregnant, or after giving birth, could benefit from increasing their intake of probiotics during pregnancy, according to a recent New Zealand study.

In Australia, figures show that depression can affect up to one in ten women while they are pregnant, and almost one in seven are affected during the first year after birth.

Researchers from the University of Auckland and the University of Otago surveyed a sample group of 423 women who were between 14 and 16 weeks pregnant.

Taking a probiotic tablet once a day during pregnancy and in the first six-months after birth halved a mother's risk of clinically significant anxiety, the research found. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4990842/Taking-probiotics-pregnancy-helps-post-natal-depression.html

Listen to your baby’s heartbeat - on your SMARTPHONE

• New app uses a fetal heart-rate monitor to keep track of unborn child
• Expectant mothers record the baby's heartbeat and play it back
• Able to take measurements of baby's progress, such as weight
• Can also track mood patterns of the mother-to-be
• Certain patterns in mood, such as emerging depression, prompt alerts

A new smartphone app allows mothers to listen to the heartbeat of their unborn child and keep track of their baby's progress in the womb. The Bellabeat Connected System includes a fetal heart-rate monitor and lets expectant mothers tune in to their baby's heartbeat and record the sounds. It also tracks important data about the progress of the baby, including heartbeats per minute, the number of times the baby kicks and the weight of the growing foetus. 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2588845/Listen-babys-heartbeat-smartphone-New-app-allows-mums-track-babys-progress.html

Epidurals can make labour last two hours LONGER than without pain relief

• It was already known that the second stage of labour can take longer after an epidural - but new research suggests it extends it even further 
• Without an epidural, most first time mothers deliver within 3 hours 20 mins
• With an epidural, it can take up to 5 hours 40 minutes, say researchers 
• In the UK, this stage of labour is not allowed continue for more than three hours - so doctors start to consider intervening after two hours

It is known that having an epidural increases the time it takes for a woman to deliver her baby.

But new research suggests it may prolong the birth for longer than originally believed.

U.S. researchers found some women who are given an epidural during labour take more than two hours longer to deliver their child than women who don’t get the pain relief.

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Having an epidural can increase the amount of time it takes a woman to push out her baby by up to two hours

‘The effect of epidural can be longer than we think and as long as the baby looks good and the women are making progress, we don't necessarily have to intervene [and perform a Caesarean section] based on the passage of time,’ lead author Dr Yvonne Cheng, from the University of California, San Francisco, said. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2553880/Epidurals-make-labour-two-hours-LONGER-without-pain-relief.html