SATURDAY, Nov. 5 (HealthDay News) — Pregnancy is safe for most
women with stable lupus, a new study indicates.

Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease that can affect many organs of
the body and cause arthritis, fatigue and rashes. Lupus has been known to
cause complications for pregnant women. The disease occurs mostly in
women, often emerging in their 20s and 30s when many women want to have
children.

In this study, researchers identified a few predictors of lupus-related
pregnancy complications, but also found that most women with stable lupus
had successful pregnancies.

The findings were to be presented Nov. 7 at the American College of
Rheumatology annual meeting in Chicago.

The study included 333 women with lupus who were followed from their
first trimester of pregnancy until three months after they gave birth. On
average, the women’s lupus was relatively inactive.

Poor outcomes occurred in 63 of the women, including 30 who delivered
before 36 weeks or had newborns of small gestational size and 19 who
experienced the death of the baby.

Ten percent of the mothers developed preeclampsia, 10 percent
experienced mild or moderate flares of lupus at 20 weeks and 8 percent
experienced a flare at 32 weeks. Severe lupus flares occurred in under 3
percent of women at 20 and 32 weeks.

The researchers found that the 20 percent of women who experienced
pregnancy complications were more likely to have certain risk factors:
higher levels of lupus activity; high antibodies that may increase the
chances of developing a blood clot; increased lupus activity at 20 or 32
weeks of pregnancy; and poor overall health.

The fact that 80 percent of the women in the study had successful
pregnancies should reassure women with lupus who want to have children,
the researchers said. They added that their findings suggest these women
be advised that the best time to become pregnant is when the lupus is
stable and they are not experiencing a flare of the disease.

“This very large study including racial and ethnic minorities, provided
evidence that women who conceived while their disease was stable or only
mildly active had relatively infrequent flares during their pregnancies
and delivered healthy babies,” study authors Dr. Jill P. Buyon, a
professor of medicine at New York University School of Medicine, and Dr.
Jane E. Salmon, of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, said
in a college news release.

“This held true regardless of past disease severity or past kidney
disease [a frequent consequence of lupus]. These findings inform women
with lupus on how to best plan when to conceive to assure the most
favorable outcome for themselves and their babies.”

Because this study was presented at a medical meeting, the data should
be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The Lupus Foundation of America has more about lupus and pregnancy.

Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon (Getty)

Mariah Carey is known for her five-octave range, and she says her voice has gotten stronger, thanks to pregnancy.

The 42-year-old gave birth to fraternal twins in April via C-section. She recently lost 30 pounds by following the Jenny Craig diet, and says the process has enhanced her vocals.

“Right now I feel like pregnancy actually helped me vocally,” Carey said in an interview Wednesday. “At this moment my voice is in great shape.”

The Grammy winner is also working on new music, which she said is partly inspired by her pregnancy.

Carey made the comments as she was announced as the new brand ambassador for Jenny Craig, which is now called Jenny. The singer said after giving birth she was “approached by a lot of different companies,” but that the folks at Jenny “understood me.”

During her pregnancy Carey dealt with gestational diabetes and toxemia. She says “you couldn’t make me go through that again.

“I knew I was going to gain weight during the pregnancy, but I didn’t think about the pain the weight would cause,” she said. “I didn’t know if I was going to be able to walk again … I couldn’t get up out of my chair alone.”

Carey said in addition to eating right, she worked out a lot, though husband Nick Cannon wasn’t her partner in that sense.

“He’s in great shape and he can eat anything he wants (and) I’m jealous of that,” she said. “But sometimes I’m glad ’cause he has candy by the bed, and I’ll sneak one of his little candies.”

Carey says her involvement with Jenny — which supports the American Heart Association’s “My Heart. My Life.” initiative — stretches beyond just helping women bounce back from weight gain during pregnancy.

“We just lost Heavy D,” she said of the rapper who collapsed and died Tuesday. “I considered him my friend and … he was (in his) early 40s, so it’s serious. It’s really serious.”

– Associated Press

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Women who have large waistlines before pregnancy may be more likely to have a larger-than-normal newborn than women who are trim around the middle, a new study suggests.

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The findings, reported in the obstetrics journal BJOG, are in line with what experts know: Women who are obese before pregnancy are more likely to have a baby with an abnormally high birthweight — known as macrosomia.

Depending on how macrosomia is defined, it affects anywhere from one percent to 10 percent of all pregnancies.

By one definition, babies born weighing more than four kilograms (about eight pounds, 13 ounces) are macrosomic. Another definition puts the threshold higher: 4.5 kilograms, or nine pounds, 15 ounces.

In the new study, UK researchers found that women with the biggest pre-pregnancy waistlines were more likely to have a macrosomic newborn, whatever the definition.

Of nearly 3,100 women who gave birth over one year, about 10 percent had a baby weighing more than four kilos, while about one percent of newborns topped 4.5 kilos.

Those odds were highest among women who fell in the top 25 percent for pre-pregnancy waist-hip ratio. They were 57 percent more likely to have a baby weighing more than four kilos, versus women in the bottom 25 percent for waist size.

And they were 2.6 times as likely to have a newborn weighing more than 4.5 kilograms. That was with the mother’s pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) — a measure of weight in relation to height — taken into account.

“We know that total body fat is associated with pregnancy outcome,” senior researcher Dr. Gordon C.S. Smith told Reuters Health in an email. “This study suggests that the distribution of the body fat may also be important.”

That fits with what’s known about “visceral” fat (deep fat within the abdomen) and other types of health problems, noted Smith, who heads obstetrics and gynecology at Cambridge University.

Studies have shown that having a large belly may be more closely connected to the risks of conditions like diabetes and heart disease, versus excess body that is concentrated around the hips and thighs.

Right now, experts use BMI as the basis for weight-gain recommendations to pregnant women. The Institute of Medicine (IOM), an advisory panel to the U.S. government, says that obese women (BMI of 30 or higher) should gain 11 to 20 pounds during pregnancy.

That’s less than the 15 to 25 pounds recommended for overweight women (BMI between 25 and 30). Normal weight women (a BMI between 18.5 and 25) are told to gain 25 to 35 pounds.

And those recommendations still stand, Smith said. But if further studies point to the importance of waist size, he added, weight-gain recommendations during pregnancy may need to become “more sophisticated.”

One recent study, for instance, found that if a woman starts out at a normal pre-pregnancy weight, gaining more than the IOM recommends while carrying twins seemed to benefit the babies. (See Reuters Health story of November 2, 2011).

In general, experts recommend that women try to attain a healthy weight before becoming pregnant — and they don’t advise dieting to lose weight during pregnancy. Instead, the advice is to eat a balanced diet and get regular moderate exercise, like walking.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/uQOliG BJOG, online October 18, 2011.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Courtesy Basq

As more and more studies show, the better you take care of your skin while you’re pregnant, the better it will look after baby arrives.

This is something the founders of Basq — a luxe skincare line for moms-to-be and new moms — know all too well.

Lauren Parisier (left) and Kelli Kenny created the collection to give expectant women an all-natural option to help enhance their pregnancy glow and pamper their newly sensitive skin, which has garnered them many celeb fans including Selma Blair, Christy Turlington-Burns and more.

Actually, Heidi Klum recently added their Resilient Body Oil ($38) to her “I Love” list on her website.

We recently chatted with the company’s founders to find out their top mom-to-be beauty tips. Check them out below:

Steam is your friend. It leaves skin clean and refreshed plus has the added benefit of promoting relaxation and sleep — something every pregnant woman or new mom needs. We suggest adding a few drops of our Sweet Dreams Aromatherapy Oil to the hot water. It includes Lavender, which has excellent antibacterial properties and helps cleanse skin that may be unbalanced.

Don’t give in to the hormonal shifts. Achieving that beautiful pregnancy glow is tougher than expected going into pregnancy and certainly post baby. A spike or dip in hormones change the tone, clarity and color of your skin. To keep your skin balanced, find a gentle, clarifying facial cleanser. Our Rebalancing Cleanser works wonders at bringing back your healthy glow. Also, it includes Ylang Ylang blossoms, which help you sleep better too!

Exfoliate, exfoliate, exfoliate. It triggers a natural repair process, which speeds up skin turnover for better stretch mark prevention. It also tells the skin to start building collagen and elastin, the fibers that make skin able to stretch more without breaking. For during and after your pregnancy, we suggest our Citrus Sugar Body Polish, which is rich in natural butters and oils. The added sugar is also the best way to exfoliate tender skin because it isn’t drying like salt or too rough like loofahs which tear at skin causing it to weaken.

Oil yourself up. A lot of women avoid oils because they’re greasy and can cause stains. But oils are really the best way to nourish, strengthen and tone your over-stressed skin. And our Resilient Body Oil (Heidi’s fave!) will more than change your opinion. Loaded with essential fatty acids, it quickly absorbs into your skin keeping it strong and bouncy. Plus, it helps keep stretch marks at bay.

The nose knows. While expecting, strong aromas can often be too much. But that doesn’t mean you should avoid using products that can help rejuvenate your skin. Just switch to fragrance-free versions that won’t offend your new delicate sense of smell. We offer the fragrance-free Illipe Body Butter, which offers all the same rich ingredients of the regular Illipe Body Butter, without any scent.

Don’t give up on your skin when baby arrives. The best bounce back happens in the first 3 to 6 months after your pregnancy. Your skin is trying very hard to get back to its former shape and now more than ever needs all the help it can get. So even if you’re super tired, don’t slack on your beauty routine. Try our fast-absorbing Resilient Body Oil after a quick shower — it’s the perfect skin-strengthening solution for a new mom on the go.

Mariah Carey, she of the five-octave vocal range, is showing off her new figure. The platinum pop diva, who gave birth to twins in April, recently dropped 30 pounds — but that’s not all that’s changed. Carey says pregnancy has made her voice stronger.

“Right now I feel like pregnancy actually helped me vocally,” Carey said, according to the Associated Press. “At this moment my voice is in great shape.”

Certainly sex hormones, like testosterone and estrogen, affect the voice — for proof, just listen to any boy going through puberty. The same is true of women, according to a University of Iowa Voice Academy page — the quality of their voice may change depending on whether they’re menstruating, pregnant, breastfeeding or menopausal.

“Hormone shifts cause changes inside the larynx,” according to the page. “Tissues hold fluid and blood vessels dilate, increasing vocal fold bulk. Puffier vocal folds vibrate differently, making speaking and singing more effortful.”

In fact, it goes on to say, because of these changes, “European opera houses used to excuse singers from singing during premenstrual and early menstrual days.”

Surprisingly little work seems to be out there studying pregnancy on singing voices — but one 2011 study from the Journal of Voice tracked the performance of trained singers during the last 12 weeks of pregnancy and about 11 weeks after birth, as well as their estrogen and progesterone levels during that time. They found, among other things, “a perceptible decrease in vocal brightness.”

Many of these changes sound like they’re more negative than positive; so whether being preggers could improve a voice such as Mariah Carey’s remains an open question. 

Follow me on Twitter @LAT_aminakhan.