Shedding pounds before getting pregnant can reduce a number of health risks - but it may also add a few points to your child's reading and math scores. A recent study has found a link between a mother's weight before pregnancy and their children's cognitive skills: obese women's children score lower on math and reading tests when they were 5 to 7 years old. Get to a healthy weight before becoming pregnant. Lead author Rika Tanda , a nursing doctoral candidate at Ohio State University, and colleagues wanted to investigate potential connections between a mother's pre-pregnancy ob...

Planning a family? Thinking you might finally start eating healthier because a little one is watching your dietary habits? Parenthood may not change those habits as much as you'd like. A long-term study looking at the impact of having children on the eating habits of their parents found that starting a family does not necessarily lead mom and dad to eat healthier diets. Deciding to eat better is a win-win decision. Helena Laroche , MD, of the University of Iowa and the Iowa City VA Medical Center, and colleagues wanted to know whether the popular idea that parents may decide to ...

Adding folic acid to tortillas and other products can reduce the risk for birth defects, says a new petition recently filed with a federal agency.  A petition filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) argues that fortifying corn masa flour products with the B vitamin folic acid can help reduce serious birth defects of the brain and spine. The groups behind the petition believe that mandating folic acid fortification of the products will especially help prevent birth defects in one high-risk group: Hispanic babies. Since 1998, when the FDA started regulating folic a...

According to the old adage, you are what you eat, but for men eating fatty foods, their diets may be affecting their sperm counts too. A new study reveals that the amount and types of fat consumed by men may be associated with the quality of their semen. Limit fatty foods and consume more unsaturated fats than saturated ones. In a study led by Jill Attaman, of Vincent Obstetrics and Gynecology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical Center, researchers looked at the diets of 99 primarily Caucasian American men who attended a fertility clinic between 2006 and 2010. ...

Are you convinced that your muffin top isn't hurting anyone, so there's no need to lose it? Think again. A new study shows that packing on extra pounds is bad for your baby - even if you're not pregnant yet.

Weight gain is important during pregnancy, as is weight maintenance. How can they both be achieved? Exercise is the key and is recommended during pregnancy, but is it safe or effective?

Nutritionists suggest fish as a healthier choice of protein, but certain fish are high in methylmercury. Methylmercury can be dangerous at high levels - especially for pregnant women.

During pregnancy, mothers are told they need folic acid, also known as folate. This mineral helps prevent neural tube defects, but it doesn't prevent all birth defects.

Whacked out hormones cause polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a condition which is thought to affect seven percent of all women, cause period problems and appearance changes.

Weight loss has been shown to improve various medical conditions. Infertility can now join the growing number of conditions that can be treated by weight loss.