Eight out of 10 pregnant women are frightened of giving birth, according to a new survey, perhaps because of increased levels of medical intervention. In a poll of 2,000 mothers carried out for motherandbaby.co.uk, just 7 per cent of women had natural births. More than a third had an epidural, a quarter were induced and almost half needed stitches after the delivery. (BBC Health News).
The Healthy Way in Leixlip, Co Kildare is holding a weekend workshop in the Alexander Technique. Facilitated by author Richard Brennan, the two-day course runs on Sept 30/Oct 1 from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. each day. Cost: £85 (£30 deposit). Tel: 01-6244288.
New research points to a link between migraine and depression. Doctors from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York found that 47 per cent of migraine sufferers also experienced bouts of depression, compared with 17 per cent of those who didn't suffer from migraine. "It seems logical migraine patients would be depressed because of their pain, but it goes the other way too - depressed patients are more likely to have migraine. We think the two disorders must have a common neurobiology," concluded researcher Dr Richard Lipton. (BBC Health News)
The vicious circle of symptoms suffered by those with allergic asthma could be broken by a molecule currently under test. Allergic asthma attacks occur in two phases. An acute initial reaction starts within minutes of exposure to the allergen. The airways constrict, mucus accumulates in the lungs and the sufferer starts coughing. The lungs respond by releasing a signalling molecule called eotaxin and hours later, massive numbers of white blood cells called eosinophils enter the lungs. These eosinophils are believed to damage the lining of the airways. The molecule, which is still under laboratory trial, will prevent long-term damage to the lungs. (New Scientist)
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