Pacific Standard May-June 2013 Cover

Killer Whales are Momma’s Boys

September 19, 2012 • By • Leave a Comment
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Via Science 2.0: Marine biologists have determined that male killer whales have an apron strings problem. It turns out female killer whales have the second-longest life after menopause of any mammal, exceeded slightly by human beings. A nagging question for biologists is why whales can live as long as 90 years but stop having offspring at 40 or 50 -- a mirror of human patterns. Most animal life spans extend only slightly beyond reproductive viability (or, less). A team representing the universities of York and Exeter in England, the Pacific Biological Station in Canada, and the American ... Read More

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Lactation Breeds Lack: The High Cost of Breastfeeding

March 22, 2012 • By • Leave a Comment

The percentage of American mothers who breastfeed their babies has risen over the past decade, but it remains far below the rate public health officials would like to see. Newly published research provides one possible reason why. It turns out all that healthy, nutritious milk comes at a surprisingly high cost. A study of 1,313 American women who gave birth between 1980 and 1993 finds those who breastfed for six months or more suffered “more severe and more prolonged earnings losses” than mothers who breastfed for a shorter amount of time, or not at all. “Our results suggest ... Read More

More like this: Business & Economics, Findings
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Working Moms: The Kids Are All Right

March 8, 2012 • By • Leave a Comment

Working mothers tend to be happier and healthier than mothers who stay at home caring for young children, according to recent research. But many of those who work are often haunted by the question: “Am I screwing up my kids?” A new study provides a reassuring answer. Writing in the journal Social Science Research, sociologists Jeremiah Wills and Jonathan Brauer conclude — with one important caveat — that “maternal employment largely is inconsequential to child well-being.” They reached this conclusion after examining data on 6,283 American mothers and their children. The ... Read More

More like this: Culture, March-April 2012
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Global Fistula Care Map Aims to Expand Treatment

February 29, 2012 • By • Leave a Comment
Global Fistula Care Map

There are many dire medical problems that the first world has the luxury of not worrying much about. Such as obstetric fistula, which tears a hole inside the birth canal. It’s one of the most devastating birth injuries a woman can sustain, but treatable. But that’s often not the case for much of the developing world. There are between 50,000-100,000 cases of obstetric fistula each year worldwide. In 2010, only an estimated 14,000 were treated. Obstetric fistula causes 8 percent of all maternal deaths and, when it’s not fatal, leads to constant incontinence and shame. As we explained ... Read More

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Text Messages No Substitute for Mother’s Voice

August 15, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment

For young people, text messaging is rapidly replacing talking on the phone. Parents could easily assume that typed text is the best way to stay in touch with their tech-savvy kids. But newly published research suggests that, in times of stress, there’s no substitute for the soothing sound of mom’s voice. That’s the conclusion of a research team led by University of Wisconsin-Madison cultural anthropologist Leslie Seltzer. In a study released last year, Seltzer and her colleagues found comforting words from mom decreased levels of cortisol (a biomarker of stress) and increased ... Read More

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Breastfeeding Women Viewed as Less Competent

March 22, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment

A study emerged out of Oxford University last week suggesting babies who are breastfed end up doing better in school. Yet despite such well-documented benefits for both mother and child, the percentage of American breastfeeding women remains "stagnant and low," according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Why are only one-third of American mothers exclusively breastfeeding at three months, and only 43 percent breastfeeding at all at six months? Perhaps because they’ve gotten a sense of how harshly they are being judged. Research just published in the journal ... Read More

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Benefits of the Daddy Brain

April 16, 2009 • By • Leave a Comment

Ask any new parent: Taking care of a newborn is a physical and emotional marathon — and the pace only begins to slacken with kindergarten. It may not be so surprising that the hormonal surges of pregnancy and childbirth endow mothers with some extra oomph to help them through. Studies have shown that their senses become sharper, and they're more resilient and more motivated. These changes in the brain take place because many hormones — testosterone, estrogen and prolactin among them — also act in the brain to regulate its functions and help it react to change in the environment. New ... Read More

More like this: Health, May-June 2009, News and Options
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