 |
| Dr. Enrique Jacome |
Moms who work full-time are healthier at age 40 than moms who stay at home, work part time, or moms who find themselves repeatedly out of work. This was the result of a study reported on Monday, the last day of the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association in Denver, Colorado.
Co-author Adrianne Frech, Assistant Sociology Professor at the University of Akron in Ohio, told the press, work is good for both physical and mental health, for many reasons: "It gives women a sense of purpose, self-efficacy, control and autonomy." "They have a place where they are an expert on something, and they're paid a wage," she added.
However, Frech and co-author Sarah Damaske of Pennsylvania State University, said rather than stir up the going-out-to-work versus stay-at-home debate, their research highlights a recently identified group, whom they label the persistently unemployed.
They say this group of mothers deserves more attention because they appear to be the least healthy at around age 40. Persistently unemployed mothers are in and out of the workforce, often not by their own choice. They repeatedly experience the highs and lows of finding rewarding work, only to lose it and have to start all over again. This becomes a health risk because of the stress caused by work instability.
"Struggling to hold onto a job or being in constant job search mode wears on their health, especially mentally, but also physically," said Frech. "Women with interrupted employment face more job-related barriers than other women, or cumulative disadvantages over time," she added.
For their study, Frech and Damaske analyzed longitudinal data on 2,540 women who became mothers between 1978 and 1995. After adjusting for other factors that could influence the findings, such as prior health, employment before pregnancy, race/ethnicity, single motherhood, cognitive ability, and age at first birth, they found the choices women make early in their professional lives can influence their health later on.
Women who go back to full time work shortly after having children reported better health, both physical and mental. They have more mobility, less tendency to depression, and have more energy, at age 40.
Frech and Damaske suggest if women are able to make good choices before they have their first child, they are more likely to enjoy better health later on. "Examples of good choices could be delaying your first birth until you're married and done with your education, or not waiting a long time before returning to the workforce," said Frech.
Frech suggests working full time brings many benefits that part time workers rarely see: not only is the pay higher, but the chances of promotion are better, there is more job security and more fringe benefits. In contrast, mothers who stay at home may find themselves socially isolated and financially dependent.
Work makes you healthier and gives you the opportunity to save a nest egg, says Frech. "Also, should a divorce happen, it is harder to enter the workforce if you don't have a solid work history. Don't give up on work and education," she adds.
Frech also suggests society benefits when single mothers are offered child care and transportation, because this results in better job prospects for them.
www.fleurhealth.com
|
| Dr. Enrique Jacome |
According to new research, premenopausal women who engage in physical activity can significantly reduce a known inhibitor of bone formation called sclerostin.
The study, which will be published in the October issue of Endocrine Society'sJournal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM), also found that physical activity improved IGF-1 levels, which have a positive impact on bone formation.
Sclerostin is a glycoprotein produced primarily by osteocytes, the most abundant cells found in the human bone. Once released, sclerostin migrates to the bone surface where it triggers the production of cells that help bones develop.
Mohammed-Salleh M. Ardawi, Ph.D., FRCPath, professor at the Center of Excellence for Osteoporosis Research and Faculty of Medicine at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia, explained:
"Physical activity is good for bone health and results in lowering sclerostin, a known inhibitor of bone formation and enhancing IGF-1 levels, a positive effector on bone health. We also found physical activity training that enhances mechanical loading in combination with anabolic therapeutic agents will had added positive effect on bone health, particularly bone formation."
The team examined 1,235 premenopausal women for the study. They followed 58 women during an 8-week course of physical activity training and compared them with 62 women who acted as controls.
All study participants underwent a medical examination and had their measurements taken for bone mineral density, bone turnover markers, serum sclerostin and IGF-1.
The team found that women who engaged in 2+ hours of physical activity per week had considerably lower levels of serum sclerostin than those who had less than 2 hours of physical activity per week. However, those who regularly exercised had higher IGF-1 levels.
Ardawi said:
"Physical activity training is conceptually simple, inexpensive, and can serve practical purposes including reducing the risk of low bone mass, osteoporosis, and consequently fractures. Our study found that even minor changes in physical activity were associated with clear effects on serum levels of sclerostin, IGF-1 and bone turnover markers."
www.fleurhealth.com
|
| Dr. Enrique Jacome |
Although 13 percent of new mothers experience postpartum depression (PPD) in the first year after childbirth, few women recognize the symptoms and seldom discuss their feelings with a health care provider. University of Louisville Hospital (ULH) hopes to change this statistic through a new policy to guide hospital-based perinatal nurses in caring for women with risk of PPD.
M. Cynthia Logsdon, PhD, APRN, FAAN, professor, University of Louisville School of Nursing, and associate chief of nursing research, University of Louisville Hospital and the James Graham Brown Cancer Center, and her team created evidence-based practice guidelines using research recently published on-line in The American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing.
"The hospital policies and procedures are designed to provide perinatal nurses the tools they need to prepare new mothers so they are able to self-monitor for symptoms of depression and know what steps to take if they experience symptoms," Logsdon said.
According to Logsdon, most hospitals lack comprehensive perinatal patient PPD assessment, education and referral policies. Although professional organizations such as the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario previously published a best practices guideline, the recommendations did not focus on the first few days following childbirth or nursing care while the new mother was hospitalized.
"Our recommendations for nursing practice of hospital-based perinatal nurses go beyond previous published guidelines," Logsdon said.
Logsdon and her team, Diane Eckert, BSN, RN, clinical manager, mother-baby unit, ULH, and Roselyn Tomasulo, RN, MSN, perinatal educator, collaborated with internationally-known researchers in the field to draft the article, Identification of Mothers at Risk for Postpartum Depression by Hospital Based Perinatal Nurses. A task force of clinical nurses was consulted to determine how to improve nursing practice at ULH. Implementation included identifying at-risk patients and referral sources; physician and staff education was another component.
"When many nurses enter the profession, they don't fully understand their critical role as patient educators," Tomasulo said. "We are helping our perinatal nurses feel more competent in their roles by offering inter-hospital on-line education and staff training."
During the obstetric patient admission process, ULH perinatal nurses now assess new mothers for PPD and suicide risk factors: low-income status, lack of social support and previous history of depression. If a patient is at risk, it is reported to the obstetrical physician. The evening before hospital discharge, all new mothers fill out a questionnaire that utilizes the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Mothers are asked questions such as whether they feel anxious or worried for no particular reason and whether they feel sad or miserable. The higher the score, the greater the risk for PPD.
The physician, social services worker and oncoming shift nurse are then informed. The nurse who administered the EPDS reviews the results of the depression screening with the patient and her support person. Patients also are informed about depression symptoms and what to do if they begin to feel hopeless.
New mothers go home with a list of community resources and physician referrals, so names and numbers are at their finger-tips in case they need to seek help. They're asked to retake the EPDS questionnaire about a week later after leaving the hospital to see if they're experiencing PPD symptoms.
"We hope our work will be seen as a model of good policy and can be considered by other hospitals and professional organizations," Logsdon said.
www.fleurhealth.com
