Little Things Moms-to-Be Can Do

Visit farms regularly, get plenty of sunlight (or Vitamin D), and have a stimulating environment (seems Lamarckian).

See:
SciDaily: Farm Moms May Help Children Beat Allergies

PhysOrg: Sun In Pregnancy Builds Stronger Bones For Baby

TechReview: A Comeback for Lamarckian Evolution? Two new studies show that the effects of a mother's early environment can be passed on to the next generation.

Don't Prescribe Steroids For Wheezing

Via MSNBC: Steroids do not help wheezing kids, studies say

Revisiting The Hygiene Hypothesis

NYT: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You

Dr. Ruebush deplores the current fetish for the hundreds of antibacterial products that convey a false sense of security and may actually foster the development of antibiotic-resistant, disease-causing bacteria. Plain soap and water are all that are needed to become clean, she noted.

“I certainly recommend washing your hands after using the bathroom, before eating, after changing a diaper, before and after handling food,” and whenever they’re visibly soiled, she wrote. When no running water is available and cleaning hands is essential, she suggests an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

Dr. Weinstock goes even further. “Children should be allowed to go barefoot in the dirt, play in the dirt, and not have to wash their hands when they come in to eat,” he said. He and Dr. Elliott pointed out that children who grow up on farms and are frequently exposed to worms and other organisms from farm animals are much less likely to develop allergies and autoimmune diseases.

Also helpful, he said, is to “let kids have two dogs and a cat,” which will expose them to intestinal worms that can promote a healthy immune system.

Another Risk To Caesarean Births

See MSNBC: C-sections tied to higher asthma risk for babies: Natural birth helps prime infant’s immune system, researchers explain

Babies born by Caesarean section are more likely to develop asthma than children delivered naturally, Swiss researchers said on Tuesday.

There has been conflicting evidence on the link between asthma and C-sections but the researchers said the number of children involved in their study and a long monitoring period strengthened their results.

Blaming The Weather

See US News: Autumn Babies More Prone to Asthma

Babies born in autumn -- about four months before the peak of winter virus season -- have almost a 30 percent increased risk of asthma compared to babies born at other times of the year, reports a study in the first December issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.