Bookmark
If you’re tired and grumpy, it might not be the kids…it might be your testosterone
If you’re over 40, as a lot of parents are, you run the risk of decreasing levels of testosterone. An article in the Wall Street Journal recaps the controversy around testosterone replacement therapy for older men, especially with the negative associations with testosterone and sex.
The WSJ article points out:
There are even more unknowns about the risks and benefits of testosterone replacement. For one thing, many of the symptoms of low testosterone are very common in older men and could be related to other conditions. Some, like obesity, may lead to low testosterone rather than vice versa.
And there is lingering concern that testosterone could fuel prostate cancer — largely because drugs that reduce testosterone seem to shrink enlarged prostates and lower the risk of developing prostate cancer by 25%, according to the National Cancer Institute’s Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial.
On the other hand, an analysis of 18 studies in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute last month concluded that there is no correlation between testosterone levels and prostate-cancer risk. Another study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism found that men with low testosterone had higher mortality rates in general than those with higher levels, regardless of other risk factors.
If you do have some of the symptoms below, it would be worth discussing with your doctor. Family and work pressures can take their toll, but sometimes other things are to blame for fatigue and change of temperment.
Popularity: 1%
Shifts in Pregnancy and Work – facts dads should know on changing workplace for families
Take a look at the article on Shifts in Pregnancy and Work in today’s New York Times. I can remember when we had our first baby in 2000. Before kids, my wife was the proverbial superwoman, working long hours and jetting around constantly. Planning for the baby was like scheduling any other event. In fact, she even short-changed herself on the liberal pregnancy leave from her Fortune 100 company so she could get back to work in five weeks. By the time #2 came along though in 2004, she was well-aware of the toll baby-making takes on the body, and maxed out her pregnancy leave, and then some. I was glad she did.
Most women though are struggling with keeping jobs and refinding their place at work after having a baby. This is a huge family issue since more flexible work choices make dual parenting more possible. For some families, it just makes more sense for dad to stay at home for a bit while mom goes back to work.
The data in the New York Times shows women going back after pregnancy in larger numbers and paying less of a price in terms of job and salary. We still aren’t at a point where family’s aren’t penalized, but progress is being made since the anti-family ’60s.
In the early part of this decade, 55 percent returned to work within six months after giving birth; that figure was 14 percent in the early 1960s.
The share who said they returned to work at lower pay declined to just under 2 percent in the latest period from a little more than 4 percent in the early 1990s. College graduates were more likely to work during pregnancy, as were non-Hispanic white women.
Popularity: 1%
Poll says dads as good as mothers
As reported by the BBC, a UK poll of f1000 people for the Fatherhood Institute finds that women think men have good parenting skills, but that they are undervalued. 95% of respondents feel it’s important for dads to spend time taking care of kids in their first two years.
The Fatherhood Initiative wants longer parental leave for fathers in the UK, and more effort by midwives, teachers and others to engage fathers.
Popularity: unranked
Good news on preventing kids’ allergies during pregnancy
In the New York Times today, an article report that the American Academy of Pediatrics no longer will will advise new moms to avoid milk, eggs, fish, peanuts and tree nuts while breast feeding. Of course, this makes it harder to know what you really should do, but at least it’s one less thing for moms to feel guilty about.
The report says:
–There is no convincing evidence that women who avoid peanuts or other foods during pregnancy or breast-feeding lower their child’s risk of allergies.
–For infants with a family history of allergies, exclusive breast-feeding for at least four months can lessen the risk of rashes and allergy to cow’s milk.
–Exclusive breast-feeding for at least three months protects against wheezing in babies, but whether it prevents asthma in older children is unclear.
–There is modest evidence for feeding hypoallergenic formulas to susceptible babies if they are not solely breast-fed.
–There is no good evidence that soy-based formulas prevent allergies.
–There is no convincing evidence that delaying the introduction of foods such as eggs, fish or peanut butter to children prevents allergies. Babies should not get solid food before 4 to 6 months of age, however.
Popularity: 1%
