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A.Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a relatively common condition in women. With IBS there is an alteration of the bowel’s motility. This leads to recurrent episodes of abdominal pain, due to bowel spasm, and altered bowel habit that can be either constipation or diarrhoea. Indeed the constipation and diarrhoea may alternate. Doctors don’t know the actual cause of IBS, but it is associated with a diet low in roughage and high in refined carbohydrates. Symptoms can be triggered or worsened by stress. Although uncomfortable, distressing and sometimes debilitating during attacks, the symptoms of IBS do not cause any long-term serious harm. Most women with irritable bowel syndrome will have had the diagnosis made by their Doctor before their pregnancy. The diagnosis is usually made after investigation of recurrent bowel upsets or abdominal pain. Because pregnancy can reduce the bowel’s motility making you more prone to constipation, women who have constipation as a major symptom of their IBS can get worse. However, this will not harm the pregnancy. The best treatment is a high fibre diet. Your Doctor can also give you medication to make your stools more bulky and this will often help relieve the symptoms. Sometimes medication to relieve bowel spasm can help, but you should not take any medication for this except on you Doctors advice during pregnancy.

Baby walkers can delay walking

It is known that babywalkers can delay the age at which a baby first crawls. However, whether or not babywalkers affect the time when a baby first stands unaided and walks has been a controversial area.

An Irish research study investigated whether babies born at term who used baby walkers were slower to stand and walk than those born at term who did not. Almost 200 children were studied and information on age at standing, walking and other developmental milestones such as crawling were obtained from their parents. The age at which babies who used babywalkers first crawled, stood alone and walked alone was on average around 3 weeks later than in those who did not use a babywalker. The longer the time spent in a babywalker the greater the delay in reaching these milestones. So it might be best to avoid giving your baby a babywalker.

*Reference: Garrett et al BMJ 2002;324:1494.