EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA

Scientists at the University of Liverpool think they have an answer. It might be an ancient survival mechanism.

Pregnant women are vulnerable to food poisoning and infections because their immune systems are lowered, they write in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, so it may be to their advantage to be nauseated by the types of foods most likely to rot and cause disease, like meat, eggs and milk.

The evidence supporting this idea comes from an analysis of 56 morning sickness studies in 21 countries.

Morning sickness was more common in cultures where women's diets were high in sugars, fats, alcohol and meats, and low in grains and beans. In cultures that ate more beans, peas, lentils and cereal crops - foods that don't spoil as easily - morning sickness was less common.

Piercing and nursing

Doctors and nurses traditionally tell women with pierced nipples that they're not going to be able to breast-feed their babies.

The authors of a new article in the nursing journal called AWHONN Lifelines, however, say it's not impossible.

Through a national survey on body piercing, they found seven women who got pregnant after having their nipples pierced. At least one of them successfully nursed her baby in spite of the piercing: She removed the jewelry while nursing and then replaced it.

Each woman's case is different, the authors write, but in general, women with pierced nipples should not be denied the benefits of breast-feeding their child. They lay out tips for health-care workers for assisting a pregnant woman who has piercings, such as teaching her the warning signs of infection and perhaps offering her a small plastic place holder as a substitute for metal jewelry while nursing.

Pain relief for babies

If the idea of nipple piercing makes you cringe, here's a more soothing thought.

Breast-feeding relieves a baby's pain.

A new review in the Cochrane Library, a journal of systematic reviews of previous research, finds that breast-feeding soothes crying and reduces the spike in blood pressure newborns experience the first time they get blood drawn. In the studies reviewed, breast-feeding worked better than swaddling, a pacifier or holding the baby in the mother's arms.

The only other simple pain relief idea that worked as well was giving the infant sugar water.

The authors argue that breast-feeding should be suggested as standard practice in hospitals as a way to soothe a baby's pain.

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Julie Kirkwood's Health and Science Journal runs in Health North on Mondays. She can be reached at (978) 946-2251 or jkirkwood@eagletribune.com.