Suffering from morning sickness could indicate that your baby is going to have a high IQ, so research in Canada has discovered.  Scientists looked at a sample of 120 mothers who had phoned a special helpline for women who felt particularly ill or nauseous during pregnancy.  It was entitled the NVP (Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy) helpline.

Specialists in the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto concluded that babies born to women with symptoms of nausea tended to have babies with a higher IQ than those who did not experience nausea.

Tests were carried out on children aged between 3 and 7 that included numeracy and verbal fluency.  The findings suggest that those whose mothers had experienced morning sickness during pregnancy did better in the tests!

The achievements of those babies whose mothers had not had nausea were found to achieve lower results.

The research leader, Dr Gideon Koen reiterated it did not suggest mental retardation by any means, it just suggested a slightly higher IQ.

For many women, morning sickness can be dreadfully debilitating and indeed embarrassing.  It is supposed to be only a symptom during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy - this is often not the case and it continues throughout the pregnancy.  And, it is known as morning sickness, but for so many it is not confined to the mornings at all!

So, for all those women who endure the horrors of morning (or evening or daytime) sickness, these findings are a small consolation!

New, and slightly worrying research, suggests that having a healthy diet containinging plenty of fibre has a detrimental effect on your chances of having a baby. This is something women trying for a baby will be horrified to hear.

Wholemeal bread, brown pasta and brown rice when eaten in large quantities seem to effect the hormone levels of women and therefore may impact on fertility levels.  The more wholemeal food women ate, the lower the levels of vital hormones that influence the reproduction process.

The research was carried out in America, using a sample of 250 women of childbearing age, over a two year period.  They made two important discoveries when looking at the women and their fibre intake:

• Hormone levels were less in those with a high fibre diet
• There was an increase in something called anovulation (which is when a women goes through her menstrual cycle but her ovaries fail to release an egg)

Anovulation is known to occur when hormone levels drop due to anxiety, stress or extreme exercise.

This is the first time that a healthy diet has been deemed to impact on a person in a negative way.  Serious claims!

Should you eat nuts during pregnancy?  Recent advice has changed again and now the answer is yes, you can!

Until recently pregnany and breast-feeding women were advised to avoid peanuts in order to reduce the risk of their child developing a penut allergy.   However, in August 2009 the British Government revised their advice and now states that there is no clear link between eating peanuts and childhood peanut allergies.  This refers only to peanuts – also known as monkey nuts and ground nuts – and does not affect other foods which may trigger allergic reactions such as wheat, dairy products or other varieties of nut.

Further research has been commissioned to improve how and under what conditions the allergies develop. We wait to hear the results of the latest tests, but in the meantime, it seems advice says you can choose to do so, as long as its part of a healthy, balanced diet and you're not allergic to peanuts yourself!

In America peanuts are not deterred during pregnancy, instead they are encouraged as a good source of protein. And in Australia the Department of Health says there's no evidence of your baby developing a peanut allergy if you eat peanuts when pregnant or breast feeding.

So, if you fancy some peanut butter or want to nibble a few nuts at a party then governments, all over the world, say you can!