Mom Life According To Elisa

 Do you ever wonder if your child's cognitive ability was inherited or if it's based on environmental factors? In fact, human intelligence is a fairly equal mix of genetics and environmental influences. Genetic differences in cognition are more likely to be passed on from mother to child than from father to child (so all you moms reading this, you were right all along). Read More   

  My family used to joke that I couldn't hear directions in the same room but I could hear the sound of a chocolate bar unwrapping all the way across the house with the TV blaring. Clearly, the issue wasn't hearing loss , but rather a disconnect when it came to dividing my attention between different speakers (or in my case, between a speaker and a candy wrapper!) Concerned about hearing loss? It could be selective hearing. Selective hearing is the natural process by which we filter out background noise, picking up the auditory information that is important to us. Selective hearing is a helpful phenomenon, but it can become problematic if the brain filters out what it should be paying attention to. Read More   

  Will your baby’s blue eyes stay that way? It’s possible, but not guaranteed. Babies born with blue or grey-colored eyes may end up with a different eye color later on. This is because of the pigmentation process, which continues to develop after a baby is born.  Caucasion babies are generally born with blue or grey eyes, but much of the time, their eyes darken to green, hazel, or brown by age one. Some babies won’t settle into a final eye color until closer to age two. Read More   

 Can you predict your new arrival’s weight? There are a few clues that can help you guess. But there’s no way to fill in the weight on the birth announcement until the nurse places your bundle of joy onto the scale.  Read More  

  Blue is one of the rarest eye colors worldwide. The genetic mutation behind blue eyes actually switches off the gene that colors eyes brown and leaves them blue.  Everyone with blue eyes is related to a single, common ancestor. This ancestor most likely lived close to the Baltic Sea between six and ten thousand years ago.  What color eyes will your baby have? When a new addition is on the way, it’s only natural to wonder about their appearance. Will your baby have blue eyes? There is no way to be totally sure, but you can make a good guess.  Read More  

 You may have heard about genetic testing for Down Syndrome during pregnancy. But what exactly is Down Syndrome? What are your chances of birthing a baby with this condition? Researchers do not know a lot about what causes Down Syndrome, but they do know a lot about how it works. There is also a lot of knowledge out there about some specific risk factors that increase your chances of having a baby with Down Syndrome.  Read More  

  Cleft palate is one of the most common birth defects in the United States. A cleft palate occurs when the tissue of the roof of the mouth does not join up. This causes a separation.  There are different types of cleft. It can be split in the front, back, or all the way across the roof of the mouth. It can accompany a cleft lip, which happens when the tissue around the mouth does not join up. This leaves an opening on the top lift that sometimes extends up through the nose. A cleft lip can occur with or without a cleft palate. Read More

    Wondering if your baby could be a redhead? Red hair is the rarest natural hair color in the world. Just 1-2% of all humans have red or orange hair. However, in Ireland and Scotland, about 20% of the population are redheads.  Could your little one be born a carrot top? The chances are slim for most people. They are even slimmer if neither parent has red hair, but it can happen. Read More    

 What will your baby look like? Hair color and eye color are the most common things expecting parents wonder about. While there is no sure bet, you can make some good guesses with the right information.  Read more