For many parents, their first thoughts and images of their unborn child begin with the first ultrasound image they see. New studies suggest those thoughts are measurably influenced by how the technician describes what they're seeing.

"The words used in these conversations with ultrasound technicians or obstetric sonographers — whom we consider experts on fetal development — get absorbed and influence who you think your child is before they're even born," said Kaylin Hill, an assistant professor of psychology at Notre Dame University.

Technicians who used warm, positive tones and descriptor words encouraged similar emotions in parents, which carried through pregnancy and into early parenthood. For example, if the technician admires an unborn child's "enthusiastic energy," the parents are likely to imbue the child with those qualities even before birth.

"One of the highest risk periods for depression is the perinatal period, where individuals are experiencing changes across so many levels of functioning — physical, psychological and social," said Hill.

"If an ultrasound experience is impacting how an individual sees their child, that could potentially influence aspects of the caregiving relationship, which is really important for both parent and child outcomes over time."

Body of Knowledge

A sudden change in temperature, especially in the esophagus, can trigger hiccups by irritating the diaphragm. Typical triggers are swallowing cooler air when chewing gum and smoking.

Get Me That, Stat!

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the percentage of Americans without health insurance has declined from almost 16% in 2010 to just over 8% in 2021, with numbers trending down.

Stories for the Waiting Room

Cancer immunotherapy is when physicians use the body's immune system to help attack cancer cells. It's at the forefront of treatments. But the approach only works for some patients, even when the patients have the same type of cancer.

New research suggests why: Every patient's immune system produces autoantibodies — antibodies that have lost their way, attacking healthy tissue instead of infectious pathogens like cancer or viruses.

It's the particular makeup of these autoantibodies in individual patients that either hinders immunotherapy or, sometimes, boosts its antitumor effectiveness. The goal now is to identify autoantibodies that are somehow, sometimes beneficial from those that are bad actors all the time.

Doc Talk

Petechiae: Small, flat, reddish-purple or brown spots on the skin caused by bleeding under the skin. They are not a rash but can resemble one. While often harmless, they can sometimes indicate an underlying medical condition.

Phobia of the Week

Dextrophobia: An all-consuming fear of objects at the right side of the body, leaving sufferers to ask themselves, "What's left?"

Never Say 'Diet'

The Major League Eating speed-eating record for flautas is 65 in 10 minutes, held by Ben Monson. The record has stood for nearly 16 years, which is something to flouta.

Best Medicine

I like the way your medication thinks.

Observation

"Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you've got to start young." — Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), the 26th U.S. president, who died of a coronary embolism at age 60.

Medical History

This week in 1997, two popular diet drugs — fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine — were withdrawn from the market by their manufacturers after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration established a possible link between heart valve damage and these drugs, which were often used in combination with another appetite suppressant called phentermine, which remains on the market but is prescribed only for short-term use, typically less than 12 weeks, due to its own adverse side effects, including addiction.

Perishable Publications

Many, if not most, published research papers have titles that defy comprehension. They use specialized jargon, complex words and opaque phrases like "nonlinear dynamics." Sometimes they don't, yet they're still hard to figure out. Here's an actual title of actual published research study: "Simple exercises to flatten your potential."

Published in Physics Review in 2011, the article has a lot to do with inflationary cosmology and nothing to do with expanding waistlines.

Med School

Match these suffixes to their class of medicine. For example, cholesterol-lowering drugs like atorvastatin and simuvastatin all end in -statin.

1. -sone or -solone

2. -azole

3. -vir

4. -pril

5. -terol

A) Antifungals

B) Corticosteroids

C) Bronchodilators

D) Antivirals

E) ACE inhibitors

Answers: 1-B (e.g., prednisone or prednisolone); 2-A (e.g., fluconazole); 3-D (e.g., acyclovir); 4-E (e.g., lisinopril); 5-C (e.g., albuterol)

Epitaphs

"Murdered by a traitor and coward whose name is not worthy to appear here." — Jesse James (1847-1882), who was famous for his bank robbery sprees, including one that led to a $10,000 reward for his capture. On April 3, 1882, an unarmed James was shot in the back of the head by Robert Ford while fixing a picture hanging on the wall of his home. Ford was a member of the James gang. Ford and his brother, Charley (who were in cahoots with Missouri Gov. Thomas Crittenden), were quickly pardoned for killing James, but the public viewed them as cowards. So did James' mother, who authorized the epitaph.

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Elen Sher at Unsplash