I am 25 weeks pregnant and went to a rock concert last week. I stood at the back, as far from the speakers as possible, but as the noise levels began to increase – so much so I had to put my hands over my ears – I grew more anxious about how it could affect the baby's hearing. Have there been any studies about a baby's hearing in utero and loud noise?
As far as I know, there is nothing in the peer-reviewed literature on deafness in children due to intrauterine exposure to loud noise, which tends to suggest either that no one has made the connection or that there isn't one. On the whole, the baby is well insulated against noise, and I can't imagine that the developing ears would be affected by one episode of loud music. Since many pregnant women attend rock concerts – and the noise levels have surely increased over the years – I would have expected childhood nerve deafness to have increased recently if such noise had a significant effect. That hasn't happened, so you can take assurance from that.
My fingers are particularly sensitive to the cold – the ends turn white and I lose sensation and use. I believe it is becoming worse. Are there food supplements I should take?
You have "dead men's fingers", or Raynaud's phenomenon. In its mildest form, this is simply an overreaction of the nervous system that controls the diameter of the smallest blood vessels in the skin as the temperature changes. You react to cold by shutting them down, to preserve your body heat. The simple answer is to wear warm gloves and footwear throughout the wintery weather. However, Raynaud's can be an indication of other circulation problems and you may need tests to rule them out, so do discuss this with your doctor. If you have severe Raynaud's, so that your finger tips may be at risk in severe cold, your doctor may consider prescribing a peripheral vasodilator drug. There is no proven link between food and Raynaud's that would lead to a supplement being useful, although there have been many claims for them (vitamins D and E have been promoted) in the past.
