Posts Tagged ‘baby health’

Understanding baby’s health

The first and foremost understanding that you need to put in while treating a baby’s illness is that illness are unalarmed body conditions. Just like having an unpleasant uninvited guest. If you child wakes up at the middle of the night this is a hint that mothers need to note down. Some of these might follow with a chaos and depression symptoms. Put more thought to what you are feeding your child. Anything unhygienic is a key to internal infection like diarrhea or frequent stools. Diarrhea is a deadly disease which dehydrates the child’s body by allowing the body salts to escape.

Some babies are diseased by birth and elimination is possible if the child is given very intensive care. Intensive care refers to additional means like giving supplements and proper diet. Sometimes the diet is not enough to satisfy the nutritional balance and this is why vitamins are required. A balanced diet can do wonders to keep your baby healthy and its ability to fight diseases. Food selection has to be organic always when it comes to raising kids. Some doctors can help you to select the milk that right for your baby. Organic foods are the ones in which the nutritional facts are high and in right proportion.

All products that mothers use to raise babies have to be boiled in water. Even the water that the child is given has to be purified by boiling and then chilled accordingly. Apart from only water and food, the selection of right clothing materials also has to be checked. If your baby is not comfortable with a specific cloth on then rashes or redness are the possible symptoms. Find more info about newborn baby care here.

Breast milk protect Newborn baby health

Highlights:
1. The levels of the components in breast milk change every 24 hours in response to the needs of the baby. A new study published in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience shows, for example, how this milk could help newborn babies to sleep.
2. Breast milk contains various ingredients, such as nucleotides, which perform a very important role in regulating babies’ sleep. The new study confirms that the composition of breast milk changes quite markedly throughout the day.
3. The scientists looked for three nucleotides in breast milk (adenosine, guanosine and uridine), which excite or relax the central nervous system, promoting restfulness and sleep, and observed how these varied throughout a 24-hour period.
4. The milk, collected from 30 women living in Extremadura, was expressed over a 24-hour period, with six to eight daily samples. The highest nucleotide concentrations were found in the night-time samples (8pm to 8am).
5. “This made us realise that milk induces sleep in babies”, Cristina L. Sánchez, lead author of the article and a researcher at the Chrononutrition Laboratory at the University of Extremadura, tells SINC.
6. “You wouldn’t give anyone a coffee at night, and the same is true of milk – it has day-specific ingredients that stimulate activity in the infant, and other night-time components that help the baby to rest”, explains Sánchez.
7. In order to ensure correct nutrition, the baby should be given milk at the same time of day that it was expressed from the mother’s breast. “It is a mistake for the mother to express the milk at a certain time and then store it and feed it to the baby at a different time”, points out the researcher. .
8. The benefits of breast milk
9. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says breast milk is the best food for the newborn, and should not be substituted, since it meets all the child’s physiological requirements during the first six months of life. It not only protects the baby against many illnesses such as colds, diarrhoea and sudden infant death syndrome, but can also help prevent future diseases such as asthma, allergies and obesity, and promotes intellectual development.
10. The benefits of breastfeeding also extend to the mother. Women who breastfeed lose the weight gained during pregnancy more quickly, and it also helps prevent against anaemia, high blood pressure and postnatal depression. Osteoporosis and breast cancer are also less common among women who breastfeed their children.

Antidepressants linked to premature birth risk

I’m passing this along since the coexistence of depression and pregnancy is so very high amongst the readers of this blog. Findings like these are a huge reason I am so adamant about finding ways that nutrition and nonpharmacological treatments can keep both mother and baby healthy all the way through conception and pregnancy.

To see this story with its related links on the guardian.co. uk site, click here

Antidepressants linked to premature birth risk

Tuesday October 6 2009
BMJ Group

Mothers-to-be risk having a premature birth if they take commonly used antidepressants during pregnancy, a new study has found. Antidepressants called SSRIs (the group of drugs that includes Prozac) were also linked to a higher risk of babies needing treatment in intensive care soon after birth.What do we know already?

More than 1 in 10 women become depressed during pregnancy. In cases where doctors recommend drug treatment, the first choice is often a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI).

Doctors are advised that pregnant women should take SSRIs “only if potential benefit outweighs risk”. Unfortunately, there’s little research on how safe these drugs are during pregnancy. We do know that SSRIs get into the unborn baby’s bloodstream, and that some babies get withdrawal symptoms soon after birth. Some research also suggests that babies may be more at risk of heart defects if their mother takes an SSRI called paroxetine in the first three months of pregnancy, although this problem is not common.

A new study has looked at 329 women who were taking SSRIs while pregnant. The health of their babies was compared with the health of babies born to women not taking antidepressants. Some of the women in this latter group had mental health problems, while others did not.What does the new study say?

Women taking an SSRI had twice the risk of a premature birth. On average, women gave birth four or five days sooner if they took an SSRI while pregnant. But the results don’t tell us the actual numbers of women in each group who gave birth prematurely, so we can’t say what the actual risk is.

About 16 in 100 babies needed treatment in an intensive care unit if their mother had taken an SSRI, compared with 7 in 100 babies whose mothers were healthy, and 9 in 100 babies whose mothers had a mental health problem but who weren’t taking an SSRI.

Babies also appeared less healthy overall if their mother had taken an SSRI. This was measured looking at their skin colour, how much they moved about, their pulse rate and breathing, and how much they responded to stimulation.

SSRIs didn’t increase the risk of having an underweight baby. The study only looked at what happened around birth, so we don’t know whether or not SSRIs have longer-term consequences. How reliable are the findings?

This is a fairly good study. Since it also included a group of women who had mental health problems but who were not taking an SSRI, we can partly rule out the possibility that mental health issues affected the baby’s health rather than antidepressants. However, it could still be that women taking SSRIs were more seriously depressed than the women they were compared with, or that they had worse overall health. This factor might have affected the health of the babies, and it makes the study less reliable.Where does the study come from?

The women who took part in the research all had antenatal care at a hospital in Aarhus, Denmark. The study appeared in a journal called Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, published by the American Medical Association. Some of the funding came from the Danish Medical Research Council.What does this mean for me?

The study suggests that, in the short term at least, there could be some negative consequences to taking SSRIs while pregnant. What the research doesn’t tell us is how the risks of SSRIs in pregnancy compare with the dangers of untreated depression.

Depression itself can affect how babies grow. It can also cause unpleasant symptoms for the mother. There’s a high chance of becoming depressed again when women stop taking antidepressants when they’re pregnant. So, we can’t simply say that pregnant women should completely avoid SSRIs.What should I do now?

If you’re pregnant and taking an antidepressant, don’t stop treatment suddenly. You could put yourself at risk of unpleasant withdrawal symptoms, and your depression could come back. Your doctor can help you weigh up the risks and benefits of treatment. If you and your doctor decide it’s the right thing to do, you’ll need to come off your medicine gradually. You could also ask about other types of treatment, such as talking therapy.

If you’re taking antidepressants and you want to get pregnant, talk to your doctor. Depending on how severe your depression is, your doctor might suggest slowly coming off your medicine, or continuing to take it.From:

Lund N, Pedersen LH, Henriksen TB. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor exposure in utero and pregnancy outcomes. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. 2009; 163: 949-954.
BMJ Publishing Group Limited (“BMJ Group”) 2009

Baby christening gifts

There are many christening customs and traditions. Many of them are directly related to protection from diseases, bad thoughts and actions. One of the most interesting and mysterious customs – child christening. But, for a start, all must understand that christening is not a tribute to fashion or tradition, it is first and foremost, s spiritual birth of a new man, his connection with God and the church.

Let’s talk about it. First of all, christening needs a godfather and a godmother. They may not be the bride and groom, children, followers of other faiths, mentally ill or frail people. This is where parents make the main gift for a baby, choosing worthy godparents, because these people continue taking care of the kids.

Sacrament of christening is quite fascinating. Prayers, walking, anointing – a beautiful ritual, but it requires patience, especially from new «spiritual parents».

Let’s talk about christening gifts. In preparation for the sacrament godparents should make a series of actions. First of all, buy a christening set. The kit includes a towel, a shirt, a cap for girls. In general, everything is done beautifully today: they add socks, gloves, suits, embroidered with a blue thread for boys and pink for girls, flowers, crosses. Of course, everything looks very nice, but do not forget about the ritual: at some point you will be asked to put off socks and gloves, and hat for the anointing, if you are ready to mess, then, of course, good luck to you:)

Want to make a gift to parents? You can create all necessary with your hands or by order: embroider names, praying to an angel – anything. A godmother is involved in all these things. A godfather should also think about another gift: a silver spoon. This spoon is the first baby’s cutlery, used when solid foods are introduced.

Now you know how and what is happening. And, certainly you have already felt the solemnity of this moment. However, christening gifts are in «binding» section, now let’s talk about informal gifts.

Before you choose a gift, let’s think about the child’s age. Parents want to protect him from bad energy, evil eye and other things. The Church does not put some framework, but most children are christened on the 9 th or 40 th day of birth. Although, of course, this is not a firm rule: parents can hold this ceremony, when the baby gets older and grow up.

Let’s start with the most important people after the child, with godparents. If a child is very small, it is likely that parents now have many costs: vests, cribs, strollers, baths, doctors, masseurs and so on. Therefore, you can ease your task and ask parents what they need. Just ask. After all, you must interact very closely: you now have a common baby!

All of the above mentioned concerns relatives, friends and neighbors. Want to make the right christening gift? Ask! Because a baby does not need two baths and three carriages.

There is no limit to toys, it’s truth. They are always useful to a baby, even if he does not appreciate now. There is no need to buy a car of teddy bears, colorful ducks and other things. Let this be one, but high-quality, pleasant toy. And remember about baby health! There are many fakes on the market, low-quality toys, which are dotted with bright colors, sound harsh sounds, be careful – toys should not harm health!

If a child is old enough, pay attention to his tastes and preferences when choosing a christening gift, and proceed from them: a child can already tell you what he wants.

The day of christening is a significant and memorable occasion for a family, baby, all relatives. Prepare a small celebration. Do not forget about a child: everything must be modest and peaceful. This is not a day of physical birth, it is a spiritual birthday, that, according to religious strictures, is much more important and meaningful.

Pregnant woman’s height affects baby health

Scientists from health center at Harvard University found a link between mother’s height and baby health. Specialists believe that woman’s height affects the size of her uterus. A smaller-sized woman’s body may trigger some complications during pregnancy and affect baby development in the womb.

Data, provided by Indian researchers, were compared and they came to the conclusion that it is mother’s height that influences some indicators of newborns’ health, including the risk of obesity, or conversely the lack of baby weight, development of anemia and child mortality.

It turned out that women with height below 150 cm have the risk of child mortality 70% higher, compared with, for example, women whose height is 160 centimeters and more.

Experts watched health of more than 50 000 children under 5 years. The results showed that parents’ height not only affects height of future children, but also development of fetus in a womb and further baby health.

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