Preventable Infant Brain Damage On the Rise

A silent attack on the baby’s brain
Here’s the scenario: Your beautiful baby boy is born right on time and receives a clean bill of health from the pediatrician. Your health care insurance only pays for two days in the hospital after the birth, so you and baby go home, with a follow-up doctor’s appointment for when the baby is one week old.

However, after being home for two days you notice your baby is having trouble feeding and seems to be very sleepy. His skin color seems a little odd, too. You call the pediatrician and get an appointment for the next day.

When the pediatrician examines your now five-day-old infant, she sees that the baby is jaundiced. Using a simple test, she discovers his bilirubin level is very high, and admits him to the hospital for treatment with phototherapy. Unfortunately, the damage has been done, and over the next four months your son develops cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and hearing loss.

What kernicterus is
About 60% of newborn babies develop jaundice from a buildup in their bodies of bilirubin, an orange-yellow pigment that results from the natural breakdown of red blood cells. In some babies the level of bilirubin goes so high that it becomes toxic and causes brain damage. This is known as kernicterus.

Symptoms and diagnosis
An infant with very high bilirubin in his body may have severe jaundice (yellowing of his skin), lethargy (excessive sleepiness), and poor feeding. However, jaundice may hard to see in infants with dark skin, and it is difficult to judge how high the bilirubin level is just by looking. There are simple, inexpensive blood and skin tests available to check an infant’s bilirubin level.

If the infant’s condition progresses to kernicterus, he may develop cerebral palsy, uncontrolled involuntary muscle movements (spasticity), mental retardation, hearing loss, and difficulty moving his eyes (gaze paresis).

Treatment
High bilirubin is treated by placing the infant under special lights (called phototherapy). An exchange blood transfusion (infant’s toxic blood is replaced with normal blood) may be necessary. A new drug, Stanate, has been tested which blocks bilirubin production, thus preventing jaundice and kernicterus. The drug is still in development.

Why more cases of kernicterus are appearing
There are several possible reasons why the number of cases of kernicterus seem to be rising:

• Newborns are often discharged from the hospital before blood levels of bilirubin reach their peak (48-72 hours after birth), but don’t see a pediatrician until a week later
• Physicians continue to rely only on visual assessment of jaundice, and may fail to recognize very severe cases, or may fail to respond to parents’ concerns about jaundice
• Newborns who are already jaundiced in the hospital do not have a bilirubin test done before they are discharged home
• Parents don’t know about the symptoms of jaundice, so they don’t call the pediatrician

Prevention
The best way to manage high bilirubin, though, is to not let it get elevated in the first place. This could be achieved by:

• Giving a bilirubin test to all newborns before they are discharged home, to catch the ones headed for trouble
• Provide a follow-up visit with a pediatrician or pediatric nurse within 24 to 48 hours after the infant is discharged home
• Provide parents with educational materials about jaundice

Bottle Feeding Tips

There's more to bottle feeding than you may realize. Get the inside scoop here.

• Change your baby's diaper before the feeding. This helps wake your baby for the feeding and allows for undisturbed sleep after the feeding.

• Prepare your baby's daily amount of formula ahead of time. You can:
  • Mix the desired amount of formula beforehand and put it the fridge. Then when you are ready to use the milk, place it in a bowl of warm water to take the chill off. Prepared powder formula may be kept in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours after mixed.
  • Pre-measure both the powder and water in separate containers (a sealed container for the powder and a baby bottle for the water). Make enough for the day/night. Then, when you are ready to feed your baby, mix the two together. This eliminates the need to warm the milk.
• Use boiled water or bottled water when mixing your baby's formula. When using boiled water, allow for the water to come back to room temperature before mixing with the formula.

• Never warm formula in the microwave. This can cause the milk to be very hot in some areas. Always warm milk by placing the bottle in a bowl or cup of warm water. Be sure to test the milk on the inner aspect of your wrist to ensure temperature safety. Perfect formula temperature is when you are unable to feel hot or cold.

• Discard any unused milk one hour after the feeding. Bacteria from your baby’s saliva begin to rapidly multiply when left at room temperature.

• Make sure to burp your baby frequently during feedings.
  • If your baby does not spit up frequently, wait until your baby stops sucking from the bottle and then burp your baby. The gas bubbles make your baby think that he/she is full and will cause them to stop drinking the milk.
  • Once your baby lets out a good burp, he/she will probably resume eating.
  • If your baby tends to spit up frequently or has colic, try burping your baby more frequently, approximately after every half an ounce or so.
• For a sleepy newborn or preemie:
  • Remove blankets and hat. Babies love to sleep when they are cozy and warm. If that doesn't do the trick, undress your baby.
  • Rub your baby's back along his/her spine.
  • Tickle your baby's feet.
  • Wipe your baby's face and chest with a cool, damp cloth.
  • Hold your baby on your lap with your non-dominate hand supporting your baby's head, neck, and shoulder. Some babies tend to sleep when they are snuggled in mommy or daddy arms during feedings.

Remember, practice makes perfect.

50 Tips for a Healthy Pregnancy

Trying for a baby? Being healthy before, during and after pregnancy involves so many different aspects of your life. So, I've compiled a quick list to help you stay on the healthy side.

1. See your practitioner before becoming pregnant.
2. Start changing your food habits to include a healthy variety of foods.
3. Exercise! Starting now will help you stay in shape during pregnancy, can lower your risk of miscarriage, and has been proven to help reduce labor complications and length.
4. Educate yourself!
5. Eat a new vegetable you've never tried.
6. Check out a book on pregnancy.
7. Figure out what to do about chemical birth control, like the birth control pill.
8. Stop smoking. There are many programs to help you.
9. Take a prenatal vitamin. They can be prescribed by your practitioner or you can buy them over the counter. Ensure it contains 0.4 mg of folic acid.
10. Ask your partner to join you on your new healthy habit changes.
11. Track your cycles. Learning what you can about your cycles will help determine when you ovulate and when you conceived. These make for more accurate due dates.
12. If you need a new practitioner, interview before you become pregnant.
13. Ask your friends about pregnancy and parenthood.
14. Avoid chemicals that could possibly harm your baby. You can find these at work, in your home, and just about anywhere, be environmentally sensitive.
15. See your dentist before you get pregnant and brush your teeth daily.
16. Tell any medical professional that you may be pregnant if you are trying to get pregnant. This can prevent exposure to harmful tests and chemicals if you are pregnant and don't know it yet.
17. Stop changing cat litter.
18. Remember, it can take up to a year to become pregnant. If you have been actively trying for a year or more than six months if you are over 35, see your practitioner.
19. Act pregnant. This includes not drinking alcohol, even while trying to conceive. There is no known safe level during pregnancy and alcohol can cause birth defects.
20. Announce your pregnancy when you are ready.
21. Talk to your parents, what do you want to take from their experiences? How do you want to be different?
22. Rest when you can. Nap!
23. Start a journal or a pregnancy blog.
24. Use non-medicinal remedies for problems like nausea, heartburn, and constipation.
25. Drink six - eight eight ounce glasses of water a day.
26. Read yet another book!
27. Join a prenatal yoga or exercise class.
28. Keep your prenatal appointments with your midwife or doctor. This will help ensure that if you have any problems that they are caught early and kept to a minimum.
29. Take an early pregnancy class.
30. Remember to add 300 - 500 calories a day while pregnant.
31. Tour your selection of birth facilities before making a choice if you are not having a home birth.
32. Review the signs of premature labor and warnings signs for when to call your practitioner.
33. Talk to local doulas and start interviewing. Doulas can help you have a shorter, safer and more satisfying birth.
34. Keep a food diary to ensure that you are keeping up with your daily requirements.
35. If you are decorating your house or a nursery remember to avoid fumes often associated with paint and wall paper. Perhaps have friends do the heavy work while you help make snacks for them. Keep the windows open!
36. Baby sit a friend's baby and learn a bit about caring for a newborn.
37. Take a childbirth class. Sign up early to ensure you get the class and dates that you want.
38. Swimming is great in late pregnancy. It can help relieve a lot of aches and pains and makes you feel weightless.
39. Take a breastfeeding class to help prepare you for the realities of breastfeeding.
40. Stretch before bed to help prevent leg cramps.
41. Continue to exercise, even if you have to slow down. This will help you recover more quickly.
42. Write a birth plan. Something to help you clarify what you want or need for your birth experience. Share this with your practitioners and those you have invited to your birth.
43. Have film and cameras ready!
44. Practice relaxation whenever you can. Try for at least once a day.
45. Do pelvic tilts to help with late pregnancy back pain. It will help relieve your pain and even encourage the baby to assume a good birth position.
46. Pack your bags if you are going to a birth center or hospital. Don't forget your insurance cards, pre-registration forms, camera, birth plan, etc.
47. Review the signs of labor and warning signs.
48. Take a picture of yourself before the baby comes!
49. Read birth stories.
50. Kiss the baby!

5 Super Nutrients for Growing Kids

Nutrition isn't kids' stuff. Good nutrition can help your kids fend off common illnesses and develop strong, healthy bodies. Include foods with these key nutrients every day so your children learn to enjoy the taste of eating right. And don't forget to help them exercise and get a good night's rest.

Calcium

Calcium is the super nutrient that helps make strong bones and teeth. It's most important during the growing years when bones are building. The best sources of calcium come from the cow.

1. Start your child's day with a bowl of cold or hot whole-grain cereal topped with skim or low-fat milk and sliced fresh fruit.
2. Serve low-fat yogurt, smoothies, or cheese after school and between meals for a nourishing snack.
3. Calcium-fortified juices and cereals are fine alternatives to help meet your child's daily requirement.

Snack idea. Boost your kids' calcium intake by blending low-fat chocolate milk, a banana, and ice into a delicious smoothie for a quick meal, dessert, or snack.

Fiber

Kids need fiber, too. Grandma called it roughage and everyone, kids included, needs plenty of it each day. Get your kids used to the delicious taste of fibrous foods.

1. A bowl full of high-fiber cereal is a great start to meeting your child's daily needs. Read food labels to find whole-grain cereals that provide 3 or more grams of fiber per serving. Usually, the more sugar in a cereal, the less fiber. Add sweetness to cereal with fresh, canned (unsweetened), or frozen fruit.
2. Have cut-up whole fruits and veggies on hand to help your child meet the recommended five-plus daily servings of fiber. Keep fruit juice to a minimum. Whole fruits and vegetables contain much more fiber and less sugar than most juices.
3. Beans are fun to eat and loaded with fiber and protein. Drain and rinse canned beans that you can toss into soups, stews, salads, scrambled eggs and omelets, and salsas.

Snack idea. Spread crunchy peanut butter onto celery sticks and top with raisins for a kid-favorite "ants on a log" snack.

Protein

Every cell in the body is made of protein, which makes this major nutrient essential for healthy growth and development. Protein is in animal products, such as dairy, eggs, seafood, and meats. In somewhat lesser amounts, it is also in beans, nuts, vegetables, and grains. Boost your kids' nutrition with these protein-rich food ideas.

1. Even finicky kids love eggs. French toast, scrambled eggs, pancakes, and omelets are kid-pleasing dishes that contain plenty of protein, iron, and other important nutrients.
2. Branch out from fish sticks and try salmon dishes that kids will enjoy. Top salmon or other fish fillets with salsa or teriyaki sauce to give your child lean protein along with heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.
3. Add nuts to cereals, yogurts, or vegetables for added protein, fiber, and healthy fats.

Snack idea. Trail mix is a great portable snack that is also easy to prepare. Throw together a mix of dried fruits such as raisins, bananas, apples, or dried cranberries, nuts (soy nuts or peanuts), and high-fiber cereal.

Antioxidant Super-Foods

Antioxidants help defend the body against harmful substances that can damage the body's cells. Power up your child's diet with foods rich in antioxidants, such as almonds, berries, citrus, carrots, spinach, tomatoes, and bell peppers.

1. Bring orange wedges or 100% citrus juice, fruit, and nut granola bars to the next sports practice for a refreshing and energizing treat.
2. Pack school lunches with baby carrots, grape tomatoes, and red bell pepper slices for a fiber- and antioxidant-rich lunch or snack.
3. Add plenty of antioxidant-rich tomatoes or tomato sauce to pizza, spaghetti, meatloaf, soups, and stews.

Snack idea. Parfaits are beautiful to look at and fun to eat. Make one by layering low-fat yogurt, fresh or frozen blueberries, and toasted almonds into a tall glass.

Iron

Children's diets are often lacking in iron, an essential mineral that carries oxygen in the blood and helps keep kids energized. Boost the iron in your kids' diet with lean meats, eggs, fish, dark leafy greens, beans, dried fruits, and iron-fortified grains.

1. Pair eggs at breakfast with oranges or orange juice to boost the absorption of iron.
2. Serve spinach salads at mealtime, topped with strawberries, dried cranberries, and/or slivered almonds and light raspberry vinaigrette. This is a salad kids will devour.
3. When kids refuse a meal, offer iron-fortified cereal topped with low-fat milk or yogurt and fruit as a suitable meal substitute.

Snack idea. Wrap an iron-fortified whole-wheat tortilla with sliced turkey, low-fat string cheese, and dried cranberries for a healthy snack.

What diseases do immunizations prevent?

Your baby's immunizations prevent her from getting these 13 vaccine-preventable diseases. Most of these are now rare in Canada because of immunization — and that's a good thing.

1. Diphtheria can cause serious breathing problems for your child. Diphtheria can damage your child's heart and nervous system and cause paralysis.
2. Tetanus is a disease that most people think of if they step on a rusty nail. Tetanus is also found in dirt, manure and human stool. If tetanus gets into your baby's open cut, it can cause muscle spasms, convulsions and death.
3. Pertussis (Whooping Cough) can turn into severe coughing ("whooping" sound), choking and vomiting. It can last for weeks or months, and may even cause death. It is most dangerous when your baby is under six months old.
4. Polio attacks your child's nervous system and can paralyze muscles or even cause death.
5. Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) can cause meningitis - an infection of the lining around your child's spinal cord and brain. It can also cause pneumonia, swelling in the back of the throat, deafness and death.
6. Measles can cause a rash, high fever, cough, runny nose and watery eyes that could last from 1–2 weeks. Measles can also cause pneumonia, convulsions, deafness, brain damage and death.
7. Mumps can cause a fever, headache, and swollen, painful cheeks and neck. It could make your child deaf and cause meningitis. In rare cases, mumps can affect future ability to have children.
8. Rubella (German measles) causes a fever and a rash, which usually lasts for less than a week. It is very serious for unborn babies. If a pregnant woman who has no protection against rubella comes in contact with this disease early in her pregnancy, she could have a miscarriage. After exposure to rubella, the baby could be born deaf, blind, or with heart or brain damage. Before you become pregnant, ask your doctor if you need a rubella shot.
9. Varicella (Chickenpox) causes a low fever and an itchy rash of blisters that form scabs. In some children, chickenpox causes severe skin infections (like flesh-eating disease), scars, pneumonia, brain damage or death.
10. Hepatitis B affects the liver and can sometimes cause liver cancer or other serious liver problems for your child.
11. Pneumococcal disease can cause pneumococcal meningitis, pneumonia, ear and blood infections. It could make your child deaf or cause brain damage.
12. Meningococcal disease can cause meningitis - an infection of the lining around your child's spinal cord and brain - or a blood infection. Children can die from meningitis.
13. Influenza (The flu) is a common respiratory infection that begins in your child's nose and throat. Influenza can be serious - especially for infants and young children. If your child has influenza complications, she may have difficulty breathing or might develop pneumonia.

What an Apple can do for your health

 

"An apple a day will keep the doctor away" this well known and common saying suggests that specifically an apple will improve ones health. People have repeated this saying over and over but until now there wasn't any scientific evidence that apples actually improve overall health. Now there is scientific research that an apple indeed will improve a person's health.

Thanks to the research performed by the Department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences at The Florida State University greater enlightenment has been shed on the power of an apple a day.

A previous study, performed upon animals suggested that apple pectin influences the production of lipid metabolism and reduces pro-inflammatory production. The department of Nutrition wanted to see if this specific property, ‘pectin' that the apples contain actually has the same influence on human in improving health.

The research randomly assigned 160 women between the ages of 45 and 65 years of age. Half of the sample group was given 240 extra calories of dried apples to consume each day and the other half of the sample group was given 240 extra calories of dried prunes to consume daily. 

The results absolutely supported the phrase "an apple a day keeps the doctor away". The women that ate dried apple slices daily saw improvement in several areas. Tests were done three times throughout the year; at 3, 6 and 12 months. Considerable improvement was evident by six months. By the sixth month the women experience an average of 23% decrease in LDL cholesterol, or BAD cholesterol! Another positive effect was the lowering of lipid hydroperoxide levels and C-reactive protein. 

Next time you think of the saying "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" perhaps you should take it literally and include the daily apple to your diet, whether fresh or dried.