August 28, 2010
Filed under: Baby health — Alan @ 2:07 am
For babies, crying is very normal, but some parents may be overwhelmed with a large amount of crying. When a healthy baby cries or screams excessively, it is referred to as colic. Researchers have been unable to figure out why this condition occurs, but several theories do exist.
One theory states that the baby may ingest air when breastfed, while other theories speculate that they may be drinking too fast, which can lead to stomach pains. Whatever the cause, physicians do agree that the condition is normal and will go away over time. There are several ways that parents can best look after a colic baby.
They can try and prompt the child to burp following breastfeeding. This can also help them to stay asleep for longer. They can also try holding the baby if it is inside its crib. If the baby is hungry, breastfeeding the child can often help with the crying.
Parents can also try to give the baby a dummy. This will help the baby when the mother is unable to breastfeed. The baby might possibly be feeling sensitive to noise, which can cause it to wake up. If the baby is exposed to sounds regularly, it will become less sensitive so parents can try playing a classical music CD.
Parents can also give the baby a warm bath, this can soothe the baby and keep it from crying. However, the bath should be at an appropriate temperature to not hurt the baby’s skin. The baby may react well to Simethicone drops, which can help the baby to cry less. Finally, the baby may need a change in diet, if you follow this advice, you will likely see improvement in your baby’s crying.
August 25, 2010
Filed under: Baby health, New Born, Premature babies — admin @ 8:59 pm
As part of the First Cut strand, showcasing, bold, bright and original documentaries by up-and-coming film-makers, Lucy Morgan directs The Incubator a film that sensitively considers the story of children born too early to survive outside an incubator. For the 50,000 children who are born prematurely each year, the incubator provides them with a chance of survival. With unique access to a neonatal intensive care ward, this film follows the journey of four different families. In a world of high emotions The Incubator shares personal family moments as parents hold their babies for the first time, see their children through life saving surgery and, after many months of sitting beside an incubator, get to take their children home.
The Incubator is being shown on Friday 24th August at 7.30pm on Channel 4. More information available here – http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-incubator/episode-guide/series-1/episode-1.
August 8, 2010
Filed under: Baby health — Alan @ 2:24 am
Supermodel Gisele Bundchen seems to be joining the pro-breastfeeding movement after she made a statement that she believes there should be an international law that requires all mothers to breastfeed during the first six months of their baby’s lives.
The hottie from Brazil gave birth to a child seven months ago and compared feeding a baby formula to feeding it chemical food. She also said that breastfeeding helped her regain her figure. Bundchen also stated that breastfeeding is the best way to avoid giving a child any chemicals at a young age.
It is from here that she went on to say that there should be a law to make sure that mothers breastfeed. Of course, Bundchen is not your typical mother given that she practiced kung fu in the two months before she delivered and used mediation to deal with the pain of the labour.
According to Gisele, Kung Fu helped her get ready for the birth both physically and mentally and that there is a very clear reason why giving birth is called labour and not a holiday. She said that people should not head towards one of the most intense physical experiences of their lives unprepared for what was to come.
Although Gisele was sincere about her statements, the medical community laughed over them given it is unrealistic and not called for as it is up to women to decide for themselves whether they want to breastfeed or not.
July 31, 2010
Filed under: Baby health — Alan @ 8:52 pm
When a new baby arrives the first thing that a parent wants to do is protect them from the world, which can be done with Maxi Cosi car seats which offer protection and comfort to a young child.
The brand name in car seats has been offering parents safety and comfort for 25 years and are able to create new products utilizing the knowledge they have gained over the last quarter of a century.
A great place to find a guide to their car seat ranges is www.maxicosi-carseats.co.uk where both the Cabriofix and Isofix versions are compared and analyzed.
The Isofix car seat system works by attached to the car base allowing it to be clipped or unclipped from the base easily and securely. There is also a version of the Isofix that comes with a support leg for further protection.
On the other hand, the Maxi COsi Carbriofix version offers protection to an infant’s head by placing it in head supports with a sun canopy overhead to protect its soft fragile skin and eyes.
The interface at the website is very user friendly making it quite easy to look over a number of car seats in a short period of time to determine which elements of a car seat are the most important for you. The photo images are also helpful in properly interpreting and understanding the descriptions so that an informative decision can be made.
Each of the Maxi Cosi car seats comes with high safety rankings leaving a parent to simply determine what the best fit for their vehicle and life will be.
July 8, 2010
Filed under: Baby health — Alan @ 9:31 pm
Water Babies has been helping babies in Bradford learn to swim for years, which has helped them win a national award for the third year in a row. The prize was in the category of Best National Baby & Toddler Development Activity for “What’s on 4 Little Ones 2010.”
The Guiseley company has been offering Bradford water classes for babies four weeks and older for the past five years. This year the competition for the award was much heavier than usual with over 27,000 votes cast for 2,500 nominations.
The judges stated that the company was impressed by the course structure and the suburb way that they deliver their lessons and added that Water Babies encouraged physical activity while helping to teach children a great life skill.
Arran MacDonald who is in charge of Bradford classes stated that they are overwhelmed to see clients continue to vote for them and to have won it again shows how dedicated the entire Water Babies team is.
MacDonald added since many of the instructors are parents themselves they can appreciate how magical having children can be so they enhance the glorious time period.
She continued to say that with progressive training babies can be taught important life saving skills and it is important they do. In fact, she stated that in the last two years seven of the children at age two had saved themselves.
The unique programme of Water Babies’ is designed to make full use out of babies’ natural affinity to water while also teaching them confidence in water and birth techniques that increase their own personal safety.
June 19, 2010
Filed under: Baby health — Alan @ 1:51 pm
A new study may lead to a cure for the baby blues, also known as postpartum depression. This affliction is suffered to some degree by up to 70% of women who have just given birth, and though it is well known and documented, the reasons for it has never been clear.
While childbirth is for most women a joyful experience, it is common knowledge that in the days immediately following, a large majority of them get the blues. The symptoms may include irritability, sleeplessness, anxiety, loss of appetite and terrible sadness with no ‘logical’ cause.
Most women just get over it and forget it, but in about 13% of cases, the blues get worse until they become a full-blown depression and a major health risk. Researchers in the current study, led by Julia Sacher of Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, found a definite correlation between female depression at this stage and the enzyme called monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A).
It has been long known that women’s oestrogen levels drop drastically in the first few days after childbirth, but now it has been discovered that levels of the MAO-A enzyme in the brain increase proportionately in the same time period.
The enzyme breaks down neuro-transmitters in the brain that not only transmit signals but are also mood influencers. If the transmitter’s serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine are lacking or deficient, the result is a sad mood, which can lead to severe depression.
Researchers are pursuing the possibility of dietary supplements such as amino acids that would help maintain the level of monoamines prior to and during the initial postpartum stage and prevent the onset of depression.
Filed under: Baby health — Alan @ 1:51 pm
A new study may lead to a cure for the baby blues, also known as postpartum depression. This affliction is suffered to some degree by up to 70% of women who have just given birth, and though it is well known and documented, the reasons for it has never been clear.
While childbirth is for most women a joyful experience, it is common knowledge that in the days immediately following, a large majority of them get the blues. The symptoms may include irritability, sleeplessness, anxiety, loss of appetite and terrible sadness with no ‘logical’ cause.
Most women just get over it and forget it, but in about 13% of cases, the blues get worse until they become a full-blown depression and a major health risk. Researchers in the current study, led by Julia Sacher of Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, found a definite correlation between female depression at this stage and the enzyme called monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A).
It has been long known that women’s oestrogen levels drop drastically in the first few days after childbirth, but now it has been discovered that levels of the MAO-A enzyme in the brain increase proportionately in the same time period.
The enzyme breaks down neuro-transmitters in the brain that not only transmit signals but are also mood influencers. If the transmitter’s serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine are lacking or deficient, the result is a sad mood, which can lead to severe depression.
Researchers are pursuing the possibility of dietary supplements such as amino acids that would help maintain the level of monoamines prior to and during the initial postpartum stage and prevent the onset of depression.
May 19, 2010
Filed under: Baby health — Alan @ 10:15 am
A recent study published in the journal Neuroimage suggests that infants who are routinely subjected to pain in the first weeks of their lives will be more susceptible to pain in later years.
The study was funded by the Medical Research Council and led by Dr. Rebeccah Slater at London’s University College Hospital (UCL). Two groups of babies were tested; those who were born at their expected due date and those born prematurely at a month to three months early. The premature babies spent at least 40 days in hospital, undergoing several monitoring and testing procedures daily.
The research involved measuring infants’ brain activity before, during and after the procedure known as heel lancing, a routine method of drawing blood. The EEG (electroencephalogram) readings showed a sharper reaction to the procedure in babies born prematurely and tested more frequently than those of the same post-natal age born at normal term.
These findings support earlier research suggesting that the ‘pain centre’ in the brain is sensitized very early in an infant’s development and that this sensitivity may continue through his or her lifetime.
Dr. Slater said that this is a strong indication that doctors need to find better ways to reduce the impact of pain from medical procedures, using analgesics or other means. She noted that previous studies have also found a higher sensitivity to pain in older children (ages nine to fourteen) who were premature babies.
The good news is that the negative response is only to pain – children in the two groups were equally responsive to touching and stroking, and the premature babies showed no less enjoyment than the others. This should allay any fears that parents of ‘preemies’ may have about causing trauma when cuddling their child.
May 14, 2010
Filed under: Baby health — Alan @ 12:41 pm
A new study in Canada suggests that a teaspoon of sugar really will help the medicine go down, or, to be more accurate, be injected. Canadian researchers now say that if babies are given a sugar treat they will feel less pain when jabbed with a shot or other sharp instrument.
Experts from the University of Toronto claim that newborns are much less likely to cry or become agitated if they are allowed a few drops of sugar water before being given any immunizations.
The data was compiled from 1,000 injections and showed that infants who received a glucose solution are 20% less likely to fuss after a shot. The research comes from clinical data collected after 14 different studies.
University of Toronto medical professor Dr. Arne Ohlsson led the study that looked at data of babies involved in clinical trials from newborn age to one year olds.
Researchers also found that children that were given the glucose mixture were less likely to cry for a prolonged amount of time, versus children that were not given the mixture at all.
The conclusion of the study was that healthcare professionals should consider using the sugar mixture for immunization to make it easier on the babies.
There are existing research studies that suggest sweet solutions have pain relieving properties that help babies deal better with procedures such as a prick in the heel.
Professor of paediatrics at the University of Bristol, Adam Finn, stated that anything they can do to make children more comfortable is welcome since parents are more likely to return for future vaccinations if it is not a traumatizing experience for them and their children.
April 23, 2010
Filed under: Baby health — Alan @ 7:04 pm
Parenting expert Dr. Penelope Leach claims that parents that allow their young babies to cry themselves to sleep may be harming their brain development.
Leach stated that new scientific tests show that when a parent ignores their cries, high levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, begin to build up. According to Leach, if this happens for significant periods of time it is ‘toxic’ to the baby’s brains.
Her suggestion is that any crying period bout that lasts over 30 minutes should be avoided because it will be damaging to their development.
Leach continued to say that she is not referring to a child that is awake and simply gurgling, but a child that is screaming loud and in agony and no one is taking the time to respond to. When this happens, the stress hormone is continuously released, which is harmful to young children.
Her findings are all compiled and published in her newest book entitled The Essential First Year- What Babies Need Parents to Know.
Leach is known as a parenting expert and psychologist who rose to fame in the 1970’s when she wrote the book Your Baby and Child.
She said that it does not matter if a parent is able to figure out what has caused the baby to start crying, but just that they respond before a child’s expectations have been altered.
She added that there is no evidence that actually allowing a child to cry themselves to sleep will help them learn to sleep on their own through the night.
Next Page »
