Parent Tips

Pregnancy should be the most loving and lovely period of a woman's life. But it can be exhausting and worrying. Every mother wants her baby to arrive in perfect condition. DO think of your pregnancy as a natural state and not an illness. Live life as normally as possible. DO make love as often as you feel like it throughout your pregnancy. Intercourse actually aids your baby's development. DO attend every antenatal clinic. Feeling well is no excuse for missing one of these regular health checks. The one you miss may be the one that could have saved your baby…

Reversing a sterilization operation in a woman has always been difficult and the chances of success have been small. But microsurgery may have far-reaching effects on the procedure. American surgeons, among world leaders in the field of microsurgery, have successfully reversed sterilization operations in two women who subsequently became pregnant. One woman has given birth to a healthy girl, born 6 weeks prematurely, and the other is due to be confined soon. The second woman's reversal operation was a remarkable step forward because her sterilization operation had been by diathermy - heat generated by an electric current. The striking success…

More and more women of childbearing age are having kidney transplants and pregnancies in this group are increasing. There can be special risks. Here is an up-to-date survey of the problem. In any discussion of kidney disease in the U.S., it is important to remember that this country has a notorious overconsumption of analgesics (pain-killers). This is the basic reason for at least 15 percent of kidney transplants performed here - a salutary warning to women who regularly use pain-killing tablets and powders. Because of kidney disease, many women who want to bear children cannot do so. Kidney disease is…

Most people think of arthritis as a disease of advancing years. But it can occur in children too. Commonly it begins when a child is between one and three years of age. It is often called Still's disease if the child is under 16 years and when at least four joints are affected. Fortunately, in many cases, as the youthful patient grows the disease declines and eventually disappears. But a number of patients develop into adult arthritics. A small proportion of children with arthritis develop Ankylosing Spondylitis. This disease produces a stiffening of the lower back and affects the hip…

Many people do not understand what epilepsy means and are frightened when a friend or a child has a fit, especially if it's the first they have seen. But much research and investigation have been successfully carried out and a large range of drugs is available to improve the epileptic patient. Research is continuing - every few months, medical magazines publish results of trials carried out with new products. Although there are many old faithfuls, new products always help somebody because what will suit one person will not necessarily suit the next. There are many sorts of epilepsy. One person…

Bedwetting is a common childhood disorder. Many of the modern theories about its cause place great emphasis on stress, and we have come to accept that stress is a modern phenomenon, yet bedwetting is an old problem. The Ebers Papyrus (dated 1550 BC) has a medical treatise which mentions enuresis or bedwetting at night and in the 16th century Thomas Phaer (or Phaire) in his "Boke of Children" has a chapter "On Pyssing in the Bedde". Toilet training with nighttime control may take place at different ages and may depend on the maturity of the child's developing nervous system. Most…

Simply, asthma is difficulty in breathing, a choking caused by obstruction of the small bronchial tubes. The lungs become distended, breathing becomes labored, the chest swells, the neck muscles strain, the sufferer gasps and wheezes, and, generally, can't lie down. Suffering is often severe and may last for hours, days, and even weeks. Asthma spells may be frequent and may even become continuous, but although the patient suffers much distress the condition is rarely fatal. One of the most important results of asthma is mental suffering, with loss of initiative and confidence. This is often a serious problem in the…

"Should my baby be breastfed or bottle-fed?" is a dilemma facing most mothers. Human milk is both natural and complete, containing the right proportions of fat, carbohydrate, and protein for maximum growth. You might think that correct breastfeeding would be instinctive, but effective feeding needs to be learned. The positioning of the baby and mother is a critical factor. Given sufficient help, nearly all mothers can breastfeed successfully. It is best started within half an hour of the birth. One significant advantage to the baby is that the baby has more control over the rate and frequency of feeding and…

Many studies since then have corroborated evidence that women who smoke are about twice as likely to have a baby whose weight at birth is abnormally low. On average, the weight difference is about 200g (7oz) when compared with the babies of non-smokers. A baby's normal weight gain and development depend on a good oxygen supply. All nourishment and oxygen come via the baby's mother through the placenta. For nine months everything she eats, drinks or smokes has some influence on the baby growing inside her. The developing fetus does not need cigarette smoke. It contains more than 2,000 different…

Drugs can have beneficial or harmful effects not only on a pregnant mother but also on her unborn child. If drugs — including tobacco, alcohol, everyday medicines such as painkillers, as well as prescribed medicines and illegal drugs — are taken by the mother they are passed on to the fetus through the placenta. The effect that drugs have on an unborn child depends on factors such as the amount taken, the stage of pregnancy and also on the mother's individual body makeup. A baby is at greatest risk during the first three months of pregnancy so be extra careful…