Category: Medical Care
-
Help Your Newborn Sleep with White Noise
Getting your newborn to sleep peacefully can be a challenge, but white noise can be a helpful tool backed by medical research. Here are some tips to aid your baby’s sleep: Medical research supports the effectiveness of white noise in helping babies sleep by reducing environmental disturbances and mimicking familiar sounds from the womb. Incorporating…
-
Health insurance 101
Health insurance is essential. Even if you feel healthy, accidents and sudden illnesses can happen. However, navigating health insurance, the costs, definitions, and procedures can be overwhelming. Breaking it down into steps can help make it more understandable. The first step is obtaining health insurance through one of these ways: The second step is to…
-
Pregnancy After Miscarriage
Experiencing miscarriage can be a traumatic and stressful experience. Preparing for a child then suddenly grieving his/her loss can seem insurmountable. Some will choose pregnancy again right away, and some will want to wait. Regardless of timing, getting pregnant again can lead to a number of emotions and concerns. Physically For many women, they are…
-
How to Keep Your Kids Safe from Outdoor Pests
Warm weather means more time outside. Little ones get more restless and need to spend all that energy outdoors. Lots of fun can be had but it is important to beware of the pests that can be harmful. With the following tips, you can help keep your child safe. Here are some common pests your…
-
Tips to Walk More Everyday
Getting more movement and exercise in your everyday life can seem like a daunting task. Gym memberships are expensive. It’s hard sometimes to find time to exercise. But a few small changes can help you get a little healthier and feel a little better. And a little bit can go a long way. Before starting…
-
How to Talk to Kids about Drugs and Alcohol
It can be awkward to talk to kids about drugs and alcohol. You don’t want to mess up their innocence. You might be afraid that if they know about these things, they’ll be more likely to try them. The opposite is actually true—children who are informed are less likely to experiment with and less likely…
-
Getting Help with Substance Abuse: Drugs and Alcohol
Many people experience depression, anxiety, emotional and/or physical pain and a host of other mental health struggles. Coping with these is not easy, and without a support system, many can turn to substance use to manage the pain. Use can lead to abuse, a condition that without treatment, can put lives at stake. So how…
-
How to Care for Your Skin in Winter
Did you know your skin is your biggest organ? Your skin protects you and is the first thing people see when they look at you. So it is your responsibility to protect it. The cold, often dry, air of winter can hurt it, leaving you very uncomfortable. Here are 10 ways you can protect it…
-
Keeping Your Child Home When Sick
It can be one of the most stressful things about parenting. You get up in the morning, expecting the day to go like normal, but your kid is warm to the touch or in the bathroom sick. How do you know when to keep your child home from school or daycare? How do you deal…
-
Medicare Basics
Medicare is a form of public health insurance created by federal law. Most people who work in the U.S. have taxes withheld from their pay under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA). The taxes are for old-age, survivors, and disability insurance (Social Security tax) and for hospital insurance (Medicare tax). Who is eligible for Medicare? …
-
5 Daily Habits for Overall Health
Amid a busy schedule and the demands of everyday living, it’s easier than you’d think to neglect your health and well-being. While we probably don’t have the time to have a spa experience every day, it’s important to prioritize good personal habits in order to maintain overall health. Here are 5 ideas for daily health…
-
Self-Care for Pregnancy During College
Managing physical and mental health is crucial for anyone during college. But now with a baby on the way, it’s even more important to not only take care of your baby but also take care of the person carrying her or him: YOU! Here are some reminders of how to properly navigate self-care: Eat Well.…
-
What Is ADHD, and How Do I Get a Diagnosis?
ADHD is a medical condition that is not uncommon in children. You have likely heard of it. You may even have opinions about it. It stands for “attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.” You may have heard of the term ADD. That is still sometimes used to indicate an attention issue that does not include hyperactivity, but…
-
What Is Sleep Training?
There are few things more stressful in the first months of a child’s life than dealing with a baby’s sleep schedule. Or lack thereof. Sleep can be hard to come by in the beginning. Thinking about it from the baby’s perspective, she just spent nine months inside the mom’s body protected from the cold and…
-
Prepping Your Nursery!
As your little miracle continues to grow in your womb, naturally the time comes to start thinking about setting up her or his new room. Ideally it will be comfortable for you and your little one as well, as functional. According to pediatrician Scott W. Cohen, M.D., it is easy to overbuy items for babies.…
-
10 Tips for Your Second Trimester
As you enter the second trimester of pregnancy, here are a few suggestions that I have learned in my pregnancy: Go on a babymoon! After reaching the second trimester, my body felt much more normal again, and I was ready to go on vacation! Bring medicine with you such as acetaminophen, antacids, laxatives, your prenatal…
-
Your Pregnancy Test Is Positive: Now What?
Take a moment to process what you just found out. If you think about it, pregnancy is essentially the most natural thing in the world. Research shows that about half of all pregnancies are unplanned. So if your pregnancy was unplanned, you are definitely not alone! Human intimacy is very mysterious, and the process of…
-
Worse Than Morning Sickness: When You Have Hyperemesis Gravidarum
Although “morning sickness” is typically considered a normal side effect of pregnancy, for some women, nausea and vomiting can be severe and life-altering, even life-threatening. A woman is considered to have hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) if her vomiting is so severe that she loses over a kilogram (2.2 pounds) weekly or 5% of her body weight…
-
Family Resource Centers on Military Bases
In a military family, raising children, especially when relocating, can be challenging. It can disrupt the children’s academics, social networks, health care, and sports activities. Today’s military spouses who tend to be under 35 and largely female are often in an unfamiliar location without a support network. Being informed and utilizing the available resources, whether…
-
SIDS: A Contemporary and Preventable Nightmare
I remember one morning getting a call from the local medical examiner. He was asking for medical history and information on one of my 2-month-old patients. After obtaining proper consent, we spoke at length and learned that my precious little patient had passed. He was wanting to obtain any medical and laboratory information about my…
-
How to Find Help for Veterans
We understand that many people need someone to care for them at some point. Perhaps you have a spouse, parent, grandparents, or other relative who is an veteran, and s/he requires some assistance. Or maybe that vet is you. You want to care for you and yours as best as you can, but perhaps you…
-
How to Ask About Compensation
Asking for an adequate wage may feel awkward, but you are owed an income proportional to your education, skills, experience, and the area you live in. Being prepared for your interview — or follow-up interview — can make a gigantic difference in your compensation. What is compensation? Essentially, it’s a salary or hourly wage. The…
-
Preparing to Say Goodbye to a Baby
While you are pregnant: Keep a journal. Save the positive pregnancy test. Ask for ultrasound pictures. Videotape the ultrasound. Record the baby’s heartbeat. Take pictures of your belly, or even make an imprint. Knit, sew, or buy a hat for your baby. And if you learn you are losing your baby while pregnant, knit, sew,…
-
Choosing Perinatal Hospice and Palliative Care After an Adverse Diagnosis
The news of an adverse prenatal diagnosis can leave many parents shocked and bereaved. It’s normal to feel lost and in need of guidance during what promises to be a very emotional journey. What might your birth plan look like now? Parents who find themselves in this situation understandably need support as they contemplate how…
-
Tiny Babies, Big Miracles: A NICU Wonder in a Time of Coronavirus
On December 14, 2019, four months before the due date of her twin girls, Laura Freedland went to the hospital with what she thought were Braxton-Hicks contractions. Though only 22 weeks pregnant, she quickly realized she was in active labor. After 16 hours, little Vivienne entered the world 17 weeks early, weighing only 1 pound,…
-
How to Prepare for Child Wellness Exams
Every person has memories of childhood checkups, and mostly, they consist of stressful shots ending with rewards of stickers and suckers. For parents, however, when these visits are packed into busy schedules, it’s common to feel unprepared. Read on for pointers on what to expect from your kids’ wellness exams. Childhood wellness exams start soon…
-
Living with Anorexia
Do you not know how to get better, or do you simply not want to get better because you don’t want to gain weight or because your eating disorder allows you to feel in control? I don’t ask this to shame anyone because I, myself, would answer “yes” to all three. Although I don’t feel…
-
Practical Tips When Caring for Our Elders
—
by
If you are a caretaker of an elderly person, help is here. Learn where help is available: The Administration on Aging offers many services such as fall prevention, aging and disability programs, brain, oral, and behavioral health programs, elder abuse prevention, legal assistance, and retirement planning, and has chapters in most of the U.S. Find…
-
Postpartum Options: Breastfeeding, Formula, and Weaning
How and what you want to feed your baby is a personal decision. You, as a mother, deserve to know all the facts of the various options without feeling ashamed or guilty about your decision. Nutritional possibilities for your baby’s first few months include breastfeeding (temporarily or long term) and formula feeding. Breastfeeding Breastfeeding is…
-
What You Need to Know About Hospice
Cicely Saunders, the founder of the first hospice facility, St. Christopher’s Hospice in London, said to her patients, “You matter because you are you, and you matter to the end of your life. We will do all we can not only to help you die peacefully, but also to live until you die.” Is your…
-
Find the Best Health Care (When You Can’t Afford It)
Health insurance is essential — even if you feel healthy, accidents and sudden illnesses can happen. The first step has to be to check through your parents, employer, or school — wherever you can qualify for insurance now. See what they cover and don’t cover. Are your pregnancy costs covered? Which pregnancy costs? Is your…
-
Extra Measures to Protect the Highly Vulnerable
In addition to not shaking hands, wearing gloves and masks, self-quarantining, etc., here are other things you can do to stay safe and not bring disease home to at-risk family members, including the elderly (especially those who have other risk factors such as diabetes, heart disease, respiratory issues), and those with compromised immunities: Wear protective…
-
14 Tips to Take Care of Your Own Mental Health
Your mental health is so important, but it can be hard to find time to take care of yourself. Luckily, you can improve your mental health even when you can’t take the day off or spend time with others! Here are 12 tips to help you get through challenging times: By Clare Hettich
-
Are My Unborn Baby and I at Risk from COVID-19?
Here is what I have been telling my patients: There is a lot we do not know about COVID-19, but it seems to be similar to the flu in many respects. Precautions that pregnant women should take include avoiding travel by plane, avoiding crowds, and avoiding exposure to people who are ill. Frequent handwashing is…
-
8 Ways to Get Affordable Dentistry Care
Dentistry care can be expensive and is therefore put on the backburner. Some employers don’t even offer dental insurance, and when they do, it can seem to cost too much. But dental care is foundational to health care. Your dental health affects your overall health, and setting a good foundation for dental care can help…
-
Dealing with Postpartum Depression
You just had a baby. You should feel wonderful. Why do you feel so down? You are not alone. It is estimated that one in seven women experiences postpartum depression or anxiety. As many as 80 percent of women experience postpartum “blues.” Not surprisingly, the immense emotional and physical changes that occur when your body…
-
Taking Your Cardiac Health to Heart
Maternal mortality has been in the news over the past few years because it appears its incidence may be rising in the U.S. While part of the documented rise is artifactual because we are doing a better job of detecting maternal deaths, it is true that many older women with pre-existing health problems are becoming…
-
What You Need to Know About Federally Qualified Health Centers
Federally Qualified Health Centers are important safety net providers in rural areas. FQHCs are outpatient clinics that qualify for specific reimbursement systems under Medicare and Medicaid. They include federally-designated Health Center Program awardees, federally-designated Health Center Program look-alikes, and certain outpatient clinics associated with tribal organizations. Approximately 1 in 5 rural residents are served by…
-
18 Tips for Bathing Baby
Bathing your baby is an important part of keeping him or her happy and healthy. It might seem scary at first, but with the right preparation and a little practice, you’ll have this routine down. Until his or her umbilical cord falls off, it’s best to give Baby sponge baths. -dry towel -baby soap -bowl…
-
Potty Training? Try Elimination Communication
What Is Elimination Communication? Elimination communication is a form of potty training in which a child is given the opportunity to potty based on his or her natural timing. A child’s need to go is determined by signals, such as sudden crying, sudden stillness, or grunting. Opportunities to potty are accompanied by “cues” from the…
-
A Cesarean Section Birth Story
Like many other cesarean section birth stories, my birth story starts long before the day. My body seemed to love being pregnant. A lot of chronic issues I have were actually alleviated during my pregnancy, rather than made worse. However, one of my chronic issues may have contributed to my birth story. Around 36 weeks,…
-
Top Tips When Choosing an OB-GYN
Finding an OB-GYN can seem like an overwhelming task, at first. These tips can help you find local doctors and then choose one for your pregnancy experience. How to Find an OB-GYN: Factors to Consider When Choosing an OB-GYN: Your OB-GYN is a vital part of your pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum care. The right…
-
10 Fun Fitness Tips for Moms
I get a lot of stares and questions when I’m out and about in my fitness gear. I suppose I’ve mastered the not-so-soccer-mom look enough to the point that people wonder how it all came about. To be honest, because of the culture I grew up in, I never participated much, if at all, in…
-
Maternal Mortality Q&A
Women considering pregnancy or who are already pregnant are likely concerned about recent news reports that the U.S. is experiencing a drastic increase in maternal mortality. So I asked OB-GYN and Women Deserve Better Contributor Dr. Ingrid Skop for insights as an expert on high-risk pregnancies: Q. How risky is it for women to die…
-
Predicting and Preventing Preterm Birth
Preterm birth is a serious problem. Complications from prematurity are the most common reason that babies die after birth, accounting for 70 percent of neonatal deaths. Half of the time, preterm birth occurs when a mother enters labor early or the amniotic membrane ruptures prematurely, and the doctor is unable to stop the early labor.…
-
What to Expect When You Have a Preemie
PRE-ECLAMPSIA and EMERGENCY C-SECTION It was my first year in medical school. My wife was 35 weeks pregnant and her blood pressure was elevated, she was spilling protein in her urine and we were sitting in her doctor’s office for our weekly check. As the doctor entered the exam room…our roller coaster began. He said…
-
What Is Kangaroo Care, and How Can It Help Preemies?
Premature babies can have a hard road to travel, including incubators, drugs, and surgery. The good news is that among the medical and technical advances has arisen an appreciation of the human side of helping a premature infant to survive and thrive. As early as the 1970s, medical personnel faced with too few incubators and…
-
What You Need to Know about Genetic Testing
Have you ever left your OB-GYN’s office completely confused by all the genetic testing she has offered? You are not alone. Technology is advancing at a rapid pace, and there are many (often expensive) tests available to women during pregnancy. I hope to help you navigate through these options, to understand which tests may be…
-
Should I Be Worried about a Zika Infection?
You have probably heard of a mosquito transmitted virus called Zika, which has been associated with severe birth defects when pregnant women have been affected, and you may wonder how much of a risk this poses to you and your unborn baby. Although infection with the virus has been associated with babies born with a…
-
Labor and Delivery Q&A
So, you are going to have a baby. As excited as you are, picturing your baby in your arms, you are likely somewhat anxious about what you will experience in order to get there! That is natural. It can be hard to picture how your baby will get from “in there” to “out here.” But…
-
Do You Need a Monitrice or a Doula?
Childbirth support is becoming more commonplace in America. This is fantastic news for women. Having the right support during labor and delivery can make the difference between a labor experience that is peaceful and empowering and one that is tense and scary. Navigating what type of support to have and whom to hire can be…
-
Keeping Up with Your Prenatal Health
Pregnancy is an exciting time, but it is also a time to be focused on staying healthy—not only for you, but also for the child who is growing within you. It is possible to take care of both yourself and your baby while also keeping the costs down. Before the baby comes—and if possible, before…
-
4 Tips for Dealing with Morning Sickness
Morning sickness is a common negative effect of pregnancy. Here are some tips for dealing with morning sickness: Sleep Well, Eat Healthily, and Keep Up Your Fluids Give yourself plenty of time to get out of bed, eating something in the morning so that you have food in your stomach, drinking lots of fluids, avoiding…
-
What to Expect During Labor? A Birth Doula Explains
Giving birth can be a gratifying, empowering, and affirming experience. It can also be a fearful, confusing, and difficult experience. Knowing what to expect, understanding what the female body is capable of, and having support make the difference between feeling empowered and feeling confused or scared. Pregnancy, labor, and delivery are unique experiences that require preparation, physical and mental. This preparation…
-
Whatever You Need Is OK When Dealing with Pregnancy Loss
One in three women will experience pregnancy loss. This is a staggering number. Sadly, most of these women will experience a miscarriage, late miscarriage (sometimes called a demise by doctors), or stillbirth without any support. They will be alone, emotionally and physically. But it doesn’t have to be this way. If this is your experience,…
-
Vaccines 101
No one enjoys getting shots, but vaccines are extremely important when it comes to quality of life and disease prevention. This article is aimed to help you understand the why, how, and when of vaccines before you rush to schedule a doctor’s appointment. Why Vaccinate? The most basic reason to vaccinate your children is vaccines…
-
What Is Prenatal Care?
Before the baby comes—and if possible, before you become pregnant—talk to your doctor about your health status, and get information on how to stay healthy during your pregnancy. Your health care provider may suggest vaccines: Some of the common vaccines for pregnant women are pertussis (whooping cough) and the flu shot. You may also need…
-
8 Tips for Choosing a Pediatrician
Whether you are a new or experienced parent, having a pediatrician that you know and trust is incredibly valuable as you welcome a new baby to your family. When making this important decision, it’s important to think about both the doctor(s) in the practice as well as the nurses and the office staff. Often, you…