Baby Care Blog

Reading an article recently I was suprised to read that it said C sections are becoming increasingly more popular among women. The article pointed out that planned C sections were a very good alternative to the last minute decision to have a C section after trying to deliver naturally during labor but failing to do so. Natural birth should be pursued as first option in my opinion, and a C section should be viewed as a last resort. You have probably heard of the situations where the baby would be born in breach and because of this a C section was recommended... this situation would be one where more weight would be given to the consideration of having a C section. Other than this though, I think that a natural birth ( while alot more work) would be the healthier way to deliver for both the mother and the child.

It has been said that some studies show that delivering by C section will cause respiratory problems for the child in later on. Have you had a C section? How was your C section experience. Have you delivered by natural birth? Would you change to a C section if you had to do it again? Please let us know what you think...

Oh and BTW, if you want to read an article on C section you can do so here... C section We don't agree with their premise though. Given the opportunity, we personally believe that a Natural birth should always be taken as the first choice for delivery. What do you think?

Posted by John at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

'Teething"... this hallowed little word has been known to raise quite a few eye brows among concerned moms and dads as they try to figure out ways to help comfort and relieve their little babies. When our little baby first started teething we did not know what to do... we asked our friends for their sage wisdom and we got more advice than you could shake a stick at. While they were all well meaning, no one was able to give us a simple answer. We also went on the internet and began researching teething and we found an avalanche of teething information... again, there was still no simple answer to how we could bring relief to our teething baby.

What we did find is that teething does effect babies differently, and we also discovered that you can glean from the collective global experiences of parents the world over to get a pretty good idea of what you can do to help your teething baby. Here are a few things that we have learned about teething from our baby... a cool object to chew on will really help your baby to soothe their teething gums. Teething rings really help in this area, only want to make sure that you find ones that do not have any liquid filling because this can be punctured by your baby's new teeth.

One of the joys of having a baby is that you get to hold and cuddle them, we find that during teething you may want to provide a little extra TLC (Tender Loving Care). Hugging and touching your baby can help them to calm a little during teething.

Do you have a teething baby? Have you been through the teething stage? Please feel free to post your experiences here... you can provide some help to that new parent who is still "green" so that they can get on the teething fast track.

Posted by John at 11:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Over the past few years there have been references to the phrase post partum depression in the United States. The term post partum depression has come up in a trial case where a mother killed her own child. In that situation the question was posed suggesting that post partum depression could have played a role in the mother's action. Brooke shields, a notable celebrity spoke out saying that she had suffered from post partum depression.

How can a mother really know if she has post partum depression though? I ask this question because as I look at the symptoms post partum depression they parallel what the majority of mothers might deem the normal after effects of a pregnancy. In a recent article that I read about post partum depression some of the symptoms that were listed as being associated with post partum depression were sleeping problems, mood swings, and fatigue. I wonder if all mothers experience these emotions at some level after they have given birth.

The other thing is this... it appears like there is not a root cause that has been associated with post partum depression. In other words, what causes post partum depression? Are there any blogging moms out there who have experienced this disease? If so, share your experiences here, maybe you can shed some more light on the subject for someone else who has questions about post partum depression...

Personally, I think it strange to prescribe medication to a disease when you are not exactly sure what the root cause of the disease is... that's my opinion though. Any other thoughts...???

Posted by John at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Pregnancy by Darran Mccague. He everyone, in case you don't know, January is Birth Defects Prevention Month. The March of dimes has teamed up with the grain foods foundation in an effort to help woman better prepare for their pregnancy. In a joint press release article given to PRnewswire on January 5th the two foundations expressed their desire to help women better understand the association between birth defects and diet. Central to their argument is the link between Folic Acid and a decrease birth defects.

Studies are showing that there is a direct link between Folic Acid and healthy babies. The Press release states that Birth defects of the spinal cord and brain can be avoided by a healthy diet that is rich in Folic Acid. The Article further states that " Between 1995 and 2002 neural tube defects (NTDs), including spina bifida, have declined by 36 percent in Hispanics and 34 percent in white, non- Hispanics. Yet Hispanic women are 50% more likely than white, non-Hispanic women to have a child born with these serious birth defects of the brain and spine. Folic acid fortification of enriched grains was mandated in the United States in 1998 and since then products -- like bread, crackers, bagels, pasta and tortillas -- made from enriched white flour have been important for growing fetal development. In fact, enriched grains have been fortified with twice the amount of folic acid found in whole grain products." The assertion made in the article is that the increase in Folic acid will better prepare the body for pregnancy... even before conception.

This is not the first time that we have heard of a link between the benefits of a healthy pregnancy and Folic Acid... If you would like to read the article on Folic Acid yourself you can get the link here: Folic Acid Article If you have not already done so, we suggest that you look into finding some ways of adding Folic Acid into your diet before and during pregnancy.

Posted by John at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)