News Moms Need

I planned on returning to the office when my daughter turned one. I was excited about the idea to interacting with colleagues again, but felt very nervous (and guilty) about leaving her. We don’t live near family, so I had to look to outside resources for help. My husband asked, “how are we going to do this?” At a loss for words, I shook my head. How will we ever find someone we can trust?

With a heavy heart, I started my search online. It was important to us that we find a facility where the providers were trained and supervised. I researched local daycare providers and came across two helpful websites in the process. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and The National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) both provide useful information for locating accredited child care facilities and providers.

Ultimately, we decided to hire a nanny who would care for our daughter in our home. Logistically, this just worked better for us. I joined a website that provided all of the initial screening information we were looking including, experience, references and background checks. We interviewed a few candidates and feel we made the best decision for our daughter and the individual needs of our family. It was a scary process in the beginning, but it actually turned out just fine. Thank goodness for camera phones! Our nanny sends pictures throughout the day. It’s so reassuring to see my daughter’s smile.

Are you a working mom? How are you managing? I’m new at this, so I’d love to hear from others who are in the same boat.

It’s hard to believe, but my Hannah is one today. I have no idea where this year went. What a whirlwind filled with anticipation, difficulties, excitement, exhaustion, worry and fun! I have to admit that I’m a little sad today. I’m shocked that I feel this way. I’m realizing that the very early stage of our daughter’s life is over. That’s it. The bassinet is in the garage. She’s a toddler who’s drinking from a sippy - cup and loves Sesame Street. She’ll be walking any day now and…oh, brother! I’m tearing-up. It’s been a wonderful experience and I can’t remember life without her. However, I do remember what sleep feels like and I would like to have that back again (LOL).

We have her one-year check-up on Monday. It’s been a couple of months since our last visit to the pediatrician, so I’m curious to know how much she’s grown. She needs a couple of immunizations. The doctor will most likely give us the green light to start whole milk. I need to think about questions that I want to ask and write them down. We have so much to look forward to in the upcoming year in terms of her development. It’s been fun sharing stories with you and thanks for reading them. There’s certainly more to come…

So, happy birthday to my precious little girl!

And P.S. - you’ll always be my baby.

Celebrate with us! The March of Dimes has won the prestigious Freddie award for its health education video series Healthy Pregnancy, Healthy Baby. These awards are the Oscars for health and medicine media. The March of Dimes won in the category of women’s health.

Here’s the winning team (left to right): Kerry, Ivette, Dr. Siobhan, Chris, Pam and Frank. As you can tell, we have a lot of fun while we’re doing our work.

You may have seen our past posts about vaccines and autism. As we noted in those posts, most medical experts do not believe there is a connection between vaccines (specifically the MMR vaccine and thimerosal) and autism. Today, Lancet (the medical journal that published the original study linking vaccines to autism in 1998) retracted the study. The journal found that several elements of that research were flawed.

It’s our goal at NMN to provide you with the latest health information to help you make the best decisions for yourself and family. There are many children suffering from autism and other health disorders. We hope that more research will be done to find the cause and cure of this and other health conditions affecting children. We’ll continue to update you as more information becomes available.

We know a fair amount about things that pose risks to a fetus when Mom is involved – age, different medical conditions, diet, smoking, alcohol…  But what about Dad?

A study just published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology (February 2010, Vol. 202, Issue 2, Pages 99-100) performed a systematic review of recent literature for the risks of low birthweight (LBW), preterm, and small-for-gestational-age births in relation to paternal factors – Dad’s input.

Thirty-six published studies were reviewed for various paternal factors: his age, height, weight, birthweight, occupation, education, and amount of alcohol use. Extreme paternal age was associated with higher risk for LBW in his child. Among infants who were born to tall fathers, birthweight was approximately 125-150 g higher compared with infants who were born to short fathers. When Dad was born with LBW, there was an association with lower birthweight of the baby. In summary, Dad’s characteristics including age, height, and birthweight are associated with LBW. Paternal occupational exposure and low levels of education may be associated with LBW; however, further studies are needed to confirm or refute this.

Want to read more?  Click here.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more people are becoming sick because of pet frogs, particularly from African dwarf frogs. CDC investigator Shauna Mettee says, “cases from more than 30 states have been identified since April 2009. This outbreak is primarily affecting young children.” 

People need to wash their hands thoroughly after exposure to amphibians and their habitats. This includes reptiles such as turtles, too. These are known sources of Salmonella infection in humans. Children under 5 should avoid all contact with these animals because they are more likely to develop severe symptoms. Symptoms can include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps that can start 12–72 hours after infection.

If you’re pregnant, you’ve probably thinking a lot about your delivery. What will it feel like? How bad will the pain be? Will the baby be healthy? 

But have you talked with your health provider about your own health after the baby has arrived? What can you expect during the postpartum period?

In a recent study, researchers surveyed 724 women 2 weeks after they had delivered a baby. Many of these women said they felt unprepared for postpartum health issues. For instance, fewer than half were prepared to expect breastfeeding problems, hair loss, hemorrhoids, mood swings, and anxiety. Not all women have these problems, but they are fairly common.

So next time you see your provider, take a few moments to talk about the postpartum period. The March of Dimes has several articles and videos that can help.

The new study of postpartum women appears in the February issue of the medical journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Anyone who has unanswered questions about diseases or traits that run in the family should consider genetic counseling. People who may find it valuable include:
• Those who have, or are concerned that they might have, an inherited disorder or birth defect.

• Women who are pregnant or planning to be after age 35.  

• Couples who already have a child with mental retardation, an inherited disorder or a birth defect.

• Couples whose infant has a genetic disease diagnosed by routine newborn screening. 

• Women who have had babies who died in infancy or three or more miscarriages.

• People concerned that their jobs, lifestyles or medical history may pose a risk to outcome of pregnancy. Common causes of concern include exposure to radiation, medications, illegal drugs,  chemicals  or infections.

• Couples who would like testing or more information about genetic conditions that occur frequently in their ethnic group.

• Couples who are first cousins or other close blood relatives.

• Pregnant women whose ultrasound examinations or blood testing indicate that their pregnancy may be at increased risk for certain complications or birth defects.

If you think you could benefit from genetic counseling, call your local chapter of the March of Dimes, or send an email to Askus@marchofdimes.com, for information on services in your area.