Archive for November, 2009

For comprehending ways to increasing nature’s own bounty – breast milk, it is imperative to decipher how the process of breast milk production actually functions. Breast milk production is mostly about demand and supply, though firstly this is not the case. Subsequent to delivery, the hormonal fluctuations signal the body to commence making milk. But in this time, the body does not clearly recognize the quantity of milk that the baby would require. Hence, this is the appropriate time for establishing an ample milk supply. Over a span of time, the body would gradually identify the amount of milk to secrete on the basis of the milk being removed from the breasts. Breasts being emptied signal the body to produce more milk. Similarly, breasts that are full give hint to the body for making lesser  [...]

Attempting to conceive could be tough on both the partners. The initial couple of cycles are filled with excitement and hope but normally subsequent to 2-3 cycles couples could often get disheartened. There are so many avenues to explore in regards to conceiving. Some of the couples adopt a chilled-out approach initially which in due course of time evolves into them wanting to know more about getting pregnant. Could a couple take certain steps that could help in enhancing their likelihood of pregnancy? There definitely are some tips that could be beneficial; though they have not garnered significant publicity. A few commonly known advices are having sexual contact thrice a week; however there are other tips which are rather unheard of. Below mentioned are 7 aids hardly spoken about which could  [...]

A startling revelation made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that nearly thirteen percent of women indulged in smoking during their last trimester of pregnancies. Though there is awareness about smoking affecting the foetus, one would be stunned by the intensity and range of damage that one’s smoking habit could have on one’s unborn baby and oneself. Facts depict wide-ranging effects Cigarette smoke has 2,500 kinds of chemicals constituents. Though the extent to which these chemicals have a bearing on the foetus is yet fuzzy. However, the carbon monoxide and nicotine present in cigarette could majorly lead to complications with one’s pregnancy and the foetus. Krisa Van Meurs, M.D., associate professor of paediatrics from the Stanford University School of Medicine  [...]

A common query that confounds several parents is whether their child is too young to be administered the H1N1 nasal spray or the injection containing thimerosal or must they wait for the injection that has no preservatives added to become obtainable. It is suggested that children more than six months of age must be administered the H1N1 flu vaccine on an urgent basis as infants below the age of two years are at increased likelihood of developing complications due to the H1N1 infection. The risks arising due to the infection by itself are deemed to have greater repercussions as compared to any kind of risk that could arise due to the H1N1 vaccine, irrespective of whether thimerosal is present in it or not. Thimerosal is a preservative that contains mercury and is employed for multi-dosage vials  [...]

Undecended testicles are known to occur in nearly five percent of full term and thirty percent of premature newly born male babies. Undescended testicles is a condition wherein the testicle in a boy has failed to move from the abdominal region, where it initially commences development in utero, and moves downwards till it finally reaches the scrotum which is its final destination. The reasons behind why testicles at times are not able to descend are still ambiguous. On majority of the occasions, nevertheless the testicle could travel its course till it moves into the right position by itself till the time a baby is nearly six months of age, and nearly always by the time the child turns one year old. In case the testicle has still not descended, surgical intervention would become necessary for  [...]

One could opt from many technical and non-scientific means for ascertaining the sex of the baby. One must bear in mind that one would be correct on half of the occasions with any method. Below mentioned are some of the means of finding if one is going to have a boy or girl child. The technician conducting the ultrasound would offer the most precise evaluation; many of whom would not make forecasts until they have a lucid observation of the genitals of the foetus. It is possible if the ultrasound is performed at eighteen weeks of pregnancy or later. The technician would needs a minute’s time to reveal the sex of the foetus on the screen as the foetal movements in the uterus could make it tricky to decipher. Male foetuses have a tiny protuberance in between their legs that is nearly one to  [...]

Pertussis or whooping cough begins alike a cold. Subsequent to one to two weeks, the cold signs lead to severe spells of coughing. The coughing obstructs breathing and could also lead to vomiting. Pertussis could cause life-menacing complications. Signs among adults are milder in nature. Recognizing the signs could help in early detection and hence treatment. Pertussis is vastly Communicable The dowel-shaped Bordetella pertussis bacteria affix themselves in the cilia of the respiratory tract. They are transmitted via suspended droplets arising from coughing and sneezing. An individual having pertussis is infectious from the moment the cold signs start appearing. The transmittable time period would last for nearly three weeks subsequent to the coughing bouts commencing. Containing Coughs Every  [...]

Researchers believe that by matching infants ailing from rare or life-menacing ailments and modelling probable disease development; are hopeful of detecting imminent novel courses. Development of software tools is being done that could seek out and evaluate patient information at hospitals located across Europe for finding infants with nearly matched medical conditions. The doctors could then locate the manner in which the matched cases of the patient in the other hospitals were undergoing treatment and whether it was beneficial. The data would immensely enhance the doctor’s skill to select the correct course for their patient. The software tool under-development in the Health-e-Child project could carry out a comparison of a huge array of ordered and unstructured information, inclusive of  [...]

A sense of utter frustration could engulf so many mothers after trying all kinds of diets and none of them working out. Feeling loose, flabby and an expanding waist size are common carps among women that have had a single or multiple child births. The problem is that often we tend to perplex our bodies with the magic ‘red, green, cabbage soup, less-carbohydrate, less –fat, less-GI diets that mostly deny us the foods that we are fond of, hence we fail to adhere to these diets. Foods could be addictions hence it is imperative to garner control over them. It’s all about making lifetime alterations in one’s habits. It all boils down to being observant about ‘the way’ in which one is eating, ‘when’ one is eating and ‘why’ one is eating – not ‘what’ one is eating. By following  [...]

Bordetella pertussis is bacterial form that could exist in the respiratory tract of humans. Pertusssis or whooping cough is transmitted via discharge or secretions during sneezing and coughing. Majority of the pertussis infections are spread in between kin members and domestic contacts like babysitters. The DTaP vaccines could help in preventing the infection when administered to babies that are two, four and six months old. How communicable is whooping cough? Whooping cough is highly infectious. In case one individual is infected with the pertussis bacteria, every non-inoculated domestic contact has a nearly ninety percent risk of contracting the infection as well. How could one contract whooping cough when they have previously been inoculated? In contrast to some of the vaccines, the pertussis  [...]

Scores of parents of pre-schoolers are often battling with their kid’s trepidations of real and make-believe beings. A novel study provides insight on few tips that could assist such parents in ably managing their kid’s anxieties. The study conducted by the researchers from the University of California, Davis, that appeared in the Nov/Dec 2009 edition of the ‘Child Development’ journal. Researchers conducted the study on nearly fifty four, five and seven year old children in an attempt at identifying handling techniques that could be employed by the kids. The kids heard to a set of brief demonstrated stories. Every story was marked by the presence of a kid alone or along with one more individual who was faced with something that appeared alike an existent or a fantasy fear-provoking  [...]

Several kids in this age group are quite a challenge to handle, with few being especially energetic and always on the go, or else quite tricky to manage. In case one has been pondering if one’s kid’s behaviour or misconduct could be suggestive of ADHD or some other kind of disorder, making a note of the kid’s deeds at home, school in other scenarios could provide one with vital data that one could speak to the child’s doctor. However, it could be tricky to detect ADHD in this age as several of these behavioural patterns are deemed normal among young kids. As all kids occasionally go through rough days, one needs to note any kind of consistency in the behavioural patterns. In case regularity has been observed from either your end or the teacher’s end, then it is imperative to get the  [...]

Faulty body clock genes could be the reason behind bipolar disorder among infants. Researchers have penned down this crucial finding in the open access academic journal ‘BMC Psychiatry’ detected 4 adaptations of the dictatorial gene RORB that were related to infancy bipolar disorder. Alexander Niculescu from the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, United States, collaborated along with a team of scientists from Harvard, UC San Diego, Massachusetts General Hospital and SANY Upstate Medical University for studying the role of RORA and RORB genes of 152 infants having this condition and 140 infants that were part of a control group. They detected four variations to the RORB genes that are certainly linked to being bipolar. Niculescu stated that their findings indicated that  [...]