What to Expect If Your Baby is Jaundiced

If your baby is diagnosed with jaundice, the news can be scary for you. Jaundice can range from mild to severe. If left untreated, mild cases may resolve themselves. Severe cases could lead to brain damage or even death. Fortunately, for babies, jaundice is very common, and doctors and hospitals are well aware of the signs and the treatment. All three of my children were diagnosed with jaundice. Each had a different degree of jaundice and therefore different treatment or combination of treatments. Here is what to expect if your baby is diagnosed with jaundice. Pricks and blood tests Depending … Continue reading →

Working Out With Your Preemie to Prevent OOP

To be born premature is to be born at a disadvantage in life. Significant development happens in the last trimester of pregnancy and even the last few weeks. One major concern is osteopenia of prematurity. Some thirty percent of premature infants suffer from osteopenia which can cause bone fractures and rickets in infants and osteoporosis, later in life. During the last trimester of pregnancy, the mom’s body is making extra calcium and phosphorous for her baby; things that are extremely important to bone development. Obviously, premature babies are missing out on all those extra nutrients. Pediatric researchers are trying to … Continue reading →

NICU Womb Rooms

Premature births are on the rise. It used to be that 32 weeks was considered the age of viability. With each one of my pregnancies the age of viability was earlier and earlier. That’s saying something considering that starting in 1998 I was pregnant every other year until the twins birth in 2005. Doctors now say that the age of viability is as early as 24 weeks because of advances in technology and improvement of care. Instead of focusing on how to keep the baby alive, doctors are now focusing on how to help the baby’s development in the future. … Continue reading →

How Low Birth Weight Affects Adulthood

The idea that low birth weight babies have a rough start is nothing new. Throughout four pregnancies spanning eight years, I’ve been warned on the dangers of giving birth too early or having a baby who is too small. (Too small, by the way, is any baby that weighs less than 5.5 pounds at birth, regardless of whether or not it is premature.) As it turns out a recent study published by researchers at the University of Michigan, covering over 12,000 babies and 35 years of work, shows that skinny babies have other issues as well. Some key points from … Continue reading →