Archive for the 'Health & Safety' Category

According to a review of data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, from 1990 to 2004, 53 babies died suddenly and unexpectedly in bassinets.

According to Drs. Jodi Pike and Rachel Y. Moon of Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., the cause of death in 85 percent of the cases was lack of oxygen.

Pike and Moon in their analysis of these deaths, also found that more than one third of the babies had been placed on their stomachs and one half was found on their stomachs.

In 74 percent of cases, items such as blankets [Baby Blanket], pillows, and plastic bags were found in the bassinets.

Nine infants died in bassinets that were not functioning correctly, either from misuse or mechanical problems.

According to a 2007 study, bassinets are most often used in the first 2 months of life, when more than 45 percent of infants sleep in bassinets.

Between 1992 and 2000, the percentage of infants sleeping in bassinets doubled, to almost 20 percent, Pike and Moon note in a study published in The Journal of Pediatrics.

Down syndrome is a genetic disorder that mainly causes physical defects and mental retardation.

It is due to the existence of an extra copy of chromosome number 21.

This disorder is mainly called as trisomy 21.

Health problems that affect your newborn baby:

• Usually, Down syndrome causes mild to moderate mental retardation or gradual mental growth.
• There is slow development in your baby’s language skills if he/she has Down syndrome.
• Babies born with Down syndrome also have a chance to develop heart problems, among those some children need surgery.
• Intestinal problems, vision trouble, thyroid disease or hearing loss also develop in a baby with Down syndrome.
• The most common physical signs of Down syndrome include: small ears or abnormally shaped ears, upward inclined eyes, broad hands with little fingers, small head, and curved fingers.
• Your baby experiences difficulty in swallowing or he may also have blockages in his intestines or stomach. In order to fix these problems, surgery is essential.
• Frequent ear infection, colds and sinus infection are the most common problems in the babies with Down syndrome.

The transmitting routes of HIV include breastfeeding, which passes the virus from mothers to infants.

This is a major problem in many areas of Africa, where HIV-positive mothers have no alternative to breastfeeding. So far, no practical and effective methods are available to prevent HIV transmission by this route.

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a global epidemic threatening the lives of millions of people.

Because there is no known cure, prevention of the transmission of the virus that causes AIDS, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), is critical for controlling the disease.

A team of researchers from Lavax (Palatine, Ill.) and the University of Illinois at Chicago is developing a new technology that prevents the infection of HIV by breastfeeding.

They have isolated a special strain of probiotic lactobacilli from the human mouth. It belongs to the same species as those found in dairy foods, such as yogurt and kefir. This strain captures the HIV virus by binding to its outer ‘envelope’.

Because it grows and reproduces itself in milk, once an infant is inoculated with the Lactobacillus, the protection may last until the infant is weaned. This technology offers an easily administered alternative to HIV vaccines, which are currently unavailable.

Nearly one in 10 obstetricians in a new study has considered giving up obstetric practice because of the emotional toll of stillbirths and infant deaths.

Three-quarters of the 804 obstetricians who responded to a survey by researchers at the University of Michigan Health System reported that the experience took a large emotional toll on them personally.

“Our survey reveals that perinatal death has a profound effect on obstetricians, and 8 percent had considered giving up obstetrics because of the emotional difficulty of caring for patients with perinatal death,” says lead author Katherine Gold, M.D., MSW, of U-M’s Department of Family Medicine and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

“We know that stillbirth and infant death are traumatic events for families; this study suggests that they are also traumatic for the physician.”

Approximately 15 percent of pregnancies end in early losses (before 20 weeks gestation). In the United States, 1.3 percent of pregnancies end in either stillbirth (losses after 20 weeks but before delivery) or infant death (deaths in the first year of life, most of which occur in the first week).

On average, the typical obstetrician performing 140 deliveries a year could encounter nearly two dozen women with a miscarriage and one to two with stillbirth or infant death, the study says.

A new study suggests that couples expecting their first child should reconsider owning a cat if they have a family history of eczema.

Eczema, which causes itchy, flaky skin and affects up to one in five children, tends to run in families.

Newborn babies with a defective inherited gene are more likely to develop the painful skin condition if they are exposed to cats, scientists have discovered.

Researchers have uncovered a link between the disease and a specific inherited gene which normally works by producing a protein which protects the skin.

However, in around one in ten children the gene does not work properly, leaving them more prone to allergy.

Researchers compared a high-risk group of 379 Danish infants who had the defective gene with a group of 593 babies from the general population in Manchester.

In both groups, they found that children with the defective gene were twice as likely to develop eczema during their first year of life as those without the genetic faults.

However, the study showed that having a cat further increased the risk of developing the disease.

The scientists said that they were unsure how exposure to cats was linked to the development of eczema.

Eczema usually occurs on your baby’s face, chest, scalp and neck during the first few months of life. But, it can also spread to arms, legs and some other parts of the body.

Baby eczema is not a contagious one, but if it is itchy and scratchy, then it becomes a serious problem.

Main cause behind baby eczema:

Most of the babies suffer from atopic eczema; this is a hereditary based disorder and usually develops around 2-3 months of age.

Atopic is referred to as oversensitivity to the immune system which makes them to react to various aspects of the environment that normally does not elicit an immune response.

Allergic contact and irritant contact are also the most common and are likely to bring on by either immediate or prolonged exposure to the specific allergen.

If your baby is suffering from one type of eczema, then there is a greater chance to develop other types.

Facts about baby eczema:

• Overall the skin becomes very dry.
• There is a chance to develop tiny blisters. They can also open up and fluids can leak out.
• It is abnormal to have involvement around the nose or mouth.

Every mom gets a question like, how to know if the infant has ear infection.

Immediately you can observe a great change in your infant’s mood if he/she has an ear infection or any other illness.

Your baby starts crying more than usual.

Usually ear infection strikes your infant after a common cold or sinus infection. You can notice some symptoms in your infant if he got ear infection:

• Usually the baby grabs, pulls or tugs at his ears. This indicates that your infant is in some trouble.
• Diarrhea viruses that affect ear infection also affect the gastrointestinal tract and triggers diarrhea.
• Whitish or yellow colored fluid comes from the ear, but this is not the case with every baby. Leakage from the ears is a sure sign of infection. Sometimes, it also indicates a hole in the ear drums.
• Reduced appetite and ear infection can lead to gastrointestinal upset. The condition makes your baby very difficult to swallow and chew.
• A foul smell emanating from the baby’s ear.

Reason behind the development of ear infection in your infant:

Usually, the development of fluid and bacteria in the area around the baby’s ear drum can also cause ear infection. Generally the fluid that enters the eardrum leaves more quickly through the Eustachian tube.

Aromatherapy is beneficial for your baby. Massage is the most commonly used form of giving aromatherapy treatment for your baby.

You will find various methods for giving aromatherapy treatment for your baby.

The thing you should be very careful about is the quantity of aromatherapy oil. The oil should be very low in quantity and it should be enough for your baby.

Use only two drops of aromatherapy oil in 100-150 ml of carrier oil or 2-4 drops of aromatherapy oil in the baby bath. Here are the most suitable oils for your gentle baby care:

• Rose
• Tangerine
• Chamomile
• Sandalwood
• Lavender
• Neroli

Sweet almond oil is the best carrier oil because it has lubricating and softening effects on the skin. Almond oil is very much better than mineral oil that is used in most of the commercial products for your baby.

Aromatherapy oil for baby bath:

Your baby will enjoy very much when he is immersed in water. Using aromatherapy oil to the bath can generate a dynamic smell and soothe your baby’s sensitive skin. Rose, lavender or chamomile oils are the best oils for baby bath and are healthy when compared to commercial baby bubble baths [Aromatherapy skin care].