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Air travel with infants

Sunday, 22 February 2009 16:52 Mr. Mathews

Air travel is safe for newborns and infants .Â Do not doÂ unnecessary air travel during the first two weeks of life . Air travel, as in any crowded place,Â exposes your babyÂ toÂ people and their germs, because of recycled cabin air. You should not travel if your baby is ill.Â When you travel on an aircraft with a newborn, it is recommended that you place the child in a rear-facing child safety seat that isÂ properly secured in the seat next to yours.Â Most child safety seats are certified for air travel.Â Â Â If you can, choose a bulkhead seat and avoid being seated in emergency exit rows.Other concerns youÂ may have about flying with a newborn are....Â You may be concerned that reduced oxygen levels at high altitudes increases the risk of SIDS in newborns. This is not true.Â You may worry that air travel will hurt a newborn''s ears. But the effects of flying on a newborn''s ears are same as that for an adult''s ears. Fluctuations in cabin pressure cause pain.Â Sucking helps equalize the pressure in the ears. So feeding your baby during takeoff and landing will help.

Last Updated on Thursday, 12 March 2009 14:32

How to get pregnant

Wednesday, 25 February 2009 16:46 Mr. Mathews

For some couples getting pregnant is easy and for others it takes patience and a bit of luck.
If you're hoping to be a mom, start the old-fashioned way.

This is what you need to do and know when to seek help.

Baby-making

Every month, hormones from your brain stimulate your ovaries to release one egg. This occurs around 14th day of the menstrual cycle, although the exact timing vary among women and from month to month in you.

Once the egg is released, it moves along the fallopian tube. If you want to conceive, now is the time to try. The egg has about 48 hours to unite with a sperm. As sperm cells can survive in your uterus for 2 to 3 days, it's best to have regular sex during the days before ovulation.
If the egg unites with a sperm, an embryo will be formed and it will travel to the uterus within the next five days . There it will attach itself to the uterine wall. You're Pregnant! Your periods will stop as your body begins to support the embryo. If the egg is not fertilized, you'll have your next period as usual. Try again next month.

Hippocratic Oath--Classical Version_ Modern Version

Thursday, 01 January 2009 16:38 Mr. Mathews

Hippocratic Oath--Classical Version

I swear by Apollo the Physician and Asclepius and Hygieia and Panaceia and all the gods and goddesses, making them my witnesses, that I will fulfill according to my ability and judgment this oath and this covenant:

To hold him who has taught me this art as equal to my parents and to live my life in partnership with him, and if he is in need of money to give him a share of mine, and to regard his offspring as equal to my brothers in male lineage and to teach them this art - if they desire to learn it - without fee and covenant; to give a share of precepts and oral instruction and all the other learning to my sons and to the sons of him who has instructed me and to pupils who have signed the covenant and have taken an oath according to the medical law, but no one else.

I will apply dietetic measures for the benefit of the sick according to my ability and judgment; I will keep them from harm and injustice.

I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy. In purity and holiness I will guard my life and my art.

I will not use the knife, not even on sufferers from stone, but will withdraw in favor of such men as are engaged in this work.

Big baby

Friday, 27 February 2009 16:45 Mr. Mathews

A large for dates infant is one whose birth weight, when plotted on growth charts of body weight against pregnancy age is over the 90th percent.

Babies who are large for dates may be due to:

---inaccurate dating of last menstrual period
---maternal diabetes in almost 80% of established cases
---everyone in the family is large
---chromosomal defects

Post-mature babies ( babies beyond due date) are not usually unduly large because placental insufficiency slows the rate of growth.

Complications can be maternal and fetal

Maternal:

---prolonged labour
---premature labour
---increased risk of trauma to the mother
---increased risk of shoulder dystocia

Fetal:

---fetal distress and birth asphyxia
---Brachial (arm) nerve injuries
---Blood collection under the scalp, resulting in more pronounced neonatal jaundice

Healthy eating for Pregnancy

Friday, 27 February 2009 16:14 Mr. Mathews

Eating healthy food during pregnancy is one of the best things you can do for your baby. After all, it is your baby's only source of nutrition. Smart choices can help promote growth and development.

Grains

Grains provide carbohydrates, your body's main source of energy.Whole grain and enriched products also contain fiber, iron, B vitamins, various minerals and protein. Fortified cereals can help you get enough folic acid.

Choose eight to nine servings of grains a day.

One serving equals:

1 cup cold cereal
1/2 cup cooked cereal, pasta or rice
1 slice bread
1/2 muffin
1/2 small bagel
6 crackers

Eat whole-grain cereals, brown rice, whole-wheat pasta and whole-grain bread instead of sweetened cereal and white bread.