Keeping Your Child Healthy and Safe
"Making the decision to have a child—it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking outside your body."
—Elizabeth Stone
I've been an advocate of breast feeding ever since I belonged to the first La Leche League in California more than forty years ago (which gives you can idea of how ancient I am). Even nursed a set of twins. On the other hand, I'm not a fanatic and believe you aren't a bad mother if you choose not to nurse.
I do know, however, that if you're able to get past some of the initial difficulties that can occur, there are few parenting experiences more satisfying than having your baby look up at you with a dribble of milk coming out of her mouth and smiling at the source of her comfort. You can even learn how to nurse in public without exposing yourself, which is one of the great benefits of nursing—no bottles to haul around.
So if you're having difficulty with engorgement, mastitis, cracked nipples, or just want encouragement from mothers who've been there, I recommend you contact La Leche League International and/or use the Breastfeeding Discussion Group on BabyCenter where, from time to time, a nurse and lactation consultant will drop in and answer some of your questions.
Another health issue I know something about has to do with choking hazards. A friend told me her children liked to play with cellophane because it crinkled and had an interesting texture. So when my oldest daughter was eight months old, I gave her some. Unfortunately, my daughter, unlike my friend's children, took a bite out the cellophane and got it stuck in her mouth. Fortunately, I was in the room with her and, after frantically reaching inside her mouth and removing the piece, I decided to be more vigilant. You can learn how to prevent your child from being one of those who dies each year from choking from dangerous toys, foods, and household items at Preventing Choking Among Infants and Young Children and Choking Prevention in Young Children.
My last personal comment before giving you links to general health websites has to do with immunization. I believe there is a great deal of controversy in this area because it's often hard to distinguish real science and pseudo-hopeful-science.You see, I've had a great deal of experience, as therapist and as co-founder of two cancer support organizations, in dealing with patients who are attracted to alternative treatment, even when the statistics are clearly on the side of standard treatment. I understand how fear can distort one's ability to objectively weigh different points of view.
I also understand the fear of vaccinations, for there is something in human nature that responds to claims by those who "know" vaccines cause autism, even though the facts from a broad consensus of scientific research indicates otherwise. So if you are considering not having your child vaccinated, consider some statistics that are clearly on the side of vaccinations. In the United States in 1952, before the polio vaccine, polio paralyzed more than 21,000 people. In the early 1940s, there was an average of 175,000 cases of whooping cough per year, resulting in the deaths of 8,000 children annually. However, due to vaccination, smallpox has been eradicated, polio has been eliminated, and only 1 case of diphtheria, 86 cases of measles, 238 cases of rubella, and 8 cases of congenital rubella syndrome were reported in 1999.
The National Network of Immunization Organization does not receive funding from either vaccine manufacturing companies or the Federal Government. What it does, however, is to provide up-to-date, science-based information to healthcare professionals, the media, and the public on the facts about a wide range of vaccines and immunizations. You owe it to yourself and to your child to check out all the facts on this vaccination website.
While there are thousands of websites offering general health information for babies and children, here are three I believe are worth visiting. On the BabyCenter website you have to contend with pop up messages before you can read some pages, but other than that, you will find good information on common physical symptoms such as abdominal pain, breathing difficulties, coughing, wheezing, diarrhea, fever and rash or skin conditions and what you can do to help. Pediatrician Vincent Iannelli's Keep Kids Healthy site follows the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics with lots of good information. And finally, the Dr. Paul website, created by Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, with a long list of credentials behind his name, has excellent fact sheets on everything from antibiotic use to winter safety precautions.
SIDEBAR TO ABOVE ARTICLE:
Are Electric Toys Safe for Your Kids?
Electric toys and other electrically operated products intended for use by children can be extremely hazardous and cause electric shock, burns, and cuts from sharp edges and dangerous moving parts. Read The Dangers of Electric Toys to learn how you can prevent toys from becoming a source of pain.
Preventing Drowning INSIDE the Home
Most parents are aware of the dangers of backyard pools. Yet while about 250 children under 5-years-old drown in pools nationwide each year, about 115 additional young children drown in other products in and around the homes—including bathtubs, buckets, toilets, hot tubs, spas and other containers. In-Home Drowning Prevention Tips will help you keep your child safe.
New Poll Shows Few Understand Bed-Wetting
Yes, you expect your baby to have wet diapers, but five to seven million children wake up every morning in a wet bed. A new survey of 9,000 families found that despite the prevalence of the primary nocturnal enuresis (PNE) or bed wetting, only some parents understand that the condition may be medical—not behavioral—and that it can be treated.