Since the 1930’s Finland has provided a maternity package to all new parents. These government issued cardboard boxes contain only a handful of items, but each and every necessity item ensures that all children, no matter what their family background, receive everything they need to be safely and accurately cared for.
Congenital heart disease, a birth defect that causes infants to be born with structural heart problems, is one of the most common types of birth defects in the world today. The defect can be so serious that it threatens or claims the life of the young child. No one really knows why some children are born with it, but after a recent study, published in the online version of the journal Nature, they are now one step closer.
Even in developed countries, things can go wrong during delivery. In the case of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, the condition is caused by a lack of oxygen to the baby’s brain. In developed countries, the complication is often caused by a knotted umbilical cord or a problem with the mother’s placenta during delivery.
Foxes have always been night predators. In the olden days, they snuck onto farms and snatched up unsuspecting chickens. But these sly and stealthy creatures have recently ventured into cities. Recently, they’ve snatched up a new form of prey – one that may very well strike fear in the hearts of parents everywhere.
Newborns in developed countries often have the best fighting chance of survival, thanks to the miracles of modern medicine. But even some of the simplest complications can mean a negative birth outcome for children in developing countries. The most common complication, birth asphyxia – a condition in which the baby is born not breathing – causes countless newborn deaths each year.
What makes one child more stressed than his or her peers? Is it nature or nurture? Genetics or hormone imbalances? Many have sought out the answers to these questions, but the data still comes up mixed. Some have found that nurture is more important while others are convinced that nature is more influential on the emotional development of a child.
Current research supports the idea that infants learn language after they are born. However, a recent study form the University of Washington, as well as a couple of other studies, has recently led scientists to believe that language development actually starts while still in the womb.
For new parents (or even parents who have a few children under their belts), the awareness of certain conditions like SIDS can lead to worry and sleepless nights. You check on the baby frequently, you watch for breath sounds, and when you finally try to fall asleep, you may even have a heavy feeling of anxiety in your chest.
Hydrocephalus, otherwise known as water on the brain, affects between one and three newborn infants out of 1,000 born. While it remains one of the most common types of brain abnormalities in newborns today, the treatment for this neurological disorder have changed very little over the last half a century.
Swaddling isn’t a new trend. In fact, it is one of the longest-standing methods for making a baby feel safe, comfortable and warm. But over the years, doctors have learned something very important about swaddling, and it’s something that every new parent should know.
Back in June 2011, the CDC recommended that all pregnant women receive a one-time Tdap vaccine if they had not previously received it. That recommendation has now been replaced in an effort to contain the widespread pertussis (whooping cough) outbreak; health officials now say women should receive the vaccine during each and every pregnancy, regardless of whether or not she’s received the vaccine before.
When to cut a baby’s umbilical cord has long been a topic of debate; while most doctors and midwives still follow the recommended protocol of 30 seconds after birth, there are others that have claimed for years that there are benefits to waiting.
For two years, Isabella has held the top spot for baby girl names, but it now it sits in the number two spot after being replaced by Sophia. For boys, Jacob still holds the number one spot, a trend that has been going strong for thirteen years now.
