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Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, president of the March of Dimes, is a guest on the weekly podcast called Pregtastic, a series by and for pregnant women, which began on Monday, October 2nd.
In the first episode of this new forum, Dr. Howse discussed newborn screening and why it's important that every newborn receive 29 recommended tests.
Great advances are being made in newborn screening. More and more states are now screening for 21 of the 29 disorders that can be successfully managed or treated if diagnosed early. More than 71 percent of all babies born in the U.S., now are screened, over twice as many as last year.
The show is casual, informative and fun. The hosts are "real" pregnant women who have the same concerns and joys as their listeners.
Folic Acid
Folic acid, a B vitamin, helps prevent birth defects of
the brain and spinal cord when taken very early in pregnancy.
It is available in most multivitamins, as a folic acid-only
supplement and in some foods.
The March
of Dimes encourages all women of childbearing age
to take a multivitamin containing 400 micrograms of folic
acid every day, as part of a healthy diet.
Most multivitamins
have this amount, but check the label to be sure. A healthy
diet includes foods that contain folate, the natural form
of the vitamin. Such foods include fortified breakfast
cereals, beans, leafy green vegetables and orange juice.
Choosing a Multivitamin
Healthy foods, such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables,
are the best sources of vitamins and minerals.
But because
it is sometimes hard to get all the nutrients we need
from food, all adults should take one multivitamin per
day.
The March
of Dimes recommends that all women of childbearing
age take a multivitamin with 400 micrograms of folic acid
every day, as part of a healthy diet.
Preterm Birth
March of Dimes - Babies born before 37 completed
weeks of pregnancy are called premature or preterm.
In the United States, 1 in 8 babies is born prematurely.
Babies born preterm are at risk for serious health problems.
Those born earliest are at greater risk of medical complications,
long-term disabilities and death.
The earlier a child is born, the less she will weigh,
the less developed her organs will be, and the more
complications she is likely to face. These babies may
require care in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
These units have specialized medical staff and equipment
that can deal with the multiple problems that premature
infants face.
Make a donation to the March
of Dimes
- and the value of your contribution will be matched,
dollar-for-dollar up to $50,000, thanks to a generous
grant from MedImmune, Inc.
Why Prenatal Care?
March
of Dimes - All mothers-to-be benefit from prenatal
care. Pregnant women who see a health care provider regularly
have healthier babies, are less likely to deliver prematurely,
and are less likely to have other serious problems related
to pregnancy. The goal of prenatal care is to monitor
the progress of pregnancy and to identify problems before
they become serious for either mom or baby.
The March
of Dimes
goal is to raise awareness of the problem of prematurity
to 60 percent among women of childbearing age and 50 percent
among the general public by 2010. Please click here to
learn how you can help us save babies.
Feel the excitement and happiness when naming babies.
Let this
largest database of baby names give you a head start!
Choosing a name for your new son or daughter is one of the most exciting and
important tasks for any parent to be. Our names are a major part of our identity,
and quite often our name is a symbolic connection to the past, or our parents'
hopes and dreams for our future at the time of our birth.
Some parents select names with no connection to their family or a family member,
instead choosing to bestow a meaningful name upon their child that relates to
their beliefs, the season of birth, or simply a name they feel very good about
and want to use for their child.
Some names have similar versions for boys or girls. My parents named me "Lee"
at a time when very few women had the name spelled this way.
They wanted me
to have the advantages of a man when I entered the worlds of education and work,
and they wanted me to have a unique name that was just a little bit different
from the more common versions in the 1950s. It did help me get my foot in the
door as a programmer and artist, although in middle school I was sometimes mistakenly
assigned to the boys' gym classes at the start of a new school year. Today,
"Lee" is a popular second (or middle) name for girls in the US, but
not nearly as common for boys as it was in the last century.
Whatever name you grace upon your little one, be sure to think about how that
name will "fit" after your child has grown to adulthood and must live
with the moniker you selected.
Many online resources exist to help you in the task of choosing a name for
your child. Some include information about current or past popularity, or the
female and male versions of an older name. Others present the origin of the
name and offer its translated or symbolic meaning in various cultures.
So, when it came to naming my first son, my wife had about a
million ideas, picking everything from Clarence to Icarus to
Zavier.
I
think in her mind, she was imagining telling her girlfriends
the great news about our son's name, and something like Cyril
would make them think "Wow, that is such a unique and interesting
name. I wish I had a stylish name like that for my son"
However, as a guy, I think we have a different approach.
We choose names for our offspring based on several key factors:
1. What name would establish our kid as the leader of the pack
in school, and not as someone that everybody loves to pick on.
So Clarence and Icarus is out unless your kid is built like
a tank and already sporting a fully grown beard at birth. Swirling
around my head were strong names like Bruce, Gordon, Jake, and
Wolfrider. ( ok, my wife probably wouldn't go for the last one.
)
2. Next, it's important for us to imagine what our yet to be
born son will grow up to be. If he’s going to be a hairdresser
or a fashion designer then something like Georgio, Zavier, or
Ralph might work, but for me, I want my son to grow up to be
some sort of sports personality ( like a million other father’s
out there ), so my new name options included Bobby, Oscar, Dan
and……Wolf. ( can’t get away from that one, but imagine…..Wolf
Henderson…..MVP 4 years in a row……Sports-star, Legend, Hero
)
3. After that, it’s important for me to consider the fact that
my kid will grow up…..hit his rebellious teens, and will resent
me for the name I choose for him. The name can’t be too common,
and it can’t be too “out there”. In other words….I can’t win
here. No matter what name I choose, my kid will pull it apart.
What’s really important is to choose a name that he won’t hate
me for after he passes those “oh so wonderful” teenage years.
In my mind, those are the key factors for what I name my son.
When he grows up, I want him to say “Thanks dad, for giving
me my name. I never got picked on in school, my name has established
me in my job as a football legend, and I couldn’t have picked
a better name myself. It’s everything I would want in a name”
So….I’ve settled on Tom. You can’t go wrong with Tom, however,
my wife still wants Cyril ( which sounds like a villain name
to me, from some movie ).
Anyway, my wife and I still have a month to make the final decision
for our little bundle of joy.
I wish you all the luck in your baby name selection process.
About the Author: Jacob Henderson is a successful writer,
publisher and soon to be dad.
He writes articles for http://www.oddbaby.com
Contact him on jacob@oddbaby.com
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Donor
Sibling Registry helps children conceived through
the process of artificial insemination from donor sperm
to locate their genetic siblings - individuals who share
the same genetic father.
Expecting
a Baby and New Baby
