All new moms and breastfeeding moms know that providing the proper nutrition to your growing baby is extremely important. Receiving adequate nutrition in the first few years of life is essential for building strong bones, healthy immune systems and robust minds in babies and toddlers. Luckily, breastmilk is the gold standard of infant nutrition. This…

While remaining moderately popular and the most cost-efficient and nutritious way to feed a growing infant, breastfeeding still struggles with popularity across some groups. Due to a lack of social support and opportunity, some mothers do not have the desire or ability to breastfeed their infant sons and daughters—but the research shows that both mother…

Hormone changes immediately following pregnancy and labor are very common. The brain of a pregnant individual is almost soaked in a cocktail of hormones for nine months, and in a matter of days following birth, hormones that have been surrounding the brain disappear. Sometimes this causes a drastic shift in the mental state of an…

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a condition in which the force of blood through arteries and veins is too great, causing pressure on blood vessels. The condition is serious and needs monitoring under the best of circumstances, but especially in at-risk populations and those women who are pregnant. Pregnancy takes its toll on a…

Every four and a half minutes, a baby is born in the United States with a birth defect. These defects may affect how the body looks or operates—and range from mild to severe. Some defects are very visible and can be noticed immediately, like cleft palate or Down syndrome. Some must be found using special…

Every year in the United States, nearly half a million babies die from illnesses related to premature birth. Premature birth is the number one cause of death of babies in the United States—one of the worst among high-resource nations like the U.S. A premature baby is defined as one who is born too early–before 37…

As a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) nurse, no two days are alike. One of the misconceptions people have about being a NICU nurse is that they are just changing diapers and bottle feeding all day; they think the work is easy. However, that is far from the truth. Although the days vary greatly in…

August is National Breastfeeding Month, and nobody knows the importance of breastfeeding more than mothers. Breast milk is a nutritional powerhouse for infants and can provide babies with complete nutrition and protects both mothers and children against illnesses. Breastfeeding protects babies from ear infections and diarrhea, and breastfed babies are at lower risk for serious…

Birth defects are devastating to most families. Everyone wants a healthy baby, but when a major birth defect occurs it can cause tremendous emotional strain on families and bring lifelong challenges to the child. We as physicians try to comfort many families by explaining that many defects are caused by factors out of our control,…