Is a Vegetarian Diet During Pregnancy Healthy?

During pregnancy, a woman is encouraged to follow a healthy lifestyle, including making dietary changes as needed. Women who are vegetarian may become confused about whether continuing their vegetarian diet is actually healthy. Many such women will hear from friends, family, and health care professionals that being vegetarian is “unsafe” for both mother and baby. This can leave them feeling seriously conflicted. For long-time vegetarians, it can be especially disheartening when being vegetarian is not simply a diet, but a lifestyle. (more…)

Typical Communication Development in Children, Part III (Ages 3-5)

In previous posts, the benefits of parental familiarity with a growing child’s hearing, speech, and language development were discussed, specifically as guidelines for pediatricians and other health and education professionals with which to monitor the child’s progress or delay, and offer help if necessary. This final post in a three-part series will cover the basic benchmarks of communication for preschool-age children. (more…)

Typical Communication Development in Children, Part II

If you are a parent, it is good to be familiar with the basic benchmarks for hearing, speech, and language development as a child gets older. The benchmarks serve as guidelines for pediatricians and other health and education professionals with which to monitor the child’s progress or delay, and offer help if necessary. In this second post of a three-part series, I will cover the basic benchmarks for toddlers. (more…)

Mental Health: It’s an important issue for kids too

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services have designated Thursday, May 8, 2014 as National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day. The goal is to raise awareness about the importance of children’s mental health and that positive mental health is essential to a child’s healthy development from birth
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Making Breast Milk: You’ll Have Plenty for Your Newborn Baby

At Mount Sinai Beth Israel, we place every healthy, full-term baby skin to skin (baby naked, not wrapped in a blanket) with his or her mother immediately after birth. The skin-to-skin contact warms the baby and stimulates the release of oxytocin and prolactin—the hormones responsible for milk production—in the mother.

The more skin-to-skin contact a mother has with her baby, the more stable (heart rate, breathing, body temperature, blood pressure) baby is, and the more breast milk mother makes. Babies who are held skin to skin cry very infrequently, and so do not lose body heat. Babies held skin to skin also have stable blood sugar levels, preventing the need for supplemental milk. (more…)

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