Healthcare providers typically recommend them for people who are trying to conceive, are already pregnant, or are breastfeeding. They ensure these patients get ample amounts of the vitamins and minerals that are essential to pregnancy and the postpartum period. While supplements aren’t FDA-regulated or standardized, most prenatal vitamins look a lot like other types of vitamins with extra folic acid, iron, and iodine. “From a population perspective, we can’t ensure pregnant women are consuming these nutrients through food in appropriate doses,” explains Amy M....

There are several possible reasons for this. For example, unlike traditional bullying—which is often limited to school and known bullies—cyberbullying can occur at any time, day or night, and be perpetrated by anonymous sources. This makes it more relentless and, often, more cruel. Even the type of victimization may impact the severity of its consequences. For instance, one study found that online pictures and posts were more damaging than harassment received through text messaging or phone calls....

Below our experts explain what it means when you have protein in your urine during pregnancy, when protein in urine may be a problem, and how conditions related to protein in urine during pregnancy are treated. What Does Protein in Urine Mean? In a non-pregnant individual, a normal amount of protein in urine would be about 150mg/day. But when you are pregnant, that number can increase to up to 300mg/day....

Yet, psychologists and educators have researched gifted children enough to provide a profile of the traits these children tend to have. Schools look at these traits along with IQ tests and other achievement scores to help them identify gifted students. The federal government does not mandate gifted programs in schools, and only 29 states have mandates and/or funds earmarked for gifted programming. Your principal or school district administrator can provide details on the gifted education available at your child’s school....

Let’s look at what authoritative parenting is, how it affects kids, and how you can adopt aspects of this style into your parenting. What You Need to Know Authoritative parenting is a parenting style that values connection but does not shy away from rules or authority. Authoritative parenting is defined as a parenting or caregiving style in which caregivers are nurturing, responsive, and supportive in their interactions with their children, while also balancing that warmth with firm (yet safe) and consistent limit setting,” says Ciera Schoonover, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist and assistant professor in the department of psychology at Middle Tennessee State University....

“In my current patient panel, I might have 1 to 2% of patients using elimination communication for toilet training,” says Virginia-based pediatrician Florencia Segura, MD, FAAP. “These patients are usually international and grew up with this style of toilet training at home.” However, EC is becoming more common—and a growing number of pediatricians are challenging the traditional method of toilet training as the only method. “Elimination training can be an effective way of encouraging spontaneous voiding and stooling physiologically at a younger age,” says Dr....

Why It’s Important According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 23% of deliveries in the United States are induced. There are several methods to encourage labor, but in medical settings, one of the most commonly used is the drug Pitocin. In fact, according to the National Partnership for Women and Families, 63% of induced labors include the use of Pitocin. Uses for Pitocin There are many reasons Pitocin is used to induce labor....

Because it can start during pregnancy (peripartum period), the condition is also referred to as Peripartum Cardiomyopathy. Typically, PPCM begins shortly after giving birth. PPCM is defined as idiopathic cardiomyopathy as the cause is not always known. With diminished heart function and blood flow, the heart is unable to deliver sufficient oxygen to the body’s organs and adversely affects the pulmonary and cardiovascular systems, liver and other systems. The incidence of PPCM is rare in the United States; PPCM is diagnosed between 1 in 1141 to 1 in 4350 live births each year....

While food allergies cause an immune response, the reactions caused by food sensitivities are more general, and often more subtle, says Camila Martin, MSRDN, CL, a pediatric clinical nutritionist at UW Health in Madison, Wisconsin. Food sensitivities are particularly common in babies who may react to something in their formula or breast milk, says Martin. Learn more about food sensitivity, how it’s diagnosed, and treatment options. What is a Food Sensitivity?...

The more you know, the better you will be able to handle breastfeeding during this critical time when you are more likely to throw in the towel because you don’t think you’re doing it right. Here’s what to expect from moments after delivery. In the Delivery Room Within the first two hours or so after birth, babies seek comfort in their mother’s breast. Their instinct is to latch on and suck, so right after delivery is typically the best time to first nurse your baby....

Laparoscopy allows a healthcare provider see the abdominal organs and sometimes make repairs, without making a larger incision that can require a longer recovery time and hospital stay. Whether or not diagnostic laparoscopy should be done in people with infertility is controversial. Laparoscopic surgery to help diagnosis a cause for infertility is performed only after other infertility testing has been completed, or if symptoms warrant testing. Laparoscopy should not be done routinely, however....

As your due date draws near, you wonder if your contractions are signs of “false labor” or if they are “real” contractions. As early labor ramps up, you wonder if your contractions are becoming frequent enough to head to the hospital. Once you are having regular contractions, you hope they are doing the work of dilating your cervix and allowing your baby to descend through the birth canal. Yes, contractions can be uncomfortable and painful (to put it mildly!...

Burping is a normal and healthy part of a baby’s routine. You may not have ever thought about helping someone burp before you had a baby, but infants are pretty helpless and very often need assistance bringing up a burp. “Babies can swallow air when they are feeding and burping allows them to get rid of this air,” explains Loretta Cody, MD, a Connecticut-based pediatrician. We tapped a few experts to learn about all kinds of burping—after breastfeeding, bottle feeding, formula feeding, and more....

When you consider the cost of some of this baby gear and the space it takes up in your home, it’s understandable to want to throw your hands up in frustration. And that does not even cover the process of trying to pack for a baby while traveling. This is where baby gear rentals come in. You can find several companies across the country that rent out products in an effort to streamline one aspect of parenting....

But don’t rush into bath time without first learning how to bathe your baby. Over the first year of your baby’s life, you will need to transition from sponge baths to the baby bathtub to the big bathtub. Learn how to safely keep your baby clean and when your baby is ready for the big bathtub. Sponge Baths for Your Newborn Baby When you bring your little one home, they will most likely still have a stump from their umbilical cord....

It may take a pregnant person anywhere from 13 to 25 weeks to begin feeling their fetus move, depending on a number of factors. But it will take longer before anyone can feel the baby kick from the outside. Though it can vary from one pregnancy to another, on average others around you can begin to feel a fetus move around the end of the second trimester or near the beginning of the third trimester (weeks 28 to 32)....

To determine an appropriate bedtime, look at your morning schedule and subtract 10 hours from your child’s wake-up time. While an 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. bedtime may seem impossible, you can get there. Tips for Helping Your Child Get to Sleep Without Trouble Here are some tips to help your child get to sleep faster for a full night’s rest. Make Sleep a Family Priority It will be hard for him to wind down if there is a lot of adult activity going on lately....

Additionally, you want your car seat to be as safe as possible for your little one. But a used car seat may have expired, been recalled, have missing or broken pieces, or been involved in a crash. It’s always better to buy a new seat over a used one, and there are ways to find inexpensive or even free car seats. Why New Car Seats Are Safer A car seat’s primary job is to keep your child safe when they are riding in a car....

The study, presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology’s ESMO Congress 2021, found that keeping children in the dark about a parent’s bout with cancer can have a detrimental impact on their mental and emotional well-being. Although it can be difficult to have the discussion, resources from doctors to therapists can help parents have that critical talk with their kids. The Study Researchers from Institute Salah Azaiez examined a study sample of 103 Tunisian parents diagnosed with cancer....

Group B Strep (GBS) You will most likely be tested for Group B Strep at the end of your pregnancy, typically between weeks 34-36. If you are positive for GBS during that test you will most like receive antibiotics in labor via your IV or saline lock. You may also be given antibiotics if you have given birth to a baby who contracted GBS. Prophylactic for Just in Case In some birth situation, you may be given antibiotics just in case, an example might be for a cesarean section or c-section....