Posts Tagged ‘babies’

The journey to well-being starts with simple steps

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

In my field of work, I usually get tired almost after every shift. Delivering babies is not easy. It takes all your energy especially when births have complications. I always remember, I don’t have to take fatigue lying down. There are many ways I can fight back: Eat a balanced diet. Get enough sleep as possible. Exercise regularly by walking or jogging each day. Have a positive attitude. And take multivitamins daily. It won’t just get me back on my feet. It made me feel like the world is at my feet.

What is Lactose Intolerance?

Tuesday, November 18th, 2008

In my field of practice, I only see few cases of lactose intolerance in babies. We need to know about it since we don’t know our own babies may have one. Lactose intolerance is the body’s reduced capacity to digest lactose the main sugar in dairy products.

Normally, lactose is digested by lactase, the enzyme present in the lining of the small intestine. A lactase deficiency prevents complete lactose absorption. Lactose intolerance affects around 70 percent of individuals worldwide.

The common symptoms are: babies may experience stomach pain, diarrhea, bloating, and gas or colic. These are due to the failure of the intestine to efficiently process lactose, resulting in frequent and acidic stools. Diarrhea causes fluid and electrolyte imbalance, which leads to dehydration and even death in severe cases.

Lactose intolerance appears to increase during childhood for unknown reasons. Late onset of lactase deficiency develops between three and five years of age. Most lactose- intolerant individuals are able to absorb 24 t0 36 percent of the quantity tolerated by normal individuals. This is a approximately equivalent to eight to 12 ounces of milk.

Bathing a baby

Friday, November 14th, 2008

100_2136I like bathing babies. Many times I let the fathers do the bathing of thier newborn babies. I really like teaching them how so that at home they will be the ones to bath their babies. I think that it is fair enough that fathers take care of that aspect. Their wives did all the work pushing their babies out. They deserve to have adequate rest and sleep. I usually tell the fathers that since babies are very fragile, they need to take every precaution in ensuring their baby’s comfort and safety. Some helpful reminders are :

• Choose a place to bathe the baby where it is warm and draft-free. It would be better if you keep the windows closed.
• See to it that baby’s bath time happens before feeding or when he’s not too hungry yet. Bathing him right after feeding may make him uncomfortable and he may spit up.
• Make sure that everything you need in bathing baby is close at hand, such as towels, cotton tips, a soft washcloth or sponge, a changing mat, clean baby clothes, and bathing products.
• To ensure that the water’s temperature is mild enough for baby, test the temperature of the bath water with the inside of your wrist first. To further prevent accidental burns, pour cold water in the tub.
• Always hold baby securely.
• Most importantly, never leave your baby alone.

The midwife

Friday, October 17th, 2008

Aside from being a nurse, I am also a midwife. I have some collections of medical novels and books.
My midwife friend told me that I should read this book entitled THE MIDWIFE by Gay Courter. Finally I found it in a small bookshop. A novel that I can relate with. This is not an ordinary book for me because I myself is a midwife. I have been looking for this book for a long time. This is a surging powerful and poignant novel of a courageous and dedicated woman, and of many people whose lives she touched, will move you to tears – tears of pain and sorrow – tears of pride and joy. I really like it.

It is a story of a young beautiful midwife who was driven by a passion to help other women bring their babies safely into the world. Every expectant mother she attended, from Russian noblewomen to prostitutes, revealed to her the perils and triumphs of her profession. She fought savage religious prejudice to gain medical training. She fought her own doubts and fears as she plunged into a forbidden love affair and an even more odds facing a Jewish immigrant and the bitter hostility of male doctors in turn-of-the country New York. She fought her burning dreams and desires. She fought and she won. A ‘must read’ book. It recreates a whole world of striving, of love, of lust, of life, death and birth.