Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is complex condition that refers to a person who has challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, and communication — both verbal and nonverbal. According to the Centers for Disease Control, autism affects an estimated 1 in 59 children in the United States. Signs of autism usually appear by 2-3 years of age, however some indicators can diagnose autism even earlier. For people with autism, research shows intervention is key to positive outcomes later in life.
In this week’s Baby Your Baby Podcast, Holly Menino sits down with Colin Kingsbury, the Autism Systems Development Program Manager at the Utah Department of Health, and Dr. Amanda Bakian, Principal Investigator of the CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Program in Utah. Together they discuss what parents need to know about autism spectrum disorder.
TheBaby Your Baby programprovides many resources for all pregnant women and new moms in Utah. There is also expert advice from the Utah Department of Health and Intermountain Healthcare that air each week onKUTV 2News.
It wasn’t what they ordered, but an extra chromosome is what they got. For Jessica and Josh Egan, the news that their baby had Down Syndrome was difficult to receive. However, they now see this change in their order as an upgrade — as described in their birth announcement.
In this week’s Baby Your Baby Podcast episode, Holly Menino sits down with Jessica and Josh Egan to talk about their journey to becoming parents. They talk about the emotional roller coaster they went through during IVF, pregnancy, genetic testing, discovering that Baby Gwen had an extra chromosome, and what it was like when they’re birth announcement went viral.
TheBaby Your Baby programprovides many resources for all pregnant women and new moms in Utah. There is also expert advice from the Utah Department of Health and Intermountain Healthcare that air each week onKUTV 2News.
It can be scary as both a parent and a kid if your child needs to have surgery. Many parents have questions about their child undergoing anesthesia. It can also be hard to describe and prepare your child for the experience.
In this week’s episode of the Baby Your Baby Podcast, Holly Menino heads up to Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital to talk with Dr. Erin Hinich, a pediatric anesthesiologist. Together they discuss what parents need to know about anesthesia and kids and how to help prepare your little one if they need surgery.
TheBaby Your Baby programprovides many resources for all pregnant women and new moms in Utah. There is also expert advice from the Utah Department of Health and Intermountain Healthcare that air each week onKUTV 2News.
Welcoming a new baby into your family is one of the most joyous experiences life has to offer, but it can also be one of the most stressful. Many new moms struggle with the baby blues after giving birth, and one in seven moms will suffer from postpartum depression.
Holly Menino sits down with Intermountain Medical Center’s Diana Jensen, RN in this week’s episode of the Baby Your Baby podcast to talk about Postpartum Depression and how new and expecting moms can manage their mental health by using the acronym SNOWBALL.
Take Care of Yourself – think SNOWBALL
Remember how to take care of yourself after birth by implementing SNOWBALL.
S is for Sleep – Make sure you’re getting enough rest. When you’re tired you aren’t thinking clearly and your mood may suffer.
N is for Nutrition – Eating food that’s good for you will help you recover and is especially important if you’re breastfeeding.
O is for Omega 3 Fatty Acids – Fish oils have been proven to reduce anxiety and depression in new moms.
W is for Walking – Exercise will improve your mood and help your body recover from giving birth.
B is for Baby Breaks – Take some time away from your baby. It can help you feel more like yourself again.
A is for Adult Time – Spending time with other adults your partner or your friends will help you maintain important relationships.
L is for Liquids – Try to drink at least two quarts of water daily.
L is for Laughter – Remember to laugh and give yourself a break. Life with a new baby requires a sense of humor.
If you or someone you know is experiencing postpartum depression, don’t wait until it’s an emergency!
TheBaby Your Baby programprovides many resources for all pregnant women and new moms in Utah. There is also expert advice from the Utah Department of Health and Intermountain Healthcare that air each week onKUTV 2News.
In the year 2000, measles was nearly eradicated in the United States according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Since then, measles outbreaks have been popping up all over the country despite a vaccine being available.
For this week’s Baby Your Baby Podcast, Holly Menino talks with Rich Lakin, the Utah Department of Health’s Immunization Program Manager, about why vaccines are so important to achieve community immunity against vaccine preventable diseases.
What can happen if a large number of people in a community aren’t vaccinated or choose not to vaccinate against preventable diseases like measles?
Community or herd immunity is a form of protection from a disease that occurs when a large percentage of the population has become immune to it, most often through vaccination. If a high enough number of people are vaccinated against vaccine preventable diseases, such as measles, this helps protect individuals who may not be able to receive a vaccine because of immunocompromised conditions. This means people who have a compromised immune system – for example, someone who has had an organ transplant or is receiving radiation or chemotherapy for cancer – can still be protected and have less chances of suffering from these diseases.
Some vaccine preventable diseases – such as measles – are so contagious that if one person has it, 90% of the people close to that person who are not immune to it will also become infected. This is what can happen during a measles outbreak. Infected people can spread measles to others from four days before, through four days after the rash appears.
People who have been vaccinated can still get measles, but there is only a small chance of this happening. Only about 3% of people who receive two doses of the measles vaccine will get measles if they come in contact with someone who has the virus. If a person is fully vaccinated, and does come down with measles, they are more likely to have a mild case of the illness.
So why do people who are vaccinated and come in contact with an infected person still run the risk of getting measles?
There is still a possibility because everyone’s uptake of a vaccine is different. One individual may only have a response rate of 70% when receiving the vaccine, and another person could have a response rate of 90%. If the person with a response rate of 70% is exposed, you could say that their chance is 30% higher of getting the disease than the person whose vaccine response rate is 90%. This does not mean the vaccine didn’t work.
Another consideration affecting the how much protection a vaccine will provide is storage and handling of the vaccine. If the vaccine is compromised because it wasn’t stored at the proper temperature or there were temperature changes during transportation, it could make it less effective.
The infectious nature of vaccine preventable diseases like measles makes it easy to spread in our communities if we are not properly vaccinated. That’s why we recommend everyone healthy enough to receive the vaccine get the full two doses of the MMR vaccine. Not only will this protect you from getting sick, but it will help protect your family and friends, neighbors, classmates, and coworkers.
The Baby Your Baby program provides many resources for all pregnant women and new moms in Utah. There is also expert advice from the Utah Department of Health and Intermountain Healthcare that air each week on KUTV 2News.
Is your child sick? If so, they might need some medicine. However, as a parent, it can sometimes be tricky to make sure they’re not getting too much or too little.
In this week’s Baby Your Baby Podcast episode, Holly Menino heads up to Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital to talk with Bevan Jensen, PharmD. Together they go through what parents need to know about giving medicine to young children.
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When giving medicine to kids, getting the dose right can be a challenge. Jensen has a few tips to make it a little bit easier for parents.
1. Avoid kitchen spoons
Spoons you would use to eat food are not a standard size. Instead, it’s best to use an oral syringe to keep your child safe and ensure they’re getting the right amount. If the medicine came with a dosing cup, then that is also appropriate.
2. Bottle stoppers
Bottle stoppers can make using an oral syringe much easier. To use…just stick the syringe into the stopper, flip the bottle upside-down, and then draw out the prescribed dose of medicine.
3. Read the label carefully
4. Keep medication away from kids
Lock up medicine and keep it up high when storing. Make sure all medicine has a safety cap — safety caps are not child-proof but are child-resistant.
5. Don’t mix medications
If your child has to take more than one medication — for example an antibiotic and something for pain — have a conversation with your pharmacist. Ask about whether you can give the medications at the same time or if they need to be spaced out. Talk about whether they should or should not have their medicine with food as well as proper spacing between doses.
6. Cough medicine is not recommended for young kids
There are risks to using cough medicine in children under the age of six, according to the FDA. For babies who are OVER the age of one, a spoonful of honey can help soothe the urge to cough.
If you have any questions about medicine as it relates to kids, talk to your pharmacist. They are an incredible resources and are happy to answer any questions you have.
If you accidentally give your child too much medicine, give the Utah Poison Control Center (UPCC) a call. They are available 24/7 at the number 1-800-222-1222.
The Baby Your Baby program provides many resources for all pregnant women and new moms in Utah. There is also expert advice from the Utah Department of Health and Intermountain Healthcare that air each week on KUTV 2News.
In this week’s episode of the Baby Your Baby Podcast, Holly Menino sits down with Nurse Dani from Intermountain Moms to talk about what a woman needs to do before pregnancy and what to do after finding out she’s pregnant.
What a woman needs to do before pregnancy:
The Centers for Disease Control has challenged women to make a PACT with themselves to do what it takes to be as healthy as possible before getting pregnant:
P-Planning Ahead
• Take a prenatal vitamin. Neural tube defects like spina bifida can result from not having enough folic acid in your system during the first couple of weeks following conception (before you even know you’re pregnant).
A—Avoiding Harmful Substances
• Avoid alcohol, tobacco products, illicit street drugs, and ask your doctor before taking over-the-counter and prescription medications as well as herbal supplements.
• Avoid exposure to radiation, toxic chemicals, and sexually transmitted infections.
C—Choose a Healthy Lifestyle
• Talk with your doctor before you get pregnant. Schedule a preconception appointment to have your blood pressure, thyroid, blood sugar, weight, and overall health checked. Exercise and eat a healthy diet
T—Talk with Your Healthcare Provider
• It’s important to be educated about risks that apply to everyone and risks that apply specifically to you. Risks specific to you will depend on your history: preterm labor, history of c/sections, history of preeclampsia, advanced age, obesity, etc.
• Your provider will talk about immunizations you should get during pregnancy such as the flu shot and a Tdap booster shot.
What a woman needs to do after finding out she’s pregnant:
That moment when you see a positive pregnancy test is quite possibly one of the most exciting moments women might experience. But after you see that, you may or may not know what to do next. Nurse Dani says women should — Take A STEP.
Take a prenatal vitamin
• Make sure that you’re taking a prenatal vitamin each day—one that has at least 400 micrograms of folic acid in it—to prevent spina bifida.
Avoid alcohol — there is no safe amount to consume while pregnant
• Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause lifelong physical, behavioral, and intellectual disabilities. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, and a range of lifelong physical, behavioral, and intellectual disabilities. These disabilities are known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs).
Schedule your first prenatal appointment
• Your first prenatal appointment should happen by the 13th week of pregnancy, and you should plan on having at least 13 appointments over the course of the pregnancy.
Think twice about all medications
• Talk with your doctor before taking prescription, over-the-counter, or herbal medications. They’ll decide what’s okay for pregnancy.
Exercise
Pick a Provider
• Make sure they’re covered by your insurance, their location is convenient and not too far from home, find out what hospital you’d like to deliver at and pick a provider that has privileges there, think about the dynamics of group coverage.
The Baby Your Baby program provides many resources for all pregnant women and new moms in Utah. There is also expert advice from the Utah Department of Health and Intermountain Healthcare that air each week on KUTV 2News.
Baby Your Baby is a program that focuses on making sure expecting mothers get recommended prenatal care. From financial help to preparing for pregnancy, Baby Your Baby helps guide new parents through the pregnancy process, birth, as well as the first few years of being a parent.
In this first episode of the Baby Your Baby Podcast, Holly Menino talks with Marie Nagata from the Utah Department of Health about the history of the Baby Your Baby program, resources available to new and expecting moms, as well as financial help available for low income women.
What is Baby Your Baby?
Baby Your Baby is a program at the Utah Department of Health to help low income women receive prenatal care early on in their pregnancy. Baby Your Baby pays for doctor’s visits until a woman can get on Medicaid. Every woman should see her doctor as soon as she knows she’s pregnant. The program does not want anyone to wait to see a doctor, while she is waiting on paperwork to go through.
Thirteen Weeks and Thirteen Visits:
All pregnant women should have their first doctor’s appointment by their 13th week of pregnancy and visit their doctor at least 13 times throughout their pregnancy.
Most first time moms are good about going to their doctor throughout their pregnancy. The problem most often seen with women not getting the prenatal care they need, usually comes with moms who are having their 2nd, 3rd or 4th baby. Sometimes women think that because their other pregnancies were fine, this one will be the same. Every pregnancy, and every baby, are different.
It is important that with every pregnancy, a woman sees her doctor before the 13th week of pregnancy, and at least 13 times throughout her pregnancy. Testing for things like Gestational Diabetes and other health problems that often occur during pregnancy is important to the health of your baby. Using Gestational Diabetes as an example, we see many women who haven’t had Gestational Diabetes during previous pregnancies, who get it during their 3rd or 4th pregnancy. Gestational Diabetes can have severe health effects on both mother and baby, so it’s important to see your doctor and make sure you are getting the right tests. This is just one example of something that could show up in one pregnancy and not have occurred in another. That is why it is so important to make sure you are seeing your doctor 13 times during your pregnancy.
Getting signed up for Baby Your Baby:
Getting signed up for Baby Your Baby is easy. You can call 1-800-826-9662 or apply online.
Resources:
Even if you don’t qualify for financial help through the Baby Your Baby program, there are many resources for all pregnant women and new moms in Utah.
The Baby Your Baby website contains resources with information from before you get pregnant, until your baby is 5 years old.
There is also expert advice from the Utah Department of Health and Intermountain Healthcare that air each week on KUTV 2News.
