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When you find out you’re pregnant you are faced with many choices. One of those choices is whether to have a physician or midwife care for you during your pregnancy and birth. Depending on where you live, you might think that only physicians care for women in pregnancy but, midwives are a safe choice for most women.

Jade Elliott sits down with certified nurse midwife, Emily Hart Hayes from Intermountain Healthcare , on this episode of the Baby Your Baby Podcast to discuss the philosophy of midwifery, what to look for and when you are considering who to care for you and your baby during pregnancy and birth.

In the U.S., certified nurse midwives and certified midwives attend 8 percent of births and the rate is about 12 percent if you look at just vaginal births. In Utah, midwives attend about 10 percent of births.

The advantages of seeing a midwife

Typically, midwives allow more time during prenatal visits and can also provide additional support during labor and birth. Midwives provide the same prenatal screening tests physicians do, including lab tests, ultrasounds, blood pressure checks, and monitoring for complications. Midwives generally have the philosophy to use interventions judiciously. For example, they may not break your bag of waters to speed up the birth process as long as labor is progressing normally.

Midwives offer continuous labor support and that has been shown to decrease the chance of Caesarean section. Midwives will typically intervene as needed. They can prescribe medications and use medications to induce labor. They care for women who are laboring with or without epidural anesthesia for pain relief, and they may recommend a c-section be performed. Midwives generally don’t do a routine episiotomy or order a routine hydration IV, although an IV may routinely be placed for emergencies. They allow moms to eat and drink during normal labor if they desire.

Midwives provide general women’s care and can manage some complications during pregnancy

Midwives may care for you if you have health problem that arises before or during your pregnancy, whether independently or jointly with an OB/Gyn or maternal fetal medicine specialist. They care for women with gestational diabetes and pregnancy induced high blood pressure, depending on the setting, and they can attend births for women who have had a previous Cesarean birth.

There are even midwives who work collaboratively with physicians who jointly care for women with high risk chronic conditions such as Type 1 diabetes, high blood pressure, or autoimmune diseases.

Midwives aren’t just for pregnancy and birth. You can also see a midwife for general women’s primary care and gynecological issues such as pap smears, annual exams, birth control and family planning, immunizations including the HPV vaccine, and breast exams. Midwives care for women throughout the lifespan, from puberty to menopause and beyond. And yes, there are some male midwives.

To learn more about midwives or to find one in your area, click here.

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.

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November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month. Epilepsy is prevalent worldwide.

Jade Elliott sits down with Margo Thurman, Executive Director, Epilepsy Foundation of Utah, on this episode of the Baby Your Baby Podcast to discuss epilepsy, when it begins and some of the causes.

In the U. S., 3.4 million have epilepsy. In Utah, approximately 30,000. Worldwide there are 65 million people living with epilepsy.  33 1/3 % of those with autism have epilepsy and 1 in every 5 of those with TBI have epilepsy. There are approximately 470,000 children under 17 years of age in the U.S. have active epilepsy.

What is epilepsy?

• Epilepsy is the most common brain disorder – with no age, racial, social class, national or geographic boundaries. Any one of us can get epilepsy.
• Epilepsy is complex and there are many different types of epilepsy. Seizures are a symptom of epilepsy.

When does epilepsy begin for most people?

• Epilepsy can begin at any age.
• About 50 % of cases begin in infancy, childhood and adolescence

What are some causes of epilepsy? Causes before age 1 can include:

• a newborn illness;
• abnormal brain development;
• a genetic disorder;
• encephalitis (infection of brain)
• meningitis (infection of membranes covering the brain)
• febrile illness related seizures (febrile seizures)

What are febrile seizures?

• Children 3 months to 6 years may have seizures with a high fever, these are called febrile seizures. This is more likely to happen to children with a family history of febrile seizures.
• Febrile Seizures occur in 2% to 5% of all children – (2 to 5 out of 100 children)
• Among children who have their first seizure before their 1st birthday, 50 % will have at least one more.

What can parents do if their child has a febrile seizure?

• If child has frequent febrile seizures, talk to your health care team about the best approach to prevent/treat seizures.

Can febrile seizures be cured?

• Children have best chance of becoming seizure free if they have early intervention with a specialist trained in epilepsy and seizures.

What is the basic thing to remember when a seizure happens?

• If your child has a febrile seizure, administer seizure first aid — Stay, Safe, Side
• Stay with your child and start timing seizure
• Keep your child Safe by moving them away from harmful objects
• Turn them on their side and place something small and soft under their head
• If seizures last longer than 5 minutes call 911 or take them to the emergency room
• If your child is walking around, carefully follow them

To contact the Epilepsy Foundation of Utah, call 801-455-6089 or email utah@efa.org

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.

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Traveling with babies can be both fun and stressful.

Jade Elliott sat down with Kaitlin Carpenter, MD, a pediatrician with Intermountain Healthcare, on this episode of the Baby Your Baby Podcast to discuss some helpful tips to make the travel process more manageable.

Car rides

• Make sure that infants are always in a rear-facing car seat. Get a mirror on the back window or seat so that you can see your baby. Keep the environment comfortable and be prepared to sing silly songs for several hours.

• Do not feed your baby in a moving car. Schedule feeding breaks for babies when they are very young.

• For babies that are getting more mobile (think toddlers), it is important to have “wiggle breaks” every few hours. It can be great to find some place every 2-3 hours that has a park for them to get out and run.

• Toys and snacks are vital. Don’t think you will get to listen to your podcast, you’re more likely to listen to Mahna Mahna by the Muppets for 45 minutes straight, but if the baby is happy,  it is worth it.

Plane rides

• Make sure your infant or toddler has something to chew on during takeoff and landing to help pop ears.

1. If you are breastfeeding, breastfeed during takeoff and landing (if the baby is awake).
2. Often infants will fall asleep because the white noise and vibration are soothing, so don’t wake them up to feed them during landing.
3. For toddlers I like to bring fruit snacks because they make them chew and taste good without making a huge mess.

• Eliminate limits to screen time on an airplane. Have a tablet ready and watch away. Have your child practice using headphones before your trip.

• Bring an empty water bottle to fill up before the flight for a toddler.

• Kids ages 1-2 years are often the biggest challenge. If you can afford to get them a seat, please do. Try to set limits for the important things (kicking the chair in front of them), but let them have some leeway if possible (playing peekaboo with people around them).

• Everyone has been that parent who stands and paces for an entire flight with a screaming toddler. Remember: It is always worse for you than it is for everyone else. Take a deep breath. The flight will eventually end.

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.

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Having a baby is a major life change and a big adjustment, not just for moms, but for dads too. Being a postpartum parent puts you at slightly higher risk of depression. We hear a lot about postpartum depression in moms, but dads can have it too.

Jade Elliott sat down with Anna McMillan, LCSW, Intermountain Healthcare, to discuss the signs and symptoms of postpartum depression in dads on this episode of the Baby Your Baby Podcast.

10.4% of new fathers experience depression compared to 4.8% of the general male population.

If a mother has postpartum depression, it may increase the likelihood the father will have postpartum depression. In the 12 months following a child’s birth, it’s estimated rates of depression range from 24 to 50 percent for fathers whose spouses experience maternal postpartum depression.

Symptoms of postpartum depression in men:

They may not cry but may feel:

• Frustrated
• Irritable
• Detached
• Angry
• Impulsive

May be more likely to:

• Engage in substance use or domestic violence
• Feel excluded from mother-baby bonding
• Discourage their partner from breastfeeding

Risk factors that can contribute to depression in new or soon-to-be fathers include:

• Personal or family history of depression
• Unemployment or feeling overwhelmed with expectations of your role as provider or father
• Missing attention and/or sex from your partner
• Feeling excluded from the bond between mom and baby
• Lack of sleep after the baby is born
• Stressful birthing experience, baby with special needs
• Conflict between how you feel you should be as a man and how you are
• Lack of social or emotional support

Where can you go for help if you need urgent mental health treatment for PPD or other behavioral health issues?

Intermountain LDS Hospital in Salt Lake, McKay Dee Hospital in Ogden and Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George offer walk in behavioral health access centers that are open 24 hours. Behavioral Health Access Centers provide psychiatric and crisis care for individuals 18 years and older.

Click here for locations.

You can also call the CrisisLine at (801) 587-3000.

Other resources for about dads and postpartum depression include:

http://postpartumdads.org/

http://postpartum.org/services/dads/signs-of-ppd-anxiety-in-men/

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.

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A home-visiting program called Parents as Teachers is available for most families.

The program  provides parents with child development knowledge and parenting support, so they can provide early detection of developmental delays and health issues, prevent child abuse and neglect, and increase their children’s school readiness.

On this week’s episode of the Baby Your Baby Podcast, Mandi Peck, a health educator with the Salt Lake County Health Department, explains how this program works and why it’s a useful tool for parents.

PAT gives parents individualized, one-to-one support specific to their child(ren)’s needs and concerns.

There are three areas (domains) we focus on in our home visits: development-centered parenting, parent-child interactions, and overall family well-being.

Some of the things we suggest and work on during a visit includes: reading to the child, using play as education and as a monitor for development, and establishing good daily routines.

We also host monthly group connections so participating PAT families can network, get peer support, and learn from each other.

Any family can participate in this program. For more information about Parents as Teachers in Utah, click here.

To see if you are eligible for the program specifically through the Salt Lake County Health Department, click here.

Parents as Teachers is a nationwide program. To learn about more about it, click here.

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.