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Screens and media are everywhere and can be a powerful tool for your child’s learning and play. However, nothing can replace face-to-face interaction and play with your child.

Jade Elliott sat down with Kaitlin Carpenter, MD, a pediatrician with Intermountain Healthcare, on this episode of the Baby Your Baby Podcast to discuss screen time guidelines for your kids.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has issued several recommendations regarding screen time for children:

• Under 18 months: Avoid screen time other than video-chat.

• 18-24 months: Limit screen time to high-quality programming.

• Over 2 years old: Limit screen time to 1 hour per day of high-quality programming created for young children, like Sesame Street and other PBS shows such as Daniel Tiger.

Make sure you are watching and discussing shows with your child. They can be great ways for you and your child to learn together.

The most powerful thing parents can do is be a “media mentor” and show children how to appropriately interact with phones, tablets, and TVs.

• Co-watch shows and videos or co-play games with kids.

• Try to avoid constant use of your phone around your child. You are your child’s best role model. They will do what you do, so if you are constantly on your phone, your child will be too.

• Designate times and places that are phone- or screen-free, like dinner time or bedtime.

• Like anything else in a child’s life, children do well with consistent limits. Encourage playtime up and away from screens after the limits are up.

It can be tempting to use media as an emotional pacifier (think crying toddler at the doctor’s office). While that is a nice solution that can be used sometimes, try not to make it a habit. Kids need to learn their own coping strategies (like a hug from mom or dad) or another way to channel those emotions.

Here are some additional ideas and AAP resources for families:

• When considering whether to get paper books or eBooks, choose paper books. Research has shown that children learn better and interact more with paper books.

• There seems to be a relationship between increased media use in young children and obesity, research has shown.

• Consider making a Media Use Plan with your family. Visit HealthyChildren.org/MediaUsePlan for tips.

• Learn about age-appropriate apps and game reviews at Commonsensemedia.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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Infertility affects about 15% of couples. Infertility is considered the failure to become pregnant within one year of unprotected intercourse for women under the age of 35 and within six months of trying for women over 35.

Jade Elliott sat down with Megan Link, MD, reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist, University of Utah Health, on this episode of the Baby Your Baby Podcast to discuss the causes of infertility and the options for couples who are struggling to become pregnant.

Is infertility just a woman’s problem?

No, men can have infertility issues as well. In fact, male factor is the cause of infertility in 40-50% of couples.

What causes infertility in women?

• Failure to ovulate
• Ovulating irregularly
• Fallopian tube problems
• Uterine problems
• Endometriosis
• Older age

What causes infertility in men?

• Sperm problems: low sperm count, no sperm present in semen
• Prior vasectomy
• Cystic Fibrosis
• Sexual dysfunction: erectile dysfunction, ejaculatory dysfunction

How long should couples try to get pregnant before seeing a doctor?

• Women under 35: 1 year
• Women over 35: 6 months
• Women 40 and older: more immediate evaluation is recommended

If you are concerned in general; however, get evaluated sooner. You don’t have to wait a full year if you have a history of irregular periods, for example. 

When should someone consider IVF?

• Male factor
• Tubal factor
• Other treatment options have failed

Other options:

Older age of the female partner: can use donor eggs

Parents are carriers for genetic disease that could be transmitted to the child (Cystic Fibrosis, muscular dystrophy). IVF can be utilized to create embryos and then test the embryos to see if they are affected by the disease in question.

Gestational surrogacy: Women has a medical condition that makes carrying a child dangerous to her health, or has a condition that makes it impossible for her to carry a pregnancy. In many of these cases, we can create embryos using her own eggs and then transfer one embryo into another women’s uterus.

Oncofertility: Preserve eggs or embryos prior to receiving cancer treatment that is harmful to the ovaries.

Elective fertility preservation: because fertility declines with age in women, an increasing number of women are choosing to freeze eggs until they are ready to start a family.

Approximately 1 in every 100 babies born in the U.S. was conceived through IVF.

For more information on IVF, click here.

To learn more about infertility and your options, 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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Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) is the term used to describe all types of abuse, neglect, and other potentially traumatic experiences that occur to people under the age of 18. ACEs are unfortunately quite common; two out of three people have at least one emotional injury during childhood, meaning this essentially effects every family.

Jade Elliott sits down with Dr. William Cosgrove, pediatrician and chair of Salt Lake County Board of Health, to discuss Adverse Childhood Experiences and how they can negatively impact someone throughout their life.

ACEs have been linked to risky health behaviors, chronic health conditions, lower life potential, and early death.  As the number of adverse experiences increase, so does the risk for those outcomes.

Positive experiences or protective factors can prevent children from experiencing adversity and can protect against many of the negative health and life outcomes even after adversity has occurred.

It is important to address the conditions that put children and families at risk of ACEs so that we can prevent ACEs before they happen.

• Strengthen economic supports to families, including family-friendly work policies
• Support positive parenting, including reducing corporal punishment
• Provide quality care and education early in life
• Enhance parenting skills to promote healthy child development, including early childhood home visitation
• Intervene to lessen harms and prevent future risks

To listen to our podcast about the importance of parental and infant mental health, 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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When women are thinking about getting pregnant or first find out they’re pregnant, all kinds of thoughts, questions and worries might run through their heads. Even though they might have friends, sisters or mothers who’ve had children, this is the first time they’re really thinking about themselves and what to expect and what might happen to their body, their baby and how their life might change.

Jade Elliott sits down with certified nurse midwife, Emily Hart Hayes from Intermountain Healthcare, on this episode of the Baby Your Baby Podcast, to help allay some of those common fears that pregnant women have.

The statistics show that 96 to 97 percent of the time, babies are born normal and healthy

“Birth defects only occur in about 3 percent of births according to the U.S. National Institute of Health,” says Hayes. The US Healthy People 2020 initiative estimates that about 85 percent of pregnant women enter labor at “low risk” for problems. While complications can arise in pregnancy and birth, they are not the norm.

It’s common for women to worry about their health and their baby’s health during pregnancy

“Pregnancy is a normal, natural condition, but it can also be an uncomfortable condition. Women’s worries during pregnancy are often centered around whether what they are feeling is normal. Common worries include concerns about miscarriage, birth defects and preterm labor,” says Hayes.

Keep exercising – it’s good for you

One of the most effective ways you can help your pregnancy stay health and normal is to eat a healthy diet and get regular exercise. It’s best to start pregnancy at a healthy weight. Continuing to exercise will help you stay health and not gain too much weight.

Hayes recommends women avoid exercise that would increase the chance of a blow to the abdomen or a fall, such as contact sports, skiing, or horseback riding. During exercise, your heart rate should be such that you can you carry on a conversation. Listen to your body. Is it too much? If it doesn’t cause pain or exhaustion then it’s ok. If you’ve been a regular runner then you can continue, but you may find you need to adjust your routine as your pregnancy progresses. You may be more prone to injury. During pregnancy, your balance changes. Cycling could be an issue. You may want to look more to low impact exercise such as swimming. Don’t start a rigorous new sport or exercise program when you’re pregnant, but starting a low-impact program such as daily walks is not only ok, but it’s encouraged.

Be careful with your diet and weight gain during pregnancy

Gaining some weight during pregnancy is normal, but gaining too much or too little can increase risks of developing complications in pregnancy. To learn about the weight gain guidelines, click here.

For more information and resources, 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.