ADHD Prevention by Breastfeeding

It is a widely held medical belief that breastfeeding can protect mother and baby from various diseases. Many studies have proven those to be true. But now, not only diseases, but perhaps even mental ability of the baby can also be enhanced and protected.

A group of Israeli researchers are saying that breastfeeding may protect against future ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder)later in the child's life. ADHD can include things like having trouble paying attention, and other acting out behaviors such as overactivity.

Nobody really knows the true causes of ADHD, but experts suspect that perhaps how the infant is cared for and treated may be one contribution to developing ADHD symptoms.

In the Israeli study, babies that were breastfed for 3 to 6 months showed a statistically lower incidence of ADHD.

It should be noted that health organizations promote breastfeeding until at least age 6 months to gain the full benefits. Breastfeeding your baby for at least 6 months or longer should be your goal. Research continually shows the benefits.

This study on ADHD and breastfeeding is published in Breastfeeding Medicine, the Official Journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine.

More info: The risks of formula feeding.

Keep your child germ-free at school

With flu running rampant, and other diseases possible, parents are probably wondering how they can keep their child safe at school. Unfortunately, kids will be kids, and they are around literally hundreds of kids a day at school. There are some things you can do to at least prevent your child from being a germ magnet. Keep in mind it will be next to impossible to keep your kid 100% germ free and not be exposed to some potential problems.

You should stress the importance on hand washing to your child. At home and at school. They should be taught to use warm water and soap, scrubbing for at least 15-30 seconds. Use paper towels to turn off water faucets if possible. The next best thing is to use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Check to see if the school allows these, and ask the teacher to have one in the classroom. They should already do this.

Desks, computers and controls, tables, playground equipment, not to mention restrooms, are just full of germs. Teach your child to always wash their hands or use sanitizer after using and touching ANY of these. Stress the importance of NOT touching their face, nose, and mouth until hands are clean. They should never put food on a desk or table, then eat it. There is no 5 second rule. Playground equipment is touched by hundreds of kids a day. Being outside in the sun, is a good thing. But germs can still live. Make sure that your child has any cuts or sores covered with a bandage. Teach your child to not put their mouths on the spout of a drinking fountain. Give your child a reusable bottle of water to instead of public fountains.

Coats, jackets, and hats are another issue. In the winter, everyone is wearing them. Don't let your child mix their coats, hats, sweaters, or jackets in a class closet, or cubbies that are shared. Lice can spread quickly. Tell your child to not share combs. In fact, the should not share anything that is personal.

Hopefully, your teachers and school will already be taking precautions to keep germs and flu in check. But don't rely on them to do your parenting job!

Ion Heated Snuggie

Chamomile for Colic

Cord Blood

If you are expecting, you may be asked about collecting and banking cord blood. Cord blood has stem cells that are promising to help breakthroughs in medical treatment.

Should you bank your baby's cord blood?
There are some reasons to bank cord blood. Most parents collect it thinking that it will be used for treatment in various diseases in the future. The stem cells have shown some promise in blood disorders and diabetes. You should talk with a qualified medical professional, preferable your doctor, about why you should bank cord blood.

Cord blood is collected after birth from the umbilical cord and placenta. It is painless and takes only a few minutes. The collection will be done by professionals, as will the storage. The only banks that are supported by the majority of the medical profession, is public storage. But this means the blood collected will be used for the public, not you. Private cord blood banks will collect and store it just for your future use. But, it can be expensive.

Keep in mind that stem cells collected by private banks are seldom used in the future. There is some hype about their current usefulness.

Public collection and banking of cord blood is free and is what is supported by most of the medical profession. Private cord blood banks are for-profit, and have been seen as over-promising or hyping stem cell use.

However, stem cell use is in its infancy and the future may be quite bright. Parents that can afford it seem to be doing it as a hedge against future diseases and disorders. But currently, there are few major breakthroughs on humans. Keep that in mind.

If you have a baby via sperm or egg donor, it may be more in your interest to bank the cord blood.

You should be very informed if you make the decision to bank cord blood in a private bank. Read more about here: Cord blood banking and stem cells.

Baby-Friendly Hospitals

If you are having a baby in the near future, and worry about how they will treat you, be sure and do some research. If you know you want to breastfeed and do everything you can to have a baby friendly birth, the hospital you choose is very important.

Some hospitals don't care if you breastfeed or bottle feed. All major health organizations, including the US Government, are pushing breastfeeding as the most healthiest and natural option. Especially if you are planning to breastfeed, your hospital's choices are very important.

Find out what the hospital's official policies on breastfeeding are. They should promote and encourage breastfeeding number one.

They should have qualified lactation staff to help you.

Immediately after delivery, you should begin to attempt to breastfeed.

Proper instruction on breastfeeding should be available right away.

They should not attempt to give your baby anything but breast milk, unless it is medically necessary from a doctor's standpoint. Many nurses, sadly, think it's just easy to formula feed.

Your baby should be with you at all times, in your room, and you should be encouraged to have skin to skin contact. The old days of babies kept in a nursery are over for the most part.

Don't use a pacifier.

The hospital should have an outpatient breastfeeding clinic and should schedule you for an appointment.

Remember, you want your hospital to be as baby-friendly as possible. Recent years have gotten away from some of these best practices to make things easier on the staff. But they were not best for your baby.

You can find a list of current baby friendly hospitals here.

>> Risks of baby formula.

>> Gift ideas for new mothers