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You searched for heart-health
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Baby
Doctors often diagnose congenital heart defects in the womb or during infancy, when symptoms, the mother’s medical history, or routine tests or physical exams reveal the abnormalities. But not all congenital heart defects are diagnosed so early....
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Pregnancy
Your heart is working overtime during pregnancy, supporting healthy circulation for you and your baby, so it makes good sense to take a few precautions to protect your heart health. At its most basic level, your heart is a pump that responds to the...
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Baby
A new baby’s heart begins to develop as early as week five of pregnancy (3 weeks after conception) when the tube of muscle forms that will someday be the baby’s heart. This first primitive structure doesn’t have any of the...
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Baby
Heart defects in newborns are among the most common birth defects in the United States. Heart defects occur during fetal development when the structures of the heart don’t develop normally. Alternatively, heart defects can occur after birth when...
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Baby
Many parents will be surprised to learn that a heart murmur isn’t a disease. Rather, it is a symptom of an underlying condition. If your child has a heart murmur, your pediatrician will hear it while listening to your child’s heartbeat with a...
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Baby
While major congenital heart defects are sometimes diagnosed before birth through imaging studies like a fetal ultrasound, in most cases, doctors only diagnose a congenital defect after the newborn or infant begins to develop symptoms. In many...
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Baby
Tetralogy of Fallot is a complex congenital heart defect (e.g., present at birth) characterized by the presence of four heart problems. Babies born with this heart defect have: A large hole in the muscular wall that separates the heart’s lower...
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Pregnancy
When you hear that February is American Heart Month, it might make you think of your grandparents who have cardiovascular disease. But did you know that if you’ve ever had preeclampsia, it’s just as important for you to pay attention to what this...
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Baby
A normal heart has a muscular wall known as the atrial septum that separates the organ’s upper chambers, or the left and right atria. If there is a defect in this wall, it’s known as an atrial septal defect. In a normal newborn’s heart, the heart’s...
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Baby
The foramen ovale has an important role in the health of the fetal circulatory system. During fetal development, this hole in the wall between the heart’s upper chambers allows blood to bypass the lungs, which aren’t yet needed. After birth,...
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Baby
The ductus arteriosus is a naturally occurring blood vessel in the fetal heart. Before a baby is born, the ductus arteriosus connects the aorta and pulmonary artery, allowing blood to be pumped from the right side of the heart into the aorta and...
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Toddler
Long known as the “bone vitamin” for its role in helping to form strong bones, a steady stream of new research is uncovering benefits of vitamin D in the growing body. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), getting...
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Toddler
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Baby
In recent years, formula manufacturers have introduced a number of new formula preparations with added ingredients that are meant to provide additional health benefits during feeding time. These enhanced formulas include ingredients like...
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Toddler
High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a processed food superstar. Found in everything from cookies and cakes to ketchup, salad dressing, canned soup, and even infant formula, it’s most prevalent in soft drinks and fruit juices. But should HFCS play a...
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Pregnancy
Preeclampsia is a complication of pregnancy that is diagnosed based on having high blood pressure along with certain abnormal lab tests or symptoms such as headaches, vision changes, or abdominal pain. With preeclampsia complicating 5 to 8 percent...
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Toddler
You’ve read about “superfoods” for babies — these are the foods like berries and sweet potatoes that give an extra nutritional boost. Here are the “anti-superfoods,” the bad food for kids. The foods on this list have been shown to have little to no...
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Blog
As I scroll through social media, I see countless celebrity moms posing for post-baby photos and it seems like each one is in even better shape than the last. Many of my patients are new moms, and one of the most common questions I hear is, “When...
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Toddler
The 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) were released a few years ago, summarizing the nutrition areas where Americans need to work a bit harder to reach their health potential. Although the DGAs don’t address the needs of children under...
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Health
Turner syndrome (TS) is a chromosomal condition that affects 1 in 2,500 newborn females. About half are diagnosed by a pediatrician within the first few months of life because of characteristic physical features. The other half are usually...
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Baby
There’s no denying that when it comes to feeding your baby, breast is best, especially early in life. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends “exclusive breastfeeding for approximately the first six months and support for breastfeeding...
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Blog
Pediatricians are not generally known for being outspoken politically. For the most part, our work focuses on children locally and child wellness and safety globally more than on federal policy. According to the American Board of Pediatrics, the...
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Health
Many people think that strokes only affect the elderly. Stroke, however, can and does occur in children. In fact, statistics show that up to 13 children out of every 100,000 have suffered from the neurological event. Boys are slightly more likely...
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Health
Hashimoto’s disease is an autoimmune disease in which a child’s own immune system attacks his or her thyroid gland. The disease interferes with the thyroid’s ability to produce thyroid hormones and often leads to reduced thyroid function, or...
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Pregnancy
Heading into Week 6, it may seem like little has changed from last week—if you’ve been suffering morning sickness or fatigue, they are unfortunately likely still going strong (conditions like these don’t usually resolve until around Week 13). And...
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Pregnancy
Getting enough calcium during pregnancy is important to support both you and your baby. Your body always needs calcium, but many moms don’t realize that calcium requirements go up significantly during pregnancy, when calcium is used to help build...
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Parenting
Do your summer plans include camping? The American Academy of Pediatrics has developed a list of tips to keep you and your family safe when out in the wild. So before you break out the tents and brave the wilderness (or the backyard!) with...
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Blog
There are few things more adorable than a tiny little one all wrapped up like a baby burrito. But it turns out that swaddling is much more than just cute—it’s a tried-and-true way to soothe and calm a baby during the first few months of life, and...
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Pregnancy
There are few things as exciting for an expectant parent as seeing the first ultrasound images of their developing baby. Ultrasound is a simple and safe technology that uses sound waves to visualize the baby in the uterus. Ultrasounds are routinely...
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Pregnancy
Prenatal visits are important for many reasons: to make sure your baby is growing normally, to screen for any concerning symptoms, and to provide education about your pregnancy, delivery, and the postpartum period. There is a lot to cover during...
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Pregnancy
Did you know that about one in every 33 babies is born with a birth defect? Although not all birth defects are preventable, a woman can take steps to increase her chances of having a healthy baby. One of these steps for all women of childbearing...
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Toddler
Fiber is an essential part of a healthy diet for all of us, including children. Yet the fiber intakes of most American children are lower than what’s recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The recommended daily fiber intake for...
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Toddler
Calcium is an essential part of a growing child’s diet. It’s not only needed for muscle and bone development and strength, but also for the proper functioning of the heart, muscles, and nervous system. In addition, it plays a role in maintaining...
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Baby
The benefits of breastfeeding are firmly established for babies, but did you know breastfeeding has long-term benefits for Mom, too? In those first few days of breastfeeding, your early attempts to breastfeed stimulate the release of oxytocin, a...
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Toddler
Caffeine is one of the most commonly used psychoactive substances in the world. Every day, tens of millions of adults enjoy a cup or two of coffee, and everything from energy drinks to soda to bottled drinks have been fortified with caffeine. But...
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Toddler
Public health experts and nutritionists have been sounding the alarm bells about the huge increase in childhood obesity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity among children has doubled in the past three decades, with...
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Blog
It’s Thanksgiving and like nearly everyone on Facebook and Instagram, I am “full of gratitude” and “blessed.” My children are healthy and happy and I am able to spend another year with my family. I am also carrying around a heavy heart, for I am...
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Blog
I was raised on beef and potatoes. My kids have seen quite a bit of bacon and ham in their lifetimes, and steak is always requested on birthdays. In fact, my crew would pipe in and tell you bacon is one of their favorite foods. And my husband has a...
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Toddler
The average American consumes nearly 152 pounds of sugar each year, which breaks down to almost three pounds (or six cups!) of sugar each week. With adults eating this much sugar, it’s no surprise that children are getting a sugar overload....
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Health
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is a highly contagious respiratory illness. The illness is caused by a virus and is most common during the fall and winter months. Every year, thousands of children are affected by influenza, especially...
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Baby
An Apgar score is a general measure of a baby’s health at birth. It measures things like: Heart rate Breathing Color Reflexes Muscle tone Each category is assigned a score ranging from zero to two. The scores are then added together to give a range...
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Pregnancy
The baby blues and postpartum depression (PPD) are conditions most parents-to-be and new parents have heard about. This is good, considering that 50 to 85 percent of women experience some form of the baby blues and about 15 percent going on to...
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Baby
There is no question that — whenever possible — breastfeeding is one of the best things you can do for your baby. Late in pregnancy, your body produces a substance called colostrum, which is a very concentrated form of breast milk that is high in...
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Parenting
Childhood can be stressful, but we’re just now beginning to understand how stress can damage kids over the long term. According to researchers at Johns Hopkins, adults often “fail to recognize” just how much stress their kids are under and the...
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Pregnancy
While home births account for only about 0.6 percent of all births in the United States, they have gained increasing visibility in recent years, especially in the media. Women opt for home births for various reasons: they want the comfort of being...
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Toddler
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Pregnancy
Almost every pregnant woman notices swelling at some point in her pregnancy, whether it is in her feet, legs, hands, or face. It’s important to know that while most of the time this swelling is not a problem, there are a few signs you should not...