It is strange how medical practices vary when it comes to childbirth. Many developed countries favor hospital delivery but in a few countries like the Netherlands for example delivery at home attended by a registered midwife or nurse has been the norm for quite a while. In Germany, the idea of home birth is catching on although other alternatives such as “maternity houses” are also becoming popular. A friend of mine had a hospital birth with her first born but opted for a home birth the second time round. Her first born made up her mind for her when the little girl asked with the unerring logic of a 4-year old. “Why do you have to go to the hospital, Mommy? You and the baby aren’t sick, are you?”

Indeed, we associate hospitals with illness and even death so that many people would rather celebrate the joy of childbirth outside the hospital walls. But there are still questions

Is Home Birth Safe?

The debate about the safety of home birth vs hospital birth has been going on for decades and is not likely to be settled anytime soon.

A recent study by Canadian researchers compared the outcomes of home birth vs. hospital birth in British Columbia. The study consisted of:

• 2889 home births attended by certified midwives
• 4752 planned hospital births attended by the same midwives
• 5331 hospital births attended by doctors

The researchers reported that women who planned a home birth had less maternity-related interventions but also less adverse outcomes. The interventions associated with hospital childbirth are induction of, electronic fetal monitoring, epidural anesthesia, assisted vaginal delivery, and cesarean section. The adverse outcomes reported were infection and hemorrhage. The risk of newborn mortality was similar for both home and hospital births.

So why are there fewer complications in home birth than in hospital birth? The researchers think it might have something to do with self-selection.

Caveat: this is just one study in one country. More data are needed to confirm these findings.

When is Home Birth Not Safe?

I delivered my twins in Frankfurt, Germany. I loved the idea of a home birth but I knew almost right from the beginning that it might not an option for me, mainly due to my advanced maternal age and multiple pregnancies. Even my choice of a hospital was rather limited. Whereas other moms had fun looking around which hospital or clinic they could go to, I had no choice but to opt for the only one in town with a neonatal clinic.

There are many reasons why a home birth may not be ideal for you, and your family, friends, even your midwife may have something to say about this. But are these reasons valid? Let us look at some of these reasons:

• First Delivery. The first time is said to be always difficult and slow. Truth or myth? We don’t know. At any rate, there’s no scientific evidence that supports any objection to home births for first-time moms.

• Maternal Age. People would say “you’re too young” or “you’re too old” for home birth. But what is the right age for home birth? No one can say. I think it’s something to do more with health status rather than age.

• Previous Delivery Complications. Those who had previous complications have a good reason to be wary of giving birth away from the hospital. However, not all complications would necessarily occur the next time around. Assisted delivery (e.g. forceps delivery) and episiotomy (tear) are less common in home births, according to Homebirth UK. There are life threatening complications, however, like preeclampsia and postpartum bleeding that may warrant more medical monitoring than what a home birth can provide.

• Underlying Medical Conditions. Women with underlying condition such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or obesity are usually advised against home birth.

• Breech delivery. Breech births are very tricky. Unless your midwife is highly experienced in breech delivery, a hospital birth might be the best option for you and your baby.

• Multiple Pregnancy. Having multiples is one very good reason to play it safe and opt for a hospital birth. I did. This doesn’t mean it’s not possible. It is simply too risky.

• Premature Labor. Premature delivery is usually unplanned but does not preclude home delivery if pregnancy has reached the 37^th week. Very premature delivery, however, requires immediate medical attention and being close to a neonatal intensive care unit is advisable. This was foreseen in my case and I was glad of my decision to deliver in a hospital.

• Overdue Delivery. Many women who are overdue are referred to a hospital to induce labor. Health officials are divided when induction becomes a “must” and can range from 6 days to 2 weeks after the due date. Midwives, however, can also induce labor at home.

• Baby Problems. If it is known beforehand that the baby might have some health or genetic problems, a hospital birth is usually recommended.

But Who Makes the Decision? Please take note that the items in the abovementioned list are only my opinion. According to Homebirth UK, the decision between a home birth and a hospital birth lies on the woman alone. Her doctor or her midwife can only give recommendations. Nobody can force her to deliver in a specific location against her will unless nature takes the decision out of her hands. It is best, though, that she discusses the issue with her partner and together they make an informed decision.

Author: Science-mom

Abortions are nothing new and have been practiced for centuries. In recent times there has been a belief that if properly done, an abortion will not negatively impact subsequent pregnancies. This belief is being reconsidered by recent research.

The Risks Caused by Abortion

The research which was done to investigate the causes of low birth weight babies came up with some surprising results. It was discovered that women who aborted a pregnancy had a greater chance of having babies that were below the normal birth weight. The review of past studies on abortions was conducted by Dr. Prakesh Shah of Canada’s Paediatrics Department at the Mount Sinai Hospital. The results of the research were published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in September.

Low Birth Weight

There was a 35 percent risk of having a low birth weight baby if an abortion was done in the first or second trimester of a previous pregnancy. In fact, having more than one abortion increased the risk of having a low birth weight baby even more. Women who fall into this category had a 72% chance of giving birth to a baby that was below average weight.

A low birth weight baby is generally viewed as an infant weighing less than 5.5 pounds at birth regardless of what gestational period the birth occurs. Most low birth weight babies are also premature and tend to be at an increased risk for certain health problems throughout their lives. Fortunately most infants go on to live healthy lives given today’s technology.

Premature Birth

According to Dr. Shah, having an abortion in the first or second trimester increased the risk of premature birth by 36%. Premature birth refers to deliveries that occur by the 37th week of pregnancy. Dr. Shah’s findings are not the first to suggest this link. In 2007, a research team suggested that abortion can result in extreme pre-term birth and cerebral palsy in subsequent pregnancies.

Dr. Shah made his findings on the abortion link between premature birth and low birth weight after reviewing 37 studies published between 1965 and 2001. He concludes that the increased risk of premature birth and low birth weight may be due in part to damage to the cervix during the abortion. This damage Dr. Shah contends was more likely from older methods of performing the abortions. He recommends that women considering ahving an abortion be told about the possible risk to future pregnancies.

Written by: Jessdel27

Sometimes, due to health or other concerns, labor must be induced, or artificially started. Labor inducement can be a long process and induced labor is slightly different than “regular” labor.

Labor can be induced using a variety of methods. Check with your provider to determine which method they prefer to use. Some practitioners prefer to begin the process in the evening, with the hopes that you can sleep through most of the night. Other practitioners prefer to begin in the morning with labor inducements.

How to Induce Labor

The process can take anywhere from 1-3 days depending upon a variety of factors including your health and the overall well being of the baby. Because of the risks, most women who are induced will need to be regularly monitored. This may mean that you are confined to bed for the majority of the process. For some women, this can be bothersome.

I’ve found that contractions are different during inducements. During naturally occurring labor, I found that I was able to work with the contractions. During my inducements, I felt that the contractions were much more powerful and intense. They were also very close together which made me feel very overwhelmed. I ended up asking for pain medication for some of the inducements; with others I was able to get through the process without pain medication. During one of my inducements, it went so quickly that there simply wasn’t time for pain medicine.

Get Support

Getting support during the process is important. It’s also important that your labor support person is aware that this is an inducement and that he or she is aware of the possible complications which could occur during the process. During my most recent inducement, my husband became so discouraged when I “stalled out” at 3 cm for 6 hours. I found myself encouraging him instead of concentrating on the labor!

Be prepared to be flexible. After 18 hours of labor, it appeared that I would need a c-section to complete the delivery because I just wasn’t progressing in my labor stages. I have to say, I was slightly discouraged. By the time the midwife left to make some final arrangements and came back a short time later to discuss options with my husband and I, I had fully dilated. Our son was delivered shortly thereafter.

My grandmother gave me some sage grandparenting advice 16 years ago before the birth of my first child. When I asked her how she handled the demands of childbirth, she simply replied: I kept my eyes on the prize. I find that “keeping my eyes on the prize” is essential to handling an inducement. Hopefully this advice will help you too!

During the nine months of your pregnancy, your body will go through many changes. Some will be immediately noticeable, such as an increased body mass index (BMI), but others will not be equally visible, such as the swelling of the eyes. All of these changes are usually part of a normal pregnancy, as your body adapts itself to nourishing the unborn baby.

Swelling During Pregnancy

This affects your eyes too! The fact that your eyes, more specifically the cornea, might thicken, could lead to discomfort for people wearing contact lenses. The reason why your eyes can swell is the same as the reason why your feet and hands might swell too. Hormonal spikes can cause fluctuations in blood and body fluid pressures. You cannot actually predict whether this will happen or not, but usually falls with in the range of normal pregnancy symptoms. However, if you regularly wear contact lenses, you may experience dry and itchy eyes, blurry vision, or slight discomfort when wearing your contacts, to the point where they are so ill-fitting that they may even fall out.

It is recommended that you visit an eye doctor at least two or three times during your pregnancy as he or she can run vision tests to see if the shape of your eyes have changed, and, if so, by how much. After the examination you will get a prescription for new contact lenses that will be of the right optical strength and size.

After you have given birth, your eyes will most likely go back to their original shape, meaning that your old prescription and contact lenses are applicable again.

Here’s what you can do if your eyes have changed shape during your pregnancy.

Get a New Prescription

Simply get a new prescription for contact lenses that you can wear while you are pregnant. Book an appointment at a local eye clinic where they can determine how much your vision has changed and prescribe you lenses that will be custom-fitted. Because it will take some time after pregnancy before your eyes return to normal, you can wear these lenses for quite some time.

Switch to Glasses

The second alternative that you will have is switching to regular glasses. It is important that you visit an eye clinic as the glasses need to have the correct optical power, which, due to the thickening of the cornea, has probably changed as well. If you wish, you could always go back to wearing lenses again after you have given birth as the swelling will most likely go down.

Sources:
Chris O. Imafidon. (1992). Contact Lenses in Pregnancy. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 99, 865¬-868
Park SB et al. (1992). The Effect of Pregnancy on Corneal Curvature, The CLAO Journal, Oct; 18(4), 256-259

Pregnancy comes not only with joy but for some of us many aches and pains and little known conditions as well. Thankfully most of these ailments are short-lived and end with the birth, and have little or no harmful impact on the mother or baby. One such condition is leg cramps. The worst thing about these mostly nighttime attacks is that they can be painful. Many sufferers report being jolted awake by these cramps. They tend to begin in the second trimester.

Leg cramps are common in pregnancy but there is no definitive answer as to why some women have them. Some possible causes include:

• Being dehydrated: Some pregnant women, especially those who are working cut back on water and fluid intake so as to minimize the frequent trips to the bathroom. Trying to cut back on nighttime bathroom visits is another reason why pregnant women avoid drinking fluids, especially in the late evening hours. This can lead to muscle problems.

• Vitamins: Deficiency in certain Vitamins such as magnesium and potassium

• Weight gain during pregnancy: Weight gain in pregnancy can cause stress on leg muscles resulting in leg pain from conditions such as sciatica

• Lack of exercise: Exercise keeps the muscles supple. If muscles are not used often enough this can result in cramps and pains

How to deal with leg cramps

There are number of ways to alleviate leg cramps. Some may not be appropriate for everyone based on their medical condition. Discuss some of these with your OB/GYN or midwife if you have concerns. Prevention tips include:

• Take walks daily unless you are on bed rest or otherwise restricted

• Avoid long stretches of sitting or standing

• Avoid crossing your legs for long periods

• Give your ankles a little exercise. Practice rotating them and wriggling your toes periodically

• Drink lots of water

• A warm bath before bed can help relax leg muscles

• Try lying on your left side so as to aid circulation to your legs

• If possible have someone give you a leg massage before bed

The best way to deal with a leg cramp when you get one is to stretch your leg out. Flex your toes and as your stretch your calf muscles. There will be pain at first but this will gradually disappear. Doing this tends to stop the cramping quicker than just waiting for it to pass.

If you experience persistent pain from these leg cramps see your doctor just in case you have something more serious going on. One of the most likely causes could be a blood clot in the leg. This can be deadly and should be treated as soon as possible.

Food and the pregnant woman… either the thought of it makes you hurl, or you can’t get enough of it, or you get woken up at 4 a.m. with cravings for nachos with jelly, or someone is telling you no! you can’t eat that!

It’s actually really important for pregnant women to be careful about food safety. Getting food poisoning is never fun, and it can be really serious if you are pregnant. Dehydration, a common complication of food poisoning, can affect the baby, deplete amniotic fluid levels, and even lead to premature labor. And and even more scary, is that some bacteria that cause food poisoning can cause severe birth defects.

Here’s some tips for having a safe holiday meal, and avoiding the most common causes of food positioning at Thanksgiving.

• Turkey – make sure it’s cooked properly, all of it, all the way through, until the inside is 180F. Be careful when preparing the turkey. Defrost it properly in the refrigerator until it’s completely thawed before cooking. Also wash hands well after handling the turkey, and any utensils or surfaces that have come into contact with the raw bird or juices. Keep raw turkey, and other raw meats, wrapped, on lower levels of the refrigerator, and separated from other foods.
• Stuffing – cook the stuffing or dressing in a separate dish outside the bird – the inside of a turkey just doesn’t get hot enough to kill any harmful bacteria.
• Smoked meat, meat spreads, deli meat, pate, smoked salmon – avoid any of these products if they are from the chiller cabinet. These have been known to be contaminated with the listeria bacteria, which can cause serious birth defects if contracted by a pregnant woman. It’s OK to use meat products that are canned because they are sterilized in the can.
• Leftovers – get them wrapped and stored in the refrigerators as quickly as possible, before any bacteria get a chance to grow. Don’t wait for them to go cold, you don’t need to, the fridge will chill them faster than they will get cold at room temperature. Get them in the fridge as soon as you can so you don’t forget.

More information about food safety for moms-to-be at the FDA’s website
Written by: Brit

Some of us breeze through pregnancy without any issues while others are textbook; we have every symptom known to occur during pregnancy. One little discussed condition that affects some pregnant women is pregnancy rhinitis or rhinitis of pregnancy.

What is Pregnancy Rhinitis?

This refers to the stuffy, uncomfortable nasal condition that afflicts many pregnant women during pregnancy. It has no environmental causes and generally begins sometime during the first trimester of a pregnancy, but can occur at anytime during pregnancy. This condition can last for the pregnancy’s entire duration or even a few weeks after you have given birth.

It is believed that the increased levels of estrogen and blood during pregnancy result in the swelling of the mucus membrane causing the feeling of stuffiness. Sometimes these conditions also result in the production of excess mucus which helps to trigger pregnancy rhinitis.

What are the Symptoms?

Like most such conditions, the symptoms vary from person to person. However, some of the most common symptoms of pregnancy rhinitis are:

• Stuffy nose (congestion)
• Constant sneezing and coughing
• Itchy nose
• Headache and stuffy feeling in sinus cavities

Treatment

The condition normally clears up fully within two weeks of giving birth. Treatment for pregnancy rhinitis varies and depends on the degree of the condition. Some popular treatments are:

• Decongestants: Before taking any over the counter medication for pregnancy rhinitis talk to your doctor. In the past there were fears that oral decongestants could be harmful during pregnancy. However, recent studies have refuted these claims. Nonetheless, be guided by your OB/GYN and your own feelings on this.
• Antihistamines: Some of these are safe for use during pregnancy, but for the safety of the fetus, discuss any concerns and be guided by your medical practitioner.
• Saline drops: This is the safest and one of the most recommended treatments for pregnancy rhinitis. Saline solutions for nasal congestion are available in pharmacies or can be made at home.

Apart from the above, you can also do quite a bit to control the condition yourself.

• Drinking plenty of fluids helps but avoid caffeinated drinks.
• You will also find that sleeping with your head elevated helps to alleviate some of the symptoms and discomfort associated with pregnancy rhinitis.
• Taking a warm bath is good as steam works to clear the nasal passage.
• Moderate exercise is also useful in controlling the condition, but since you are pregnant stick to the basics such as walking.
• Place a humidifier in your room at nights to help increase and control the moisture levels. Be sure to follow the care instructions for humidifiers to avoid breathing in potentially harmful bacteria.

As always, when you are pregnant, even if you have an idea of what is wrong still talk it over with your OB/GYN. There is never any need to take chances with your unborn child.

One of the most common problems spotted at the 20 week ultrasound is placenta previa. Placenta previa is where the placenta is nearby, or actually covering some or all of the cervix. It’s a potentially dangerous condition because if the placenta covers the cervix, it blocks baby’s way out, requiring a cesarean section to deliver the baby. And more seriously, as the cervix dilates towards the end of pregnancy, the placenta can be torn and bleed, which can be life-threatening to mom and baby.

Complete or partial placenta previa, where the placenta covers at least a quarter, or even all of the cervix, occurs in around 1 in 200 pregnancies, and requires careful monitoring by your doctor.

And more common is a marginal placenta previa, where the placenta is close by, or touching the cervix, but not actually covering it.

At 20 weeks, when the placenta is relatively large compared to the size of the uterus, many women appear to have placenta previa. The ultrasound technician will note the position of the placenta, so your doctor is aware and can discuss it with you. The doctor will probably tell you to avoid intercourse, heavy lifting, and strenuous activity. Your husband will be thrilled that he has to do the vacuuming instead of sex.

Several moms I know, including me, had marginal placenta previa at 20 weeks. At my next obstetrician appointment, the doctor explained what it was. The position of the placenta is largely random, but there are risk factors to placenta previa, including previous cesarean sections, a history of placenta previa, and it’s more common in older moms. Apparently, smoking or using cocaine also increases the risk, my doctor told me, raising one eyebrow. What? I’ve never smoked and the only kind of coke I know comes in a red can with a swirl on it.

The good news is that for most women who have marginal placenta previa at 20 weeks, as your uterus grows, the placenta gets further from the cervix and you’ll likely be given the all-clear to get back to normal activities by 24-28 weeks. Your doctor will schedule another ultrasound to check the position of the placenta at that time. If the placenta is now clear of the cervix, then vaccuming, etcetera are back on.

I had another ultrasound at 25 weeks, and like 90% of moms with marginal placenta previa at 20 weeks, my placenta was in a normal position, and the rest of my pregnancy went smoothly, except for having to think of other excuses to not vacuum.

If you are pregnant, and experience any vaginal bleeding, get checked by a doctor asap. If you have been told you have, or may have placenta previa, it is important to let the doctor who examines you know, as they will need to take extra precautions when they examine you to avoid causing any damage to your placenta.

What is cord blood and what are the benefits of cord blood banking?

• The blood that remains in your baby’s umbilical cord after it has been cut is called cord blood which is rich in stem cells. These valuable cells which are genetically unique to your baby and family, can only be collected in the minutes after your baby’s birth.
• Preserving your newborn’s stem cells is called cord blood banking and allows you to have your baby’s cord blood saved for potential medical uses to treat life-threatening diseases. If you do not choose to bank your baby’s cord blood, it will be discarded after birth.
• You have only one chance to save your baby’s cord blood for your family since it can only be collected immediately after birth.
• Many expectant families choose to bank their baby’s cord blood for peace of mind, knowing that stem cells can be lifesaving to their baby and family.
• Saving your baby’s cord blood is important since using your own family’s cord blood, if needed, has been shown to have significant advantages compared to using cord blood from an unrelated donor.
• Your baby will be a perfect genetic match for the stem cells as will the baby’s mom due to her carrying the child during pregnancy.
• Dad will share at least 50% genetic matching with the baby.
• It is twice as likely that siblings will be able to use each other’s cord blood stem cells compared to each other’s bone marrow.
• First and second degree relatives may also be able to use your newborn’s stem cells if they are a sufficient genetic match.
• Cord blood stem cells have current and emerging uses in medical treatment:
• Today nearly 70 serious diseases have been treated with cord blood stem cells including leukemia, other cancers and blood disorders.
• Doctors are working to develop stem cell treatments for heart disease, juvenile diabetes, brain injury and more.

“My family does not have a history of diseases, so my doctor did not recommend.”

• Genetic history is only one risk factor for disease, and doesn’t guarantee immunity. Many other things, like environmental factors, can contribute heavily to disease.
• Ultimately we can’t predict what our future health will be and one advantage of saving your own cord blood stem cells it gives you access to a wider range of treatment options in the future should you need it.
• The science of cord blood stem cells is changing very rapidly. In fact, just last month new physician guidelines recognized the value of cord blood stem cells and encouraged health care providers to educate all expectant parents on their options for preserving cord blood stem cells.
• It is fairly typical in healthcare and medicine to see a range of opinions; however we continue to see progress being made in this area
• Your baby will be a perfect genetic match and may use these stem cells to treat nearly 70 diseases including cancers and blood disorders. Doctors are working to develop stem cell treatments for heart disease, juvenile diabetes, brain injury and more.
• Your baby’s biological siblings are twice as likely to be able to use your newborn’s cord blood stem cells for treatment of cancers or genetic diseases versus bone marrow stem cells.
• Mom will be able to use her baby’s stem cells due to a compatibility that occurs during gestation.
• Dad has a 50% genetic match with the newborn.
• First and second degree relatives may also be able to use your newborn’s stem cells if they are a sufficient genetic match.

What provider do you recommend?

• We recommend Cord Blood Registry (CBR) because it is the leader in the industry, the world’s largest and most experienced cord blood bank.
• CBR has significantly more experience in providing samples for transplant than any other family cord blood bank.
• CBR is recommended most by Ob/Gyns and chosen most by expectant families.
• CBR saves more cells for your family with the highest published rate of recovering cells from cord blood (99%) which is important if you ever need them.
• CBR has a highly safe lab and storage location in Tucson, Arizona.
• CBR has a proven track record of financial and long-term stability, and its lab has been processing cord blood since 1992.
• CBR has programs to make cord blood banking affordable:
  • A payment program available that makes the monthly cost less than the average cell phone or utility bill,
  • A Gift Registry program that allows your family and friends to help in providing this gift to your child and
  • The Designated Transplant Program where certain families qualify for free cord blood banking. More info

Diseases Treated

Doctors and scientists, world wide, are revolutionizing new areas of medicine with stem cells. By banking your newborn’s cord blood, you can provide your baby with exciting new treatment options to:

• Repair nerve cells to heal brain and spinal cord injuries or brain injury caused by stroke.
• Regenerate cells to form new blood vessels: to treat heart and circulatory disease.
• Replace damaged cells to improve recovery from cardiovascular disease, heart attack, or injury.
• Regenerate brain cells to treat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

These exciting advances are in addition to nearly 70 serious diseases already being treated by stem cells, saving kids from leukemia, cancers, and blood disorders right now.

See a List of all Treated Diseases

Saving your baby’s cord blood is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. To help you make as informed a choice as possible, here are answers to some common uncertainties:

Q: Since we don’t have a family history of disease, is banking cord blood really necessary?

A: Family history is only one risk factor for disease, and doesn’t guarantee immunity. Many other things, like environmental factors, can contribute heavily to disease. And cord blood holds tremendous promise for treating injuries like brain damage, spinal cord repair, and tissue growth – possibilities no one can rule out.

Q: My OB didn’t mention it to me, so can it really be that important?

A: Many states now have legislation that requires OBs share this important information with their pregnant patients. Your state might not have passed this law yet and/or your doctor might not know a lot of details.

Q: We want to bank our baby’s cord blood, but how can we afford it?

A: CBR has three programs to help: payment plans as low as $59 a month; a Gift Registry that lets friends and families contribute to your enrollment; and a Designated Transplant Program where certain families qualify for free cord blood banking.

We asked OBs to answer the top 3 questions pregnant women have about cord blood banking.

Q: Should I bank my baby’s cord blood?

A: Yes, I recommend it. Research shows that cord blood stem cells have the potential to develop into – or repair – almost all types of cells and tissues in the body. So saving your child’s stem cells secures your best treatment options today and tomorrow.

• Dr.Karen Smith, Ob-Gyn and Mom to Emma and Sarah

Q: What are the odds that my family will need to use stem cells?

A: The odds that a family will need to use stem cells have been reported as frequent as 1 in 200, however these odds do not include the anticipated use of stem cells to treat disorders such as heart disease, diabetes, brain injury and other common disorders. As advances in medicine continue to increase, so too will the expected use of stem cells.

• Dr.Brian Bernick, Ob-Gyn

Q: Which family cord blood bank should I use?
A: I recommend CBR to all my patients. They’re the most experienced bank in the world, they recover the most cells, and they’re stable – meaning they’ll be here to protect your family for a lifetime.

- Dr. Kim Powers, Ob-Gyn and Mom to Terrence and Laura

What are Stem Cells?

Stem cells are considered to be the body’s “master” cells because they create all other tissues, organs, and systems in the body. The stem cells found in cord blood are the building blocks of your blood and immune system and most readily reproduce into:

Red Blood Cells – which carry oxygen to all the cells in the body
White Blood Cells – which fight infection
Platelets – which aid in clotting in the event of injury

There are three sources where stem cells are commonly found and they are:

• Bone Marrow
• Peripheral Blood (the blood that circulates through your body)
• Cord Blood

The ability of cord blood stem cells to differentiate, or change into other types of cells in the body is a new discovery that holds significant promise for improving the treatment of some of the most common diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and Alzheimer’s.

There are many exciting advances happening with stem cells. Right now, doctors are focusing on newborn stem cells and their potential to:

• Regenerate brain cells—to treat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease
• Repair nerve cells—to heal brain and spinal cord injuries or brain damage caused by stroke
• Regenerate cells to form new blood vessels—to treat heart and circulatory disease
• Replace damaged cells—to improve recovery from cardiovascular disease, a heart attack, or injury. By saving your newborn’s stem cells, you provide your child with options to benefit from these emerging therapies.

Although they are routinely discarded, newborn stem cells have unique biology that is important in medical treatments. Newborn stem cells are 8-10 times more proliferative than adult cells, and are much more compatible with family members versus adult cells. For example, siblings are twice as likely to be compatible with their newborn cells compared to their same adult stem cells. And unlike adult cells, newborn stem cells are “healthy” in that they have not been exposed to viruses, pollution, or disease in the vast majority of cases.

Cord blood is the blood rich in stem cells that remains in a baby’s umbilical cord and placenta following birth.

Parents have the choice, immediately after the birth of their baby, to preserve their baby’s cord blood for use by their own family, or donate it to a public bank (if available), or to throw it away. Regrettably, this amazing resource is being discarded, its potential benefits lost forever, due to lack of knowledge by parents nationwide.

Since your baby’s stem cells are genetically unique to your child and family, and using cells from a relative is the best source of stem cells in treating diseases, cord blood banking has been called a type of “biological insurance”.

Banking cord blood is an important investment that you can make in your family’s health and helps ensure the best chance of survival when the cells are used. In fact, newborn stem cells from a relative have resulted in more than double the survival rates compared to stem cells from unrelated donors. And your child and family may have significantly better options in medical treatments or cures for cancers as well as common conditions like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s.

In addition, they can be immediately available if they are needed which can minimize disease progression. Because the cells found in cord blood are “naive,” or undeveloped, the cells do not have to “match” the patient as closely as bone marrow and therefore can be used by siblings or other relatives in many circumstances where bone marrow stem cells cannot.

Lastly, unlike the adult stem cells in your body, your newborn’s stem cells are “healthy” as they have not been exposed to environmental contamination or viruses.

Considering that nearly 70 serious diseases are already being successfully treated with stem cells, and the fact that the number will very likely increase in the coming years, cord blood banking is a prudent investment in your family’s health.

Family Banking & Public Donation

Many parents wonder what the differences are between Family Cord Blood Banking and Public Donation of their newborn’s stem cells. The following comparison table provides a brief view of these two important options.

If you’re like many adults, the last time you wrote a thank you card may have been after your wedding. Now here you are, pregnant, hormonal and so big you’re about to pop, and you have a large list of baby shower attendees and gift-givers to thank.

This is only the start—you’ll receive presents after the baby is born, too. From there, it doesn’t end: baptism, birthdays, holidays. I do believe in sending thank you notes for every occasion and teaching children to do the same from a young age.

My nephews send thank you notes to us without fail for every occasion that we give them a gift, and those cards receive places of honor on our refrigerator. It’s been fun to watch them evolve from notes written by their mom, to the simple words “thank you” in big blocky letters they wrote themselves as kindergarteners, to the personalized, heartfelt notes they now send as young adults.

Thank yous are important, but I digress. Some etiquette experts say you have as long as six months after an event to send thank you notes. The rule of thumb I’ve always adhered to is two months. Unless you have 1,000 people at your gala event, there’s really no reason to take six months to send a thank you note.

But do yourself a favor and get those baby shower thank you notes out as soon as possible, so you don’t create a backlog and find yourself with a long list of cards to write and a crying infant in the other room. If at all possible, get your shower “thank yous” out before the baby is born.

It all begins with the list. If you send Christmas cards every year, you probably already have all your important family addresses well-organized. If not, you may have put together an address list for your shower—or whoever hosted the shower did it for you, in secrecy. Get that list! It will make your life so much easier and keep you from having to re-invent the wheel.

Our article about Baby Shower Ideas recommends having each guest fill in their own name and address on thank you card envelopes as they leave, which is certainly a great idea if the host of the shower thinks to provide thank you cards for the mom-to-be in advance. (And what a thoughtful idea!)

With your address list in hand, you’ll also need the list of gifts you received and who gave them to you. Hopefully, one of your friends at the shower wrote all this information down as you opened presents and everyone ooh-ed and ahh-ed over the adorable onesies and baby blankets.

And, of course, you need thank you cards! For round-two of gift-giving, after the baby is born, you may want to have cards printed with the baby’s picture on it or simply include a wallet-size photo with the card. If the baby isn’t born yet, it might be fun to include a sonogram picture (especially if you have one from a 3D sonogram), but there are also a wide variety of adorable thank you cards to choose from with no baby pictures required, online or at your local store.

Some Web sites and even drug stores will allow you to include your own special message pre-printed on the cards, but this is not enough! Each card should include a personalized, handwritten message, too, along with the gift-giver’s name, and your personal, handwritten signature. Visit the Tiny Prints Store for a great selection of Thank You Cards that you personalize or buy as-is!

The writing… for many people, that’s the hard part. What do you say? The important thing is to be heartfelt and personal. Mention the gift by name, and possibly even the way it will be used or something you especially like about it. “Thank you so much for the adorable outfit. It is my favorite color, and Ashley will be wearing it when we come home from the hospital together!”

If you know the baby’s name, it’s fine to use it, even if the baby isn’t born yet. Don’t forget to sign the card from both yourself and your husband, even if the shower was thrown in your honor. If you feel weird signing a card from an unborn baby, you can definitely skip that, but some mothers think it’s a cute touch.

In addition to commenting personally and positively on the gift, be sure to thank the person for attending the celebration, as well. Let them know you appreciated their presence, not just their present!

What if a gift is positively awful and you plan on heading right back to the store to make an exchange? (Or they didn’t check your registry and you received a duplicate.) Find something nice to say, but don’t be phony. Let the person know you appreciate the thoughtful gift, and emphasize how nice it was to see them at the shower. If you received two of the same item, comment on each as if it were the only one you received; the gift-giver doesn’t have to know whose Diaper Genie went back to the store and which one is sitting in the nursery right now.

Finally, be sure to send an extra special card, and maybe even a small gift, such as a box of chocolates or a scented candle, to the host or hosts of the shower. Let them know you appreciate how much work goes into planning such an event, and how much it meant to you. Don’t forget to thank them for their gift, as well!

Writing thank you cards is not difficult or scary and, in fact, it should give you a warm feeling inside, as you reminisce about the good times you had at your shower and all the love (and presents) you received! You don’t have to be Shakespeare or Miss Manners to write a good thank you card. Take time to truly appreciate the thought, expense, attention and care that went into each gift, and this gratitude will be reflected in every word you write.