HEALTHY PAGE

           

Did you know?

The Affordable Care Act increases options and controls costs for families with children. Learn more from healthcare.gov.

Health care for baby

• Choosing a doctor
• Paying for your baby's health care
• More information on health care for baby

Right now, your OB or midwife is monitoring the health of your unborn baby. But as soon as your baby enters into this world, your baby will need his or her own doctor. Start looking into a doctor for your baby several months before your due date. Deciding on a doctor and figuring out health insurance before your child's birth saves time and gives you peace of mind as you near labor. Also, if you deliver early, somebody you know and trust will be at the ready to care for your new child.

Choosing a doctor

One of the most important things you need to do before giving birth is decide on a doctor for your baby. Babies need frequent checkups, vaccines, and they sometimes get sick. So don't wait until you need a doctor to make a choice. Doctors that care for babies and children include:

• Pediatricians
• Family physicians

Some nurses with special training also can care for your new baby. They are called pediatric nurse practitioners. Many medical offices have both nurse practitioners and doctors on staff.
To help you choose a doctor for your baby:

• Call your health insurance company for a list of doctors covered under your plan.
• Find out where they trained and how long they've been in practice. Some insurance companies and hospitals have this information. Details on some doctors can be found using DoctorFinder on the American Medical Association website.
• Request an interview with the doctors you like best.
• Find out about their office hours and how they handle concerns and emergencies after office hours.
• Find out who else in the office can see your child if your doctor is out.
• Get recommendations from other patients.

If you deliver at a hospital where your baby's doctor normally sees patients, she will see the baby right after the delivery. If not, a pediatrician on staff at the hospital should see your baby right after the birth. Then you can call your baby's doctor to schedule a visit a few days after birth. Remember to get your baby's medical records before leaving the hospital. Your baby's doctor will need them.

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Paying for your baby's health care

To get regular checkups and important vaccines, your baby will need health insurance. Some women have health insurance through an employer or are able to buy it on their own. If you have health insurance, find out how to add your new baby to your policy. You also should find out which doctors will work with your plan and what types of care are covered by your policy. Find out how much you have to pay for visits.
If you're worried about paying for health care, programs for women and children in need can help. The following organizations can help you and your baby get medical care:

• Insure Kids Now! – This program provides children under age 18 with free or low-cost health insurance. It covers doctor visits, prescription medicines, vaccines, dental care, hospitalizations, and more. Each state has its own Insure Kids Now program. Learn about your state's program or make a free call to 877-KIDS-NOW begin_of_the_skype_highlighting FREE 877-KIDS-NOW end_of_the_skype_highlighting for more information.
• State and local health departments – They can tell you what programs are available in your area. Ask about health insurance, medical care, and how to qualify for this help.
• Local hospital or social service agencies – Ask to speak with a social worker on staff. She will be able to tell you where to go for help.
• Community clinics – Some areas have free clinics or clinics that provide free care to women and children in need.
• Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program – This government program is available in every state. It provides help with food, nutritional counseling, and access to health services for women, infants, and children.

More information on health care for baby

Explore other publications and websites

• A Guide for First-Time Parents (Copyright © Nemours Foundation) — This publication covers many of the topics that new parents need to know. It discusses handling your newborn, soothing techniques for when your baby is crying, umbilical cord care, and sleeping position. It also gives tips on diapering, bathing, feeding, and burping your baby.
  http://kidshealth.org/parent/pregnancy_newborn/pregnancy/guide_parents.html
• Baby Basics: Trimming Your Baby's Nails (Copyright © Nemours Foundation) — This article explains how to trim your baby's nails safely to prevent scratches.
  http://kidshealth.org/parent/pregnancy_newborn/basics/trimming_nails.html
• Bathing an Infant — Bath time can be fun but you need to be very careful with your child around water. This resource provides bathing safety tips and ways to prevent bathing accidents.
  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/patientinstructions/000020.htm
• Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents — This cornerstone publication of the Bright Futures project is a practical, comprehensive resource to help professionals, families, and communities more effectively promote the health and well-being of our nation's children and adolescents.
  http://www.brightfutures.org/bf2/pdf/
• Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedule — This website has links to vaccination schedules by age for children and adolescents as well as interactive schedulers. The schedules recommend when children should get immunizations and offer advice on what to do if a child does not have all the recommended immunizations.
  http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/schedules/child-schedule.htm
• Colic (Copyright © American Academy of Family Physicians) — This publication explains what colic is, how long it will last, and what you can do to help your baby stop crying.
  http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/children/parents/infants/036.html
• Feeding Your Newborn (Copyright © Nemours Foundation) — This publication offers information on breastfeeding and bottle-feeding. It covers the advantages of breastfeeding, limitations of both breastfeeding and bottle-feeding, and possible challenges you may encounter.
  http://kidshealth.org/parent/food/infants/feednewborn.html
• Guidelines for Vaccinating Pregnant Women — This publication provides information on routine and other vaccines and whether they are recommended for use during pregnancy.
  http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/preg-guide.htm
• Newborn Hearing Screening — This fact sheet gives the history of newborn hearing screenings and the improvements to hearing screening today.
  http://www.nih.gov/about/researchresultsforthepublic/Newborn.pdf
• Vaccine-Preventable Childhood Diseases — This online fact sheet lists descriptions, symptoms, and vaccines for numerous diseases that can be prevented in children.
  http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/child-vpd.htm
• Vaccines for Children Program (VFC) — The Vaccines for Children Program (VFC) helps families by providing free or reduced-cost vaccines for eligible children up to 18 years old. This website explains the VFC program and gives information on who is eligible.
  http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/vfc/default.htm
• Well-baby Exam: What to Expect During Routine Checkups (Copyright © Mayo Foundation) — Most infants have their first well-baby exam within the first few days to weeks after birth. This online article gives what to expect and how to prepare for a well-baby exam.

Solving the Autism Mystery

Answer to common questions about autism's causes, symptoms, and treatment options

By Shawn Bean

           

With our 10-month-old son sitting on her lap, my wife Brandy fields a list of standard questions from our pediatrician. How is he eating? How is he sleeping? The bespectacled doctor listens, making notes on her clipboard. Does he respond to his own name? No, Brandy says. The doctor slowly looks up, eyebrows raised, obviously concerned. "Oh, but it's okay," Brandy says. "I think he just ignores me."
The stone-faced statues on Easter Island. The crop circles in rural Swiss wheat fields. Houdini escaping shackles in a water tank.
There are mysteries -- and then there is autism. How can something with such overwhelming public awareness be so inexplicable? You would be hard pressed to find an expectant mom or dad who hasn't heard the "A" word, yet the most well educated and experienced physicians, clinical psychologists and behavioral analysts in the field of autism will tell you they have no clear explanation for its cause. They don't know why boys are four times as likely as girls to be on the spectrum, or why prevalence of autism in children in Minnesota is three times higher than it is in Tennessee.
Perhaps we should start with what we do know: the incidence of autism is increasing dramatically. Approximately 1 in every 91 children ages 3 to 17 was on the autism spectrum in 2007, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Five years earlier, that figure was 1 in 150. Four years before that, it was 1 in 1,000.
With these skyrocketing stats, and a dearth of answers from experts, autism has become a Gen Y boogie monster. As a result, parents are desperate for information, and there's plenty of it, both factual and bogus. Google "autism," and you'll get 18.5 million search results (that's about the same number of results as "premature birth" and "colic" combined). Search the topic in the books section on Amazon, and you'll find 5,700-plus titles including Jenny McCarthy's Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism. Among the book's customer reviews are countless armchair theories for autism's cause: genetics, vaccinations, pesticides, industrial contaminants, and America's increasing reliance on prescription drugs.
Since finding a cause has proved problematic, there is a growing emphasis on diagnosing and treating children as early as possible. James Coplan, M.D., is a physician who is board certified in both developmental-behavioral pediatrics and neurodevelopment disabilities. He is also the author of Making Sense of Autistic Spectrum Disorders, a guidebook aimed at making parents expert advocates for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

3 Springtime Skin Dangers

Sun, bugs and blossoming plants. Here's the skniny on spring skin care

By Shawn Bean

        

Spring has sprung -- a trap! Sure, it's the season of cardigan-cleansed closets, checkered picnic blankets and Technicolor blooms, but for babies and toddlers spring also has its pitfalls. That's especially true with skin care: The things we rush outdoors to enjoy (sun, flowers, nature, etc.) can bring with them itchy irritants and sunburnt bugaboos. While half-naked tots running through sprinklers on a sunny day makes for an aw-shucks image on an Easter card, such frolicking requires a keen supervising eye (and stocked medicine cabinet). Here's how to protect your little ones from the elements.
Here Comes the Sun
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends keeping babies younger than 6 months out of direct sunlight. That's particularly important between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when the sun is at its strongest. Unlike an adult's, a baby's skin is not equipped with much melanin, the natural pigment that absorbs and protects against the sun's rays. For outdoor outings with babies under 6 months, dress your baby in light, long-sleeved shirts and long pants. The best options are those made from tightly woven fabrics that the sun can't penetrate. Use a wide-brimmed hat or cap to cover her face and neck. Apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen (one that protects against UVA and UVB rays) that's at least SPF 15 on any exposed areas of the body like the back of her hands. Look for a chemical-free version that uses zinc or titanium dioxide. If she's cruising in a stroller, be sure to keep the canopy up. For babies older than 6 months, apply a sunscreen with SPF 15. Reapply every two hours or so.
Stings, Bites and Bumps
With the blossoming flowers comes the return of all kinds of insects: bees and wasps, ants and yellow jackets, mosquitoes and ticks. We all know that stings and bites bring on itchy, tender bumps, but they can also cause dangerous allergic reactions. For example, if a bee stings a small child with asthma or other breathing problems, it may lead to the shrinking of air passages.
Bugs tend to be most active early in the morning and late in the afternoon. No one wants to stay inside due to pesky bugs, so it's best to safeguard the skin with the proper repellent. If the baby is over 2 months, the AAP recommends insect repellants with DEET, an effective chemical that lasts three to eight hours. Those made with essential oils from plants like citronella and eucalyptus are less effective and last a much shorter amount of time. Avoid gimmicky gadgets like ultrasound devices and bug zappers, which may actually attract bugs to your backyard.
Spray repellent on the clothing and exposed parts of baby's skin. (Do it outside to avoid inhaling fumes.) Don't overuse: Spraying on an extra dose does not make it more effective. At the end of the day, wash the spray off baby with soap and water, and wash clothes before wearing again. If your tot is bitten, use a cold compress or cloth filled with ice to ease inflammation or apply calamine lotion.