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Food Allergies

Many Babies Are Fed Solid Foods Too Soon, CDC Study Finds

A study published in late March, 2013 in the American Academy of Pediatrics journal Pediatrics found that a majority of babies in the United States may be getting introduced to solid foods much too early, often leading to a variety of chronic illnesses.

Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveyed 1,334 new moms nationwide; they found that almost 93 percent had introduced solid foods to their infants before the babies were six months old, 40 percent had introduced solids before four months, and 9 percent had done so before four weeks of age.

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Do I Have Infectious or Non-Infectious Mastitis?

If your breast tissue is red, swollen and painful it could be Mastitis. It most commonly occurs in breastfeeding women and is also known as puerperal mastitis or lactation mastitis. You can have the condition and not be breastfeeding but it is rarer and mastitis typically affects just one breast. If you are suffering from this condition you may be experiencing flu-like symptoms like a high temperature, chills and aches. Continue reading

The Perils of Meconium

Meconium is your baby’s first poo! It has the consistency of treacle, it is odourless and unlike later offerings it is sterile. It is very dark and almost impossible to wipe clean. Meconium consists of water, mucus, amniotic fluid, lanugo which is downy baby hair and also intestinal epithelial cells. For most babies it is just their first poo (one of many!) and means a very gooey first nappy but in some cases it can be a cause for concern. Continue reading

Have You Heard of Nipple Confusion?!

Nipple confusion, hmm . . . this term can be somewhat misleading. It does not mean that your baby is perplexed as to what your nipple is for. It is a term to explain when babies are hesitant to feed from the breast and seems to prefer or find it easier to bottle feed milk which has been expressed. Continue reading

Food Allergies: Is Immunotherapy the Answer?

allergies, food allergies, immunotherapy, treatment of food allergies, how to treat food allergies, immunotherapy for food allergiesI have a friend, Christina, who is allergic to dogs–when she’s around them, her airways start to close, and she has a difficult time breathing. I am the owner of two shaggy dogs and a house full of hardwood floors. What this means is that no matter how often I sweep or vacuum, I can never get rid of all the hair. So when Christina and I first became friends, she wouldn’t be able to last five minutes in my house. But we noticed that the more she came over, the longer she could stay, until we got the point where she could be here for a dinner party–and stay from appetizers to dessert time. We always joked that she was “building a tolerance,” but after reading the LA Times article, In the Works: Immunotherapy for food allergies, I realized she really was. Immunotherapy is when an allergy sufferer Continue reading