Home With Your Preemie  - 5 Things Parents Should Know and Do [Reprinted with permission from Health4Mom.org] The first few weeks at home with a preemie can be especially trying. No matter if your preemie was born at 26 or 36 weeks, here are a few things to keep in mind 1. I Got The Thermoregulation Blues Your preemie lacks the subcutaneous fat necessary to keep herself warm unless she is sufficiently wrapped. You don’t have to crank up the thermostat to 80F (after all, Eskimos have babies, too), but a wise parent wraps the baby in more than one layer. For the first day or so, take baby’s...

BRINGING BABY HOME / BABY-PROOFING YOUR WORLD / BABY-PROOFING YOUR HOME /PARENTING YOUR NEW BABY Bringing Baby Home By Candace Campbell, MSN, RN [reprinted with permission, Health4Women magazine] Congratulations and welcome to a new stage in your life – parenthood! Or maybe this isn’t your first baby and it’s welcome back to the magic kingdom! In an instant, your new baby has changed you from a couple into a family. The irony of your new essence, parenthood, evokes what I like to call a babylove addiction, which in a poetic sense, may be likened to a line from the old Eagles song,...

Today the American Red Cross has issued a recanting of their long-held position about when a bystander must begin chest compressions. This makes intuitive sense, when compared to the recommendation since 1996, i.e.,  having to mingle spit and/or vomit with anyone, especially a perfect stranger. Eeeew. Most folks just call 911. Turns out, chest compressions completed while awaiting emergency crew arrival, makes a big difference. You always thought doing something was better than nothing, didn’t you? So when that loud, obnoxious dude in line keels  over  and spills his popcorn, yell, “ARE YOU...

October, 2010 The Las Vegas Venetian Hotel Conference Center was the place to be for nearly 3,000 of the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) at the start of this month in the southwest. Outside temps  soared above triple digits, but inside we were comfortable in our climate-controlled atmosphere. I admit I didn’t venture OUT of the theme-park like atmosphere of this idyllic retreat. What a place! As we tourists  clicked photos of the gondolas, a “real” Italian family stood posing. I inquired of their friend, the photographer, how they liked...

Are you one of several million couples over the age of 30 concerned about infertility ? Do your eggs have stress fatigue from standing too long at the ‘start’ line ? Is your sperm count waning because you are overweight? What’s the difference bewteen IVF and IUI? What’s the latest in genetic infertility research? These and other HOT  topics were covered in the sweltering heat at the SMART ART conference in Las Vegas on Artificial Reproductive Technology (ART). Candy the Nurse was pleased to be one of the Round Table Discussion presenters, hosting the topic (what else?)...