Surprise cord-blood find is ‘godsend’ for ailing boy

After half a year of blood transfusions to treat life-threatening anemia, 9-year-old Ricky Martinez was running out of time. The Murrieta boy needed a bone marrow transplant to save his life. Although his parents had held numerous drives seeking a match for their son, the perfect donor eluded them. Then another option appeared —- doctors …

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Guide to Pregnancy Hormones

      It doesn’t seem quite fair to accuse your hormones of causing every bloat, blemish, and emotional outburst during yourpregnancy. But the truth is that this potent cocktail of chemicals really is guilty as charged, and everything that’s happening to your body these days — both the good, and the not-so-good — can be …

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Pregnancy and Exercise

If you’re an avid exerciser or just trying to stay in shape while you’re pregnant, it is important to ask your doctor if you are healthy enough to exercise and how much is too much for you and your baby. If you are a runner you may be able to continue running through some of …

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Scientist Who Lost Daughter Champions Cord Blood

    Saving umbilical cord blood from childbirth is a growing practice, and those in the field credit a former NASA astronomer with raising national awareness about cord blood’s potential for providing life-saving stem cells. “There’s been a huge upswing in interest in cord blood banking,” said Danielle Winner Koontz, a childbirth educator and doula—or …

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Post-partum depression affects everyone…

Post-partum depression is more common than was previously thought.  With early intervention, PPD can be treated. Signs of PPD include weepiness, anxiety, panic attacks, detachment and withdrawal from family and friends. Babies exposed to PPD may suffer from emotional neglect. There has been evidence that this neglect can actually affect brain development. Sleep deprivation and isolation contribute …

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Cord Blood Banking Saves Missouri Girl’s Life

  A Pineville, Missouri mother is spreading the word about cord blood banking and how it saved the life of her child. Tonya Morris is spending quality time with her daughters Sunshine and 5-year-old Sparrow. These special moments are especially important for Sparrow. In 2008, at 1 year old she was found face down in …

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Preeclampsia, Premature Birth, and Cord Blood Banking

This article originally appeared in the newsletter of the Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood Foundation, http://parentsguidecordblood.org/newsletter_archive/newsletters_2012-03.php#preeclampsia       Preeclampsia is a life-threatening medical condition that complicates about 5% of the pregnancies in the United States. Onset of this disease commonly occurs after 32 weeks gestation but can occur late in the second trimester, and …

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Mothers on Antidepressants Less Likely to Breast-Feed

      Women who take selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants, or SSRIs, during pregnancy are much less likely to breast-feed their babies, researchers have found. The new study was conducted by researchers associated with the Connecticut Pregnancy Exposure Information Service (CPEIS), a state-funded service that provides women with information about exposures during pregnancy and …

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