Take good care of your baby


Coping With Long-Term Health Problems

If your child is born with a serious medicalprofessionals.
problem or develops a condition during his or
her first years, you will most certainly faceJoin a support group for those who have
some important decisions and responsibilitieschildren  with  a  similar  condition.
such  as:
Remember that your child still needs to be
The need to select and work with theloved and cared for. Dont let the medical
appropriate team of medical professionals whoproblems overtake your feelings for him or
will  best  help  your  childher  as  your  child.
Choosing  surgery  or  treatment  optionsDont neglect to take care of yourself. Your
child is counting on you to be strong, and
Learning how to give your child certainthis is simply impossible if you let yourself
medications and treatments, or how to usebecome  overwhelmed  and  exhausted.
necessary  medical  equipment
About half of babies born at 25 weeks will
Dedicating your energy, time, money, andhave learning difficulties, and/or problems
emotional commitment to the care andwith  their  eyesight  and  hearing.
treatment  of  your  child
The eyes of premature infants are especially
Adapting your life to meet your childs needsvulnerable to injury after birth. They are at
while not neglecting the needs of otherheightened risk of a complication called
family  membersretinopathy of prematurity , which is caused
by abnormal growth of blood vessels in the
You may find that caring for a child witheye.
special needs can take all of your attention,
leaving little time for anything else. WhileExtremely premature babies may also have
this is a perfectly normal response, it isproblems growing. They also seem to be more
vital for the overall wellness of the familylikely  to  develop  asthma.
for there to be a sense of balance and
routine to activities. No one will benefit ifChildren born at a later stage of pregnancy
the health condition becomes the overwhelmingare much less likely to develop long-term
issue in your familys life. Establishingproblems.
normalcy can be challenging, but both you and
your child will be better off if thisTommy's Professor of Obstetrics, Lucilla
approach  is  taken.Poston, Head of the King's group explains her
team's role as one of the 40 European Centres
Here are a few ways to help deal with aof Excellence that will investigate these
childs  long-term  health  problem:issues:
Discuss your childs condition honestly andWe are investigating the potential that
clearly with other family members so thathigh-fat diets in pregnant women can cause
they understand the situation. Provide themMetabolic Syndrome in their offspring. This
with  medical  literature,  if  necessary.condition is a major health issue worldwide,
characterised by obesity, high blood pressure
Ask for help from friends and family members.and raised cholesterol levels. Our research
Dont think that you can handle this all bywill look at both the impact of fat-rich
yourself.diets on the health of offspring and the
mechanisms by which this diet can programme
Whenever possible, include your partner inthe future health of the individual.
discussions and decisions with medical



1 A B C 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 65 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 94 95 96 97 98 99 100