Dr. Sears
In This Issue:
A Move Toward Fewer Surgical Births

What is a Health Coach?

Sleeping Peacefully While Pregnant

Fitness for Kids with Special Needs


Baby Food Mixology

Is Your Child Ready for Toilet Training?

Product Recalls
Greetings,

It's seems like just yesterday we were planning for the Holidays and now spring is just around the corner. This newsletter focuses on the needs moms face daily as they raise young children. Whether pregnant with your first or fifth, or looking for tips to help with your special needs child, there's sure to be something of interest in the articles below and on www.askdrsears.com.  

We hope you enjoy this newsletter and look forward to connecting with you and answering your questions on our facebook page

Warm regards,

Dr. Bill and family

NEWS FLASH: A Move Toward Fewer Surgical Births

The March issue of the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology has a feature article entitled “Safe Prevention of the Primary Cesarean Delivery” in which the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) issued a consensus statement listing ways to lower the increasing incidence of cesarean delivery. While cesarean birth can often be lifesaving for the baby and mother, the fact that 1 in 3 women now give birth in the United States by surgical delivery has caused increasing concern.

toddler

These two leading obstetrical organizations are now coming together with science-based and safe guidelines with the hope of lowering the necessity for surgical deliveries. This is the first such joint effort in many years and has the birth community buzzing.

Here are a few of the new recommended guidelines:

  • Birth attendants will not pay such close attention to the time clock for labor. As long as labor is progressing, then there will be less rush toward surgical delivery even though some mothers may have a longer-than-usual labor. Read full article

What is a Health Coach?

Free Webinar

I often receive questions about what a Health Coach is and why I offer the Dr. Sears Health Coach Certification through the Dr. Sears Wellness Institute. My answer is simple. I want to help more people.

As a Doctor, I am keenly aware of our inability to spend enough time educating our patients. All too often those in the medical community resort to prescribing medications to treat symptoms because they don't have time to educate patients about how they can take charge of their health. That educational gap is where Health Coaches come in.

Simply put, a Health Coach is an individual who helps shape the behavior of individuals, families or groups by teaching them to manage nutrition and the lifestyle choices that affect their health and wellbeing. Health coaches focus on educating and motivating people towards making positive healthy changes. 

If you would like to learn more about how a Health Coach could help you and your family, click here.

Sleeping Peacefully While Pregnant

sleeping peacefully while pregnant

As your pregnancy progresses and your little passenger starts taking up a lot more room, quality sleep becomes more of a challenge. You get more tired and need more sleep, but the changes of pregnancy can keep this from happening. Early in pregnancy sleep simply overtakes you and you have no choice but to sleep a lot. But later on, the very marvels that are taking place inside your body and in your growing baby conspire to keep you awake. This just goes with the territory. Understanding why you wake up so often can help you to be proactive in taking steps to minimize causes and sleep soundly.

Pregnant mothers need more sleep because during sleep many healthful things are happening to you and your baby such as: tissues grow and heal, stress hormones diminish, and growth hormones increase. In addition, you need a good night's sleep because.

  • Your body's metabolism is working overtime, so it needs more rest.
  • Sleep deprivation causes a decrease in leptin, the appetite-control hormone, resulting in overeating.
  • Sleep deprivation can worsen depression.
  • Sleep deprivation increases the risk for type II diabetes and/or gestational diabetes. Read full article

Sports and Fitness for Kids with Special Needs

Special Needs Fitness

Being physically active can present a challenge for children with special needs. But, just because it is challenging doesn’t mean that it is impossible. Incorporating sports and fitness activities into everyday routines is just (if not more!) important for children with special needs as it is for children and adults of all ages.

Here is a great list of benefits and resources to help your special needs child get moving while having fun!

Baby Food Mixology

Making your own baby food

Starting to feed your baby solid foods is a fun new adventure when they first start tasting and experiencing new foods. But as time goes on, the excitement can wear off and you find yourself in a mental block trying to come up with something different for them to try. After all, they HAVE to be tired of just eating sweet potatoes, bananas, and applesauce. Right? At that point, all your good intensions of making baby food begin to fizzle out and you revert to the canned options in the supermarket isle.

Making baby food doesn't have to be scary or mundane though! By making your own you can drastically cut down of the cost of food and experiment with a variety of flavor profiles to come up with a unique, power packed option your baby loves. All it takes to master the art of baby food is a food processor or blender and a little creativity. Dr. Bill's favorite first foods include avocados, bananas, peaches, barley, cereal, applesauce, carrots, pears, squash, and sweet potatoes. (Dr. Sears guidelines for Starting Solids) Starting out with individual foods is best, but as your child grows and becomes accustomed to each of the foods individually you can start to experiment with different flavor combinations. Here are a few favorites:

  • spinach and pears
  • chicken, carrots, and whole grain brown rice
  • squash, cantaloupe, and Greek yogurt
  • salmon, sweet potato, and lentils
  • quinoa, beets, and apples

These are just a few unique flavor combinations to get your creative juices flowing. Google for single serve recipe amounts, or simply experiment and freeze leftovers in ice cube trays to store individual single serve portions.

Is Your Child Ready for Toilet Training?

While there is no magic number or set age to start potty training, toilet training actually starts earlier than you might imagine. Do you know what indicators to look for in your child that demonstrate they are ready to start? Watch the video to learn the signs.
potty training

Product Recalls

Britax stroller

The Go Gaga Squeeze & Teethe Coco the Monkey teething toy is being recalled due to reports of babies choking and gaging on the tail. This squeaking toy is made of soft orange rubber and is shaped like a monkey. Learn more about the potential hazards.

BebeLove™ Baby Walkers are being recalled because they fail to meet federal safety standards. They are not designed to stop at the edge of steps, are too narrow, and children can become entrapped in the leg openings in some models. Learn more.

Britax strollers are being recalled due to partial fingertip amputation hazard or other injuries when pressing on the release button while pulling the release strap. The company has received multiple reports of incidents involving broken fingers, severe lacerations and one partial fingertip amputation. If you have a B-Agile, B-Agile Double or BOB Motion stroller learn more about the recall.