Parenting Journals

By Cyndra Neal

You’ve just come back from your pediatrician with a diagnosis of reflux for your baby and a prescription for an acid reflux medication in your hand. Now’s the time to do some research into the different types of reflux medications prescribed for infants, how they work and are they safe for your infant.

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First introduced in 1796, homeopathy is an alternative type of medical treatment that uses diluted formulas that are believed to create effects within patients that are very similar to the symptoms that are present in that individual. These non-traditional remedies are prepared by a process known as serial dilution, which involves a series of steps to dilute the substance of a particular solution, followed by forceful shaking. Homeopathic practitioners refer to the dilution process as potentization.

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By J. Andrews

Gripe water has long been a home remedy for the treatment of gastrointestinal discomfort, colic, and teething pain in infants. Gripe water was first developed in 1851 in England and the discovery was actually made by accident.

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By Cyndra Neal

Colic. That word strikes fear into the hearts of new moms and pediatricians everywhere. Although theories abound, very little is known about colic. It comes on as mysteriously as it disappears. Parents inundate pediatric offices and emergency rooms, sure that something is seriously wrong with their infant. Some pediatricians send the parents home with only assurances that their baby will grow out of it. But a disturbing trend is developing among many pediatricians to diagnose colic symptoms as acid reflux and to prescribe Zantac, Prevacid or other acid reflux medications without doing any diagnostic tests. Many pediatricians prescribe acid reflux medications as a test for reflux. Some mothers report their pediatricians prescribed acid reflux medications over the phone without even seeing the infant. The parents are happy because they have something to possibly alleviate the obvious pain their baby is suffering. The pediatricians are happy to be able to prescribe something that might help. The pharmaceutical companies are certainly happy. And the baby…well the baby could still be suffering from colic as well as the added side effects (restlessness, constipation) of the acid reflux medications. The baby may now be prescribed other medications to help counteract the side effects.

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by Cyndra Neal

Your baby has cried with colic for the last 2 weeks almost non-stop. You’re scared. You’re frustrated. You are sleep deprived. You’re not thinking clearly. You are shaking your baby.

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By Sara Mulholland, Empowa Pty Ltd.

Triple Triple Antigen, Triple MMR, Triple Hib, Triple Hep B, Quadruple oral Polio, Meningococcal C, Pnuemococcal, Varicella, boosters and more boosters. When will it end? Sara Mulholland examines the evidence.

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