If your child is healthy and growing normally, a multivitamin isn’t necessary; food is the best source of nutrients. Nutritious meals and snacks should provide all the essentials—even for picky kids. Many parents worry their children will be deficient in vitamins if they don’t “eat a rainbow” every day, but children are covered as long as they’re eating some produce. Remember too that bread and cereal are fortified with important nutrients like B vitamins, calcium, vitamin D and iron. High doses of vitamins—too many multis and supplement drinks, for example—can actually be toxic. See your doctor if you’re concerned about your child’s diet. Ask more...
Kids learn quickly that mealtime is one area they have some control over (when they don’t have much in the rest of their lives). Like us, they have preferences too and won’t love every dish. When kids are offered solid food in a calm way, in social settings like family meals, they are less likely to be picky and more inclined to try new foods. Fussiness typically peaks by age two, though some kids show it earlier and some never at all (lucky parents!). But as long as kids are eating at least a small variety of foods throughout the week—stop obsessing over their day-to-day diets—they are unlikely to be missing out on any one nutrient and will thrive. Some keys to avoiding the battle: keep the mood light, try to stick to a routine for meals and snacks, make it fun and ask them to help with food prep and table setting. Ask more...
If you forget to take a birth control pill, take it as soon as you remember. If you don't remember until the next day, go ahead and take two pills that day. If you forget to take your pills for two days, take two pills the day you remember and two pills the next day. You will then be back on schedule. If you miss more than two pills, call your health care provider for instructions. Those instructions may be to take one pill daily until Sunday and then start a new pack or to discard the rest of the pill pack and start over with a new pack that same day. Ask more...
Yes. Even though breastfeeding may suppress or delay menstruation, you can still get pregnant. Ovulation will occur before you start having menstrual periods again, so follow your doctor's recommendation on the appropriate birth control method to use. Ask more...
There has been much debate by the scientific community regarding hormone replacement therapy, or HRT. In general, hormone treatment is believed to maintain healthy bones after menopause, in addition to relieving menopausal symptoms. But, like all treatments, there may be some harmful side effects, including an increased risk for endometrial (uterine) cancer and breast cancer.
Hormone replacement therapy isn't right for everyone. Talk to your doctor to determine if hormone treatment is right for you. Ask more...Circumcision in newborn boys for medical or health reasons is an issue that continues to be debated. In 2012, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) reported that circumcision has potential medical benefits and advantages, as well as risks. The existing scientific evidence is not sufficient to recommend routine circumcision. Therefore, because the procedure is not essential to a child’s current well-being, we recommend that the decision to circumcise is one best made by parents in consultation with their pediatrician, taking into account what is in the best interests of the child, including medical, religious, cultural, and ethnic traditions.
- A decreased risk of urinary tract infections
- A reduced risk of sexually transmitted diseases in men
- Protection against penile cancer and a reduced risk of cervical cancer in female sex partners
- Prevention of balanitis (inflammation of the glans) and balanoposthitis (inflammation of the glans and foreskin)
- Prevention of phimosis (the inability to retract the foreskin) and paraphimosis (the inability to return the foreskin to its original location) Ask more...