Pregnancy and Babies Health

Wendy Turner: Well, it’s that time again to go through the mailbag and answer some of the many questions that you sent in to our doctors and midwives. Today, Su Laurent, Consultant Pediatrician at Barnet Hospital and Baby Channel Medical Advisor, she is going to answer some of your baby queries. Hello, Su. Dr. Su Laurent: Hi! Wendy. Wendy Turner: Okay, let’s kick off with one from Hailey from Bristol. My baby has Measles and I’m pregnant. Are there any risks? Dr. Su Laurent: Well, unfortunately measles is one of those viruses, which doesn’t actually cause a threat to unborn babies. As you probably know there are quite a number of them to do, but measles is one that doesn’t. The only thing, which occasionally can happens is if the mom gets measles and gets a very high temperature, it could precipitate early labor and that has been recorded, but on the whole it’s not a high risk. Having said that, unfortunately I think we’re going to see more and more children around with measles because as you know there are less and less children who’ve been immunized against measles. Measles certainly can make you very young well and if you haven’t had measles as an adult, and then you get it, you could be extremely unwell. So, it’s probably a warning to parents to think about that. Most parents, however will it become been exposed to measles, so the child’s at this particular mom of Hailey getting measles is actually quite small. Wendy Turner: Okay. So, obviously touching on the MMR -- Dr. Su Laurent: With touching on MMR vaccination. Exactly. Just a sort of a point to make to parents out there who were worrying at the moment should I or shouldn’t I, I’ve certainly had all three of my children immunized against measles mom’s Andrew Bella that the whole -- the single vaccine and I think it’s absolutely essential that everybody should do it, there is no proven risk. Wendy Turner: I agree. Dr. Su Laurent: Fantastic. Wendy Turner: Okay. Can you please advice me, when a baby’s flat head it can be problem, my baby is five-and-a-half months old and about to see a specialist for advice, but just wondered your view? That’s Jane. Dr. Su Laurent: This is a very interesting and an increasing problem at the moment that we see it’s not really a problem, just tell me that we get after lot about. Since we’ve been advising babies and their parents to put their babies on their backs to sleep, we’re seeing more and more babies with flat back to their heads, not surprising really. Wendy Turner: Just sort of here. Dr. Su Laurent: Just that. What happens is and very often it’s slightly on one side or the other. The reason for that is that, when babies come out, they often because they’ve been sort of squished as they come out through the birth canal, as you probably amend that your babies has not necessarily a perfect round when they come out. Wendy Turner: That’s right. Dr. Su Laurent: Then we put them to sleep on their back, if you’re slightly flatter on one side than the other one when you come, you’ll tend to favor that side, the baby will tend to go on that side. Obviously, they’ll -- the more you’re on your back as a baby, the more and your head is quite squishy to begin with, the more you’re going to mold your head on that side. Now that itself is not a problem to growth or brain development, but it’s causing lots of anxiety amongst parents. First of all, as a preventer it’s worth remembering that, when your baby is not asleep, put them on there as much as you can, sit them up whole bum, just get them into other positions and try to encourage if they are on their back asleep to have their heads on both sides, so just make one interesting things on the opposite side of the cot. Wendy Turner: When would the squishiness if you like of the baby head stop, I mean this baby is five months old? Dr. Su Laurent: This baby is five months old. I mean the baby’s head doesn’t feel squishy, but it’s just more sort of moldable and what will happen is as this baby is sitting at more and more, the flatness will usually tend to round itself out with time. However, some heads never become perfect round again, if you look a bold headed old men who round a lot, you’ll see that quite a lot of them actually do have quite flat back head because that’s -- it’s normal. There is a trend at the moment to put babies into these helmets, I think it has come from Australia and I’ve say that a bunch of pediatricians on the whole you feel it’s rather an awful thing to do because you spend a lot money buying a helmet to put it to your baby’s head and you leave your baby in this helmet and you have to buy new sizes, and then it actually sort of forces the baby’s head back into a round, which -- I have say he feels rather uncomfortable for us. Wendy Turner: Yes. Dr. Su Laurent: The reason to go and see a specialist about a flat head is simply to be short that there is not a rare condition, which is fusion of the one of the stupes of the skull. The skull is made of several bones and these bones eventually fuse together, but occasionally you can have primitive fusion of one of these -- what we call suches. If you get that, then you’ll get a very odd shaped skull, but usually it’s obvious to adopt when they see the baby right away. Wendy Turner: Okay. So, on most things if you really worry to check out-- Dr. Su Laurent: If you really worry, go and see a doctor and check it out. Wendy Turner: Okay. Dr. Su Laurent: Exactly. Wendy Turner: Alright! When is the best time, asks duty to circumcise myself, he is two years old. I actually thought that, that is completely gone out of fashion now? Dr. Su Laurent: Yes. I mean that there are three reasons for circumcising a baby or a child. The first and best of the commonest reason is religious reasons and mostly children for religious reasons are tend to be done as new born babies, and done by whoever the person within that culture is who does circumcisions. The second reason is that some children have very tight fore skin, some boys obviously, have a tight fore skins and there are medical reasons they might keep getting you in infections or they’ll be unable to attract and say there might be a medical reason for doing it, and in which case it’s done at the appropriate age for that child to have it done when they need it medically under general anesthetic. The third reason is the parent who just feels it might be a good idea, now there is no medical reason for just doing it routinely on old boys. There was a vogue for doing it in the UK and there is certainly until very reason, it was a vogue for doing it in America. My son born in America 15 years ago, it was just routine that the obstetrician did it and I said, actually, no thanks, I mean I’m English. My boys will need to stay in tact, but so therefore, at this particular Hailey is thinking, I think it’s a good idea to do it, before actually going ahead and doing it think well, there isn’t a medical reason for it; my -- it’ll start actually later on want his full skin and regret not having it. if you’re really keen to do it, you have a religious or family reason or whatever for doing it then go along and you have go and see a private pediatric surgeon, neurologist have it done and really any age is fine, we often think that it’s better to do an operational child when you’re going to explain to them what’s going to happen, but obviously any age is fine otherwise. Wendy Turner: But as -- you mustn’t think that you have to? Dr. Su Laurent: Absolutely not. No, no, it’s not something that has been done at all and in fact, most of us will say, don’t do it unless if there is a medical reason or a religious reason. Wendy Turner: Okay. Alright, my husband do and I would like to try for a baby, but when I was younger I did not have my Rubella injection. Do I still need to have it or doesn’t it matter? Dr. Su Laurent: This is a very, very good question. What I would do is go along to GP explain your situation and say that you would like to be tested to see you’ve Rubella immune; it’s a really good idea to find out. Most people are Rubella immured anyway, even if they haven’t had the injection because they’ll have come across it somehow. If you’re not Rubella immured, it is essential to get the injection, before trying to have a baby. Wendy Turner: Okay. Dr. Su Laurent: Because Rubella is one of those viruses that if you get it in pregnancy they can seriously affect the baby. Wendy Turner: Okay. Now, on the other hand, what would happen if you hadn’t had the injection, you found out you’re pregnant, what sort of course do you take there? Dr. Su Laurent: Okay. So what will happen is when you find out you’re pregnant, you’ll go along to be to have your booking session at the hospital and one thing that the midwives will do is to send off blood to look to see if you’re Rubella immured. Now if you’re Rubella immured, you’ll find, if you’re not a notice made for future pregnancies to make sure that after you have had this particular baby, you’re then immunized against Rubella. During the pregnancy when you know you’re not immured, you just have to try and be sort of avoiding being contact anybody with Rubella. Unfortunately, there is not much Rubella around at the moment, if you get anything that could Rubella then you would need to go along and have a discussion with your doctor about what to do and what the risks are. Wendy Turner: Okay. Alright, Prickly Heat in babies, how would you get rid of Prickly Heat? In our little one -- Dr. Su Laurent: Prickly Heat, I think it depends a little bit on what’s this particular mom is meaning by Prickly Heat and if you mean a red blotchy rash; very commonly babies after a few days of age will develop a red blotchy rash, which if you watch it over the course of hours the blotch from one area will move to another areas. In other words, a blotch one will disappear and a new blotch will appear. This is a term -- this is called Erythema Toxicant and as other thing that you can do to get rid of it, it just goes in time. Wendy Turner: What causes it? Dr. Su Laurent: Nobody really knows. It’s just one of those baby rashes, they can look quite on slightly and they can last for a few days. Sometimes people get very worried about it, but it’s just completely by itself. There are other rashes that babies can get, I think before being sure what it is, you need to show it to a doctor. But most rashes will just go by themselves. Wendy Turner: And then being quite put that when my first baby came out in after a couple of days, don’t he get a measle to little spot? Dr. Su Laurent: Yes. Wendy Turner: And you make to have that you know you think this-- Dr. Su Laurent: Perfect baby. Yes. Wendy Turner: You think perfect skin babies and they’ve got a little spots and Garry will be saying to be, don’t you desk squeezers spot? Dr. Su Laurent: yes. Exactly, of course, you’ll say your photograph don’t you need it on a spotty baby in the photographs. Wendy Turner: That’s right. Dr. Su Laurent: Well, it’s a very good question. Isn’t it? I mean namely some people call them milk spots and some people call them neonatal acne and some people -- some babies do actually get a little surge of hormones from the mom, but it actually gives them for a short period the spots which are actually like -- but all of those things, you’re quite right, Garry was quite right doing all that squeeze them, just wait, keep dry skin moist and olive oil for dry skin because sometimes that also makes baby skin look rather blotchy, if they’re very dry and a little time that’ll go by themselves. Wendy Turner: Thank you Su, your good advice as usual, we’ve run out of time so excellent time to say. Dr. Su Laurent: Thank you very much. Wendy Turner: -- Dr. Su Laurent: Thank you. Bye.