Deciding where to have my baby was not a question for me. Although my pregnancy wasn't high risk, I knew I wanted to give birth at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women.
If you read the popular press, it seems like everyone should follow a gluten-free diet. But what exactly is gluten, and should you avoid it?
Gluten is a grain protein that is found in wheat, barley and rye. There is a segment of the population that has an immune-mediated reaction to this protein known as celiac disease.
If Disneyland is ”The Happiest Place on Earth”, I have found “The Most Boring Place on Earth” — the pediatric oncology ward at Princess Marina Hospital. Being in any hospital at any age for any reason is not fun! However, hospitals in the U.S. do a great job of trying to distract kids with child life specialists, music therapists, TV, video games, movies, board games, puzzles, playrooms and visiting volunteers, just to name a few. None of that happens here in Botswana.
In my blog posts over the past 2 years, I addressed the issue of safety of anesthetic and sedative drugs in young children, specifically whether they have effects on long-term neurodevelopment, including learning, language, memory and school performance. See my previous posts here. Some research in young animals (and in young children) has found that anesthesia exposure resulted in worse performance in these areas.
You might wonder, “What the heck is a Baby Bistro?” At Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women, it’s where babies eat!