Search for tag: "smile"

Dr. Gellner: Every parent wonders if their new baby is on track developmentally. I'll tell you five milestones in the first year of life that really matter on today's Scope. I'm Dr. Cindy Gellner.

Announcer: Keep your kids healthy and happy. You are now entering the Healthy Kid Zone with Dr. Cindy Gellner on The Scope.

Dr. Gellner: Every milestone is exciting when you have a new little person in your life. Most parents already know about the ones like rolling over and walking. But what about the not-so-subtle milestones that are important?

Eye contact is one of the first milestones you'll notice. Babies usually start looking you in the eye when they are about six to eight weeks old. Your face is going to be what they look at most, so if your baby doesn't make eye contact by their two month well visit, be sure to mention it to your pediatrician so they can take another look.

Another milestone that should come around the same time is the social smile. This isn't the spontaneous smile that happens when your baby passes gas. It's the smile that your baby gives when you smile at your baby and your baby smiles back at you. It's a sign that the vision and social parts of his brain are developing. Your baby should be smiling by three to four months old. If not, it could be a vision problem or a problem attaching to parent figures.

Next is babbling by six months. This is different from cooing that newborns do because it requires babies to figure out how to use their tongue and the front of their mouth to make sounds like da, ba, ga, ma. No, your baby will not say mama or dada and know they are referring to you as parents specifically, although I do get told that a lot. Recognizing you guys and saying mama and dada and meaning mama and dada is closer to nine-month scale.

Be sure to encourage the babbling by talking back to your baby. This is how they learn language skills. If there is no babbling by six months old, your pediatrician may want get your baby's hearing checked again, even if it was normal in the nursery.

Then there is reaching and grabbing, which is followed by babies putting everything they grab directly into their mouths. This is good, actually. It shows curiosity and interest in learning more about their environment and it should be encouraged so your baby can use all their senses. But it also a prime time for childproofing and making sure there are no choking hazards around your baby.

Finally, there is pulling to a stand. This is one of the most important gross motor milestones because it shows the stability and strength of the legs and torso that is needed for walking to start. It also shows that your baby is motivated to move and get something they want. Babies should start doing this around 10 months old and should be walking by 18 months old. If they don't have the ability to do this, then your pediatrician may have them see a physical or occupational therapist to help with this milestone.

We as pediatricians monitor every milestone closely. So if you have any concerns about your baby's milestones, be sure to ask and we can let you know if you need to worry of not

Announcer: Thescoperadio.com is University of Utah Health Science's radio. If you like what you heard, be sure to get our latest content by following us on Facebook. Just click on the Facebook icon at thescoperadio.com.

Dr. Gellner: There is a lot in the news lately about Autism. How and when do pediatricians screen for this? I'll give you the info on today's Scope. I am Dr. Cindy Gellner.

Announcer: Keep your kids healthy and happy. You are now entering the Healthy Kids Zone with Dr. Cindy Gellner on The Scope.

Dr. Gellner: You know your pediatrician checks your child's development at every well visit. What happens if your child is not following along with their developmental milestones?

Sometimes, we as pediatricians, get early clues as to if something isn't just quite right. Maybe it is a baby who does not make eye contact or babble, does not smile when others smile or talk to them. Maybe it is a child who at 15 months is not saying "mama" or "dada" or any other words.

Screening for autism happens at the 18 and 24 month well child visits. By that age there are several developmental milestones that your child should have met.

While there are a lot of screening tools out there, most pediatricians use something called the revised M-CHAT, short for modified checklist for autism in toddlers. It is a standardized set of questions, with yes and no answers, to see if your child meets the criteria for autism. If the scoring on the checklist raises red flags for your pediatrician, there is a follow-up set of questions to be asked to get more information.

Sometimes kids are late talkers, late walkers, or not very social but still show affection. Sometimes these are because of other people carrying them around or talking for them. But sometimes it is a big red flag that something needs further investigation.

If a child misses certain questions on the M-CHAT that is when your pediatrician will refer them to an early intervention program or developmental pediatrician. Early intervention programs see children up to age three, usually, and they have speech therapists that can help do evaluations if your child isn't talking as they should.

Often, there is a developmental specialist working with early intervention as well. A developmental pediatrician will be able to officially diagnose your child with or without autism and help your regular pediatrician with getting your child any special services they may need.

If you have any concerns about your child's development be sure to bring it up at your child's next well visit or make a special appointment with your pediatrician.

Announcer: TheScopeRadio.com is University of Utah Health Sciences radio. If you like what you heard be sure to get our latest content by following us on Facebook. Just click on the Facebook icon at TheScopeRadio.com.

Dr. Jones: Your baby smiles and her whole little face lights up, but you can't smile back. What's wrong? Is it the baby blues or something more serious? This is Dr. Kirtly Jones from Obstetrics and Gynecology at University of Utah Health Care and we're talking about postpartum depression today on The Scope.

Announcer: Covering all aspects of women's health. This is the Seven Domains of Women's Health with Dr. Kirtly Jones on The Scope.

Dr. Jones: The birth of a child rewires a woman's brain for maternal behavior. There are huge shifts in the hormonal environment from pregnancy to the postpartum state, breastfeeding turns on the bonding hormone, oxytocin, and adds some sleep deprivation in a world turned upside down and it's no wonder that women can experience a roller coaster of emotions. What are the baby blues and what is postpartum depression, and what can a woman do, and her family do to get help?

Well, let's start with the baby blues. Seventy-five to 80% of new moms experience some emotional upheavals in the first couple of weeks after the birth of a child. It's common. It's hard to do research on new moms. No prospective randomized trials, and we don't have any great animal models for the baby blues, rats. But we do know that a big change in pregnancy hormones and a drop in the levels of endorphins that got a woman through her labor and delivery might be part of the reason that women experience the following: weeping and bursting into tears, sudden mood swings, anxiousness and hypersensitivity to criticism . . . who would criticize a new mom, anyway? Low sprits and irritability, poor concentration, and indecisiveness, feeling unbonded with the baby.

I remember wondering when my new baby's mother was going to show up, myself. The baby blues happened in the first couple of weeks after delivery and don't last more than a couple of weeks, often just a few days. This is the time where family should be around helping the new mom get settled and get as much rest as possible with the new baby. Women without family or partner support may struggle and good news is that it happens to most women and it gets better in about a week or so.

When is the time that baby blues is possibly postpartum depression? If the anxiety and sadness continue the first couple of weeks and gets worse, this is more likely postpartum depression. Postpartum depression affects 8 to 15% of women, about one in eight. The symptoms are similar to depression, in general, overwhelming fatigue or loss of energy, severe mood swings, withdrawing from family and friends, reduced interest in activities you used to enjoy, feelings of worthlessness, shame, guilt or inadequacy. This list makes me sad just to say it out loud.

Where baby blues are common and short-lived, postpartum could go on for months and it should be recognized and treated for the sake of the mom and the baby. The women who experience postpartum depression may not even know what's happening. Families and partners need to be aware that the new mom's in trouble. Treatment is very helpful and can include talk therapy with a psychological therapist and medication can be important. Women who realize they don't feel well emotionally should call their doctors or midwives, or pediatricians and they can be referred appropriately.

There's one other postpartum psychological problem that is a medical emergency. Postpartum psychosis is very rare but serious disease that can develop within the early weeks after childbirth that's marked by a loss of contact with reality. Women may have hallucinations, hearing or seeing things that aren't real that say bad things about them or their baby, they may have delusions about themselves or their babies that are paranoid or irrational, they may show extreme agitation or anxiety, they may have thoughts of harming themselves or their babies.

This is a devastating condition for the new mom and the family and needs immediate medical care. New mom showing these problems should be brought to the medical care right away and often need to be hospitalized to protect themselves and their babies. The good news is that we're better at recognizing and treating women with postpartum mood disorders. We need to get the word out so that women and their families, that it's okay to ask for help, and they can feel better. So let's all go smile and talk to that little baby and thanks for joining us on The Scope.

Announcer: TheScopeRadio.com is University of Utah Health Sciences Radio. If you like what you heard, be sure to get our latest content by following us on Facebook. Just click on the Facebook icon at TheScopeRadio.com.