Some parents of boys may have a tough decision to make: to circumcise or not to circumcise. For some cultures and religions, the choice is automatic. However, many parents have to decide for themselves. A new paper published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine might make a difference to some people. It discusses the potential medical benefits of circumcision and STD prevention.

From the article:

Since 2005, however, 3 randomized trials have evaluated male circumcision for prevention of sexually transmitted infections. The trials found that circumcision decreases human immunodeficiency virus acquisition by 53% to 60%, herpes simplex virus type 2 acquisition by 28% to 34%, and human papillomavirus prevalence by 32% to 35% in men. Among female partners of circumcised men, bacterial vaginosis was reduced by 40%, and Trichomonas vaginalis infection was reduced by 48%.

» Continue reading “Circumcision and STDs”

Our daughter started wearing glasses when she was a year and a half. We’ve had a long road of patching, drops, surgery, and eye examinations to treat her amblyopia. There was a steep learning curve for my husband and myself about her condition and eye health in general. Mommy Mythbuster has a great article on the myths and facts of children’s eye health.

Some of the myths discussed include sitting too close to the television, eating carrots, and contact lenses. My favorite nugget of information:

“If a child is sitting too close to the TV or computer screen, it is probably because he needs glasses to see well. Sitting very close to the screen will not cause them to need glasses,” said Dr. Borchert.

To make your child’s computer station more comfortable, make sure the screen is at eye level. Reduce screen glare by using a desk lamp with a dimmer so there isn’t a big contrast between the brightness of the screen and the room. Make sure your child can’t see her own reflection on the screen.

We recently installed this cool feature on the blog that lets us see how many people are visiting and tracks how they arrived.  It looks like many people find us via Google searches for accurate information, which I now have uppermost in my mind as I’m writing this.  I keep thinking, “Stop stalling, get to the links!  If you go on and on and try to demonstrate your skill with prose, you’re gonna lose your reader!”  So if you are, like myself, a compulsive Googler looking for facts beyond the fear mongering surrounding the H1N1 vaccine, let’s get some accurate sources up front before I start ranting and raving about the power of the internet to spread dangerous lies. » Continue reading “H1N1 Vaccine Information Resources”

Rob T. over at Science-Based Parenting blog just posted a review of tonight’s Dateline NBC special, Dose of Controversy. He says that although Matt Lauer interviewed several people to refute the claim that vaccines cause autism, including reporter Brian Deer and vaccine expert Dr. Paul Offit, in the end, Matt dropped the ball.

So they explained the controversy, and they had some good takeaways for parents, but all in all, Dateline failed to spend enough time pounding home the multiple studies that have shown no link between vaccines and autism.  Sure, they mentioned the conflicting studies in passing a couple of times, but then they spent an entire segment on an 11-year-old getting a controversial treatment at Dr. Wakefield’s Thoughtful House.  If they truly wanted to have their show be science based, they would have spent a segment on those other studies.

Head on over there and read Rob’s entire review.

I’m at 33 weeks pregnant and am in the middle of the maternity class gauntlet. Jodi’s earlier post about Birthing Classes inspired me write up some of my experiences. 

Lamaze Class at A Local Hospital 

My husband and I signed up for a four week Lamaze class taught through a local hospital. We barely made it through the first class and never went back. Our problem was really with the teacher and not the class, but oh what a big problem it was! 

Right off the bat, the instructor had an unfortunate voice. Loud, nasal… annoying. My willingness to ignore the voice and concentrate on the message may have been a mistake. It turns out that when a screechy harpy voice is mixed with condescension, unsubstantiated claims, anti-doctor paranoia and anti-vaccination messages, the voice quickly becomes intolerable.  » Continue reading “Birthing and Parenting Classes – My Experiences So Far”

My brother-in-law maintains that every child needs to eat a handful of dirt now and again to boost his or her immune system. There was a great article in the New York Times this week agreeing with this theory.

Babies Know: A Little Dirt is Good for You

A quick excerpt:

One leading researcher, Dr. Joel V. Weinstock, the director of gastroenterology and hepatology at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, said in an interview that the immune system at birth “is like an unprogrammed computer. It needs instruction.”


He said that public health measures like cleaning up contaminated water and food have saved the lives of countless children, but they “also eliminated exposure to many organisms that are probably good for us.”


“Children raised in an ultraclean environment,” he added, “are not being exposed to organisms that help them develop appropriate immune regulatory circuits.”

So, don’t obsess and over sanitize for your kids. Their bodies need to be exposed to bacteria and germs now and again. And, maybe even the occasional mud pie.

In the comments to “Never Break a Curly Bulb  Part 1 ” so many questions arose, that my response comment turned into a whole blog post!

For starters, catgirl asks “For comparison, how hazardous is a normal light bulb?”

Great question! I hadn’t really thought about it. I’d say the short answer is » Continue reading “Never Break a Curly Bulb Part 2″

I’m in my kids’ bathroom, changing light bulbs. All I have to do is unscrew one, put it down somewhere without breaking it, then screw in the new one. Simple, right? Not for Mrs. Butterfingers over here. I reach up, twist, twist, crash! “Oh, no!!!” I’ve just dropped a compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) or, as I like to say “curly bulb”, on the bathroom vanity. It explodes, and glass is everywhere. I panic, think to myself, “What was it I read a few months ago about what you have to do if you break a CFL?” I turn the exhaust fan on, shut the door, and get the hell out of there. “Don’t go in the bathroom!” I shout to the kids. “Why not?” they ask. “Because Mommy broke a light bulb, and it was full of poison!”

Poison?? CFLs are going to save the planet, right? » Continue reading “Never Break a Curly Bulb Part 1″

I had my tonsils out when I was 20. On spring break from college, I came home for a tonsillectomy. I wanted to be in the Bahamas with my girlfriends, but I had a running case of strep throat that I couldn’t shake. Doctors told me removing my tonsils and adenoids was the only way to get better. 

Immediately, I thought, “Yea! Ice cream!” But my doctor nipped that in the bud. He said ice cream was no longer recommended for tonsillectomy patients because the milk fat generated phlegm. I was bummed, but thought I would power through anyhow.

» Continue reading “Milk, Phlegm, and Tonsils”

When my daughter caught her first cold in the daycare at the YMCA, people told me that it was, in the long run, a good thing. Getting sick now, they said, would build her immune system and make her stronger. If it didn’t happen in daycare, then it’d happen in preschool. No matter how much I wanted to protect her, she would eventually have to go through a period of illness. Getting sick was a right of passage into the world of immunity. Was this an old wives’ tale, I wondered, or was there any truth to it?

» Continue reading “Fact or Fiction? “Building” Your Child’s Immunity Through Illness”