HealthWatch

Supporting Baby's Foot Development

Experts recommend that babies go barefoot for as long as possible and shoes are only a necessity when they are walking unaided outside. However, when the time comes, footwear choice can be crucial to your child’s growth and future development.

Will Munro, Managing Director at FootActive, explains the implications of putting shoes on babies too early and what impact this can have, "The biggest problem is that it could slow their development down. They’re also unlikely to move as much because it will feel quite restricting for a baby to have something on their feet. It really isn’t necessary to be putting babies in shoes, especially while they’re still at a crawling age."

FootActive offers expert tips on how to care for your baby’s feet, plus what to keep in mind when you buy their first pair of shoes.

Tips on how to care for your baby’s feet:

• Wash and dry their feet thoroughly daily.

• Trim or file toenails regularly, but not too short.

• Do not restrict their feet in ill-fitting baby grows or socks.

• Encourage muscle development with exercises such as kicking.

Signs of a foot health issue:

• Redness or rashes between toes, around the arches, and ankles, or any lumps on the soles of feet

• Toenail inflammation or discoloration

• Bad posture from excessively turned in or out feet

• Deformed toes

Choosing the best fit: You will get the most accurate measurement if you measure their feet in the afternoon, as baby feet tend to swell during the day. This can be done by a professional shop fitting service or at home. If measuring at home:

• Measure the length and width of both feet. It is common for each foot to measure at a different size during your child’s development. Buy shoes that fit the largest foot.

• It is recommended by The Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists that a new shoe should be approximately 12–16mm longer than the longest toe.

• Your child’s feet should be measured every 2–4 months as they will likely grow within that time period.

Visit footactive.co.uk/blog/225-baby-s-first-shoes for more information.

–FootActive

Self-Care for Parents

Stress causes wear and tear on a person, inside and out. When you take time for self-care, you are better able to care for your child. Even a few minutes of “you time” can help you recharge so that you can parent at your best. Remember, you are doing a great job by doing the best you can. Keep these tips in mind when you’re feeling overwhelmed.

Stay social. Spending more time at home than usual can take a toll. Reach out to loved ones and friends with a phone call or video chat. If you are keeping social distance from others, it doesn’t mean you need to go at it alone.

Sleep. When your little one is resting, try to do the same. If they are having trouble settling down, sing them a quiet song that you loved when you were small, one that calms you down, too.

Take a 10-minute vacation. Take a break by listening to a favorite song, reading a few pages of a new book, or doing some energizing stretches. As you’re bathing your child, soak your hands in the warm water and give yourself a hand massage, taking long, deep breaths as you do so.

Keep a journal by your bed. Before you fall asleep, remember something funny, kind, or surprising that your child did today. Write a few lines in your journal that capture the memory. If you are feeling down, you can read through your memory journal.

Fill your cup. Get a nice big glass of water and find a comfy spot to sit. Let your child know, “I’m just going to sit and read / think / breathe while I drink this glass of water.” Explain that you’ll be available once the glass is empty. Children have difficulty keeping track of time—this is a concrete way to help them understand that you are taking a few minutes to yourself.

Turn on the tunes! Never underestimate the power of music to change the mood. Put together a playlist of songs that make you feel good. You could create different playlists for different moods—one to relax, one to energize, and so on.

Get moving. Taking movement breaks throughout the day can help alleviate stress and keep you well. Even if you’re stuck inside, try a few small-space, bodyweight exercises like squats, lunges, armraises, or yoga.

–PBS.org

Behaviors and Tips for a Healthy Pregnancy & Baby

Birth defects are structural changes that affect one or more parts of the body. They develop most often during the first three months of pregnancy, when a baby’s organs are forming and can cause problems in overall health, how the body develops, and functions. About 1 in 33 babies in the U.S. is born with a birth defect each year, according to the CDC. Common birth defects include congenital heart defects, cleft lip and cleft palate, and spina bifida.

Your genetics, behaviors, and social and environmental factors can impact the risk for birth defects, but not all birth defects can be prevented. However, there are things you can do to increase your chance of having a healthy, full-term pregnancy and baby.

Before Pregnancy

Get a preconception checkup: This is a medical checkup you get with your prenatal care provider before pregnancy to help make sure you’re healthy when you get pregnant. Go for this checkup before you start trying to get pregnant.

Stay up-to-date on vaccinations: Ask your health care provider if your vaccinations are up to date before you try to get pregnant. Some vaccinations protect you from infections that can cause birth defects. For example, rubella is an infection that can cause hearing loss, heart defects, and other health problems for your baby. The MMR vaccine protects against measles, mumps, and rubella. If you don’t have a record of your vaccinations, your provider can check your immunity for rubella with a blood test. If you need the MMR vaccination, wait at least 4 weeks after you get the shot before you try to get pregnant.

Take folic acid: Take a vitamin supplement that has 400 micrograms of folic acid in it every day. Folic acid is a B vitamin that every cell in your body needs for normal growth and development. Taking folic acid before and during early pregnancy can help prevent neural tube defects (NTDs) in your baby.

Learn about your genes and family health history: If you, your partner, your children, or someone in your families has a birth defect, you may want to see a genetic counselor. This is a person who is trained to help you understand about genes, birth defects, and other medical conditions that run in families and how they can affect your health and your baby’s health. Use the March of Dimes Family Health History Form to collect information about health conditions in your family. Share the form with your genetic counselor or health care provider.

Work with your health care provider to manage chronic health conditions. If you have a chronic health condition, like diabetes, work with your health care providers to manage your condition and treatment before pregnancy. For example, if you have preexisting diabetes, work to get it under control 3–6 months before pregnancy. Monitor your blood sugar, take your diabetes medicine, eat healthy foods, and be active every day.

Talk to your provider about medicines you take. Certain medicines you take may increase your baby’s risk of having a birth defect. Tell your provider about any prescription medicines, overthe-counter medicines, supplements, and herbal products you take. If a medicine you take may be harmful to your baby, you may be able to change to one that’s safer before or during pregnancy. Some medicines may be critical to your own health, even if they may affect your baby. You and your provider can weigh the benefits and risks of medicine you take to give you the healthiest possible pregnancy. Don’t start or stop taking any medicine without talking to your health care provider first.

Get to a healthy weight: Being obese can increase your baby’s chances of having birth defects like NTDs, heart defects, and cleft palate. If you’re obese, you have an excess amount of body fat and your body mass index is 30 or higher. To find out your BMI, go to cdc.gov/bmi. Eating healthy foods and doing something active every day can help you get to a healthy weight.

During Pregnancy

Get early and regular prenatal care: At each prenatal care checkup, your provider checks on you and your growing baby. Call your provider and go for your first prenatal care checkup as soon as you know you’re pregnant. And go to all of your prenatal care checkups, even if you’re feeling fine. If you have a chronic health condition, work together with your prenatal care provider and other providers to manage your condition during pregnancy.

Keep taking folic acid: During pregnancy, take a prenatal vitamin that has 600 mcg of folic acid in it every day.

Communicate with providers: Make sure any provider who prescribes you medicine knows you’re pregnant. Don’t start or stop taking any medicine—including OTC medicines, supplements, and herbal products—during pregnancy without talking to your provider first. Doing this can cause serious problems for you and your baby. For example, talk to your provider before taking a vitamin A supplement. Getting too much vitamin A can increase your baby’s risk of having a birth defect.

Don’t smoke, drink alcohol, or use street drugs: These activities can cause many problems for your baby, including birth defects. If you need help to quit, ask your provider for help or visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Treatment Services Locator to find services near you.

Avoid harmful substances in your environment: Talk to your boss if you come in contact with harmful substances at work, like strong chemicals, pesticides, lead, radiation, or chemotherapy medicines. Ask about making changes to your job or doing different work while you’re pregnant. Avoid secondhand smoke during pregnancy. Don’t eat fish that contain large amounts of mercury during pregnancy,

Don’t travel to areas where Zika virus is spreading. If you do travel to a Zika-affected area, learn how to prevent mosquito bites. This is the most common way Zika spreads. Protect yourself from toxoplasmosis, which can cause birth defects like hearing loss. This is an infection caused by a parasite that lives in soil. You can get infected by eating raw or undercooked meat or unwashed vegetables. You also can get it by touching cat feces. To reduce your risk of getting toxoplasmosis, prepare food safely, wear gloves when you touch soil, avoid contact with animal feces, and have someone else change your cat’s litter box. Protect yourself from cytomegalovirus (CMV.) CMV is a common infection caused by a virus and spreads through body fluids like saliva and urine. Infection for the first time during pregnancy, increases the chances of your baby having birth defects like microcephaly and hearing loss. Reduce your risk by washing your hands often, wearing gloves when changing diapers, and avoiding sharing food and utensils with babies and young children.

–March of Dimes