Premature birth awareness

Amanda and Kyson Brown

According to the March of Dimes website, about 12.8 percent of babies in the U.S.  are born prematurely. And the rate of premature birth has increased by 36 percent since the early 1980s.

Premature birth is a serious health issue, and these babies are at a higher risk for newborn health complications like breathing problems and even death. They also face a greater risk of lasting disabilities like mental retardation, learning and behavioral problems, lung problems, cerebral palsy and vision and hearing loss.

Amanda C. Brown had always heard stories about prematurity, but she never really understood what a big problem it was. And her mother weighed just four pounds at birth.

 Then it happened to her.

Kyson's finally home

“When my son, Kyson, was born at only 32 weeks and weighed 4 lbs. and 9 oz., I knew I wanted to do something about it,” she says. “He was in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for nearly a month. I can honestly say that it was the most traumatic thing I’ve ever been through.”

Because of her experience, Amanda now sees how premature birth is an important issue.

“Currently, one in eight babies is born too soon, and often, they are very sick,” she says. “Premature infants are born with underdeveloped organs leaving them at an increased risk for disabilities and health complications. And what’s worse is that the cause of nearly half of all preterm births is unknown. It can happen to any woman, and it’s important to take care of yourself while pregnant to prevent preterm birth and give your baby a healthy life.”

Amanda recently became involved with the March of Dimes, the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. On April 17, her team, Team Kyson, is holding a March for Babies event in Elberton, GA.

“Kyson’s friends and family will be joining me to celebrate his progress and his 1/2 birthday by walking in his honor. I just really want to give back to the March of Dimes for providing me with support and information as well as what they’ve done for research.”

Amanda’s ultimate goal is to be there for other individuals going through this.

“The rollercoaster ride of the NICU is a hard one. Even though it’s hard watching your child struggle to do things we sometimes take for granted, talking to someone that has been there makes it a lot better,” she says. “It’s also important to me because I feel it’s up to the parents and families of the babies affected to tell our stories. Unfortunately, the cries of these babies often times go unheard.”

You can visit Amanda’s March for Babies website to get more info about the event and to donate.

For more information, check out the following websites:

www.marchofdimes.com

www.marchofbabies.org

www.nacersano.org (in Spanish)

www.shareyourstory.org (to read stories from real parents of premature babies)

 

National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2010

National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NWGHAAD) is a national initiative observed on March 10 each year to raise awareness of the growing impact of HIV/AIDS on women and girls.

It’s an opportunity for organizations in the U.S. to come together and provide support, encourage discussion and educate women and girls about prevention, the importance of getting tested and how to lead a normal, healthy life if she is infected.

Why is this day needed? Every 35 minutes, a woman tests positive for HIV in the U.S.; more and more women have become infected with HIV since it was first reported in the early 1980s; and currently, one in four Americans living with HIV are women.

For information, check out this post and the NWGHAAD website: http://www.womenshealth.gov/NWGHAAD/

National Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2010

If you didn’t know, the last week in February is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week.

According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), the ultimate goal of this week is to prevent eating disorders and body image issues while lessening the stigma that surrounds eating disorders and improving access to treatment.

Additionally, it is so important to remember that eating disorders are serious, life -threatening illnesses– not choices. It’s essential to realize the pressures outlooks and behaviors that form the disorder. (For more info, check out this post I wrote about it last year).

NEDA also provides 20 ways to love your body. And please, pass this info along!

1. Think of your body as the vehicle to your dreams. Honor it. Respect it. Fuel it.
2. Create a list of all the things your body lets you do. Read it, and add to it often.
3. Become aware of what your body can do each day. Remember it is the instrument of your life, not just an ornament.
4. Create a list of people you admire: people who have contributed to your life, your community or the world. Consider whether their appearance was important to their success and accomplishments.
5. Walk with your head held high, supported by pride and confidence in yourself as a person.
6. Don’t let your weight or shape keep you from activities you enjoy.
7. Wear comfortable clothes that you like, that express your personal style and that feel good to your body.
8. Count your blessings, not your blemishes.
9. Think about all the things you could accomplish with the time and energy you currently spend worrying about your body and appearance. Try one!
10. Be your body’s friend and supporter, not its enemy.
11. Consider this: your skin replaces itself once a month, your stomach lining every five days, your liver every six weeks and your skeleton every three months. Your body is extraordinary– begin to respect and appreciate it.
12. Every morning when you wake up, thank your body for resting and rejuvenating itself so you can enjoy the day.
13. Every evening when you go to bed, tell your body how much you appreciate what it has allowed you to do throughout the day.
14. Find a method of exercise you enjoy, and do it regularly. Don’t exercise to lose weight or fight your body. Do it to make your body healthy and strong and because it makes you feel good. Exercise for the three F’s: Fun, Fitness and Friendship.
15. Think back to a time in your life when you felt good about your body. Tell yourself you can feel like that again, even in this body at this age.
16. Keep a list of 10 positive things about yourself–without mentioning your appearance. And add to it!
17. Put a sign on each of your mirrors saying, “I’m beautiful inside and out.”
18. Choose to find the beauty in the world and in yourself.
19. Start saying to yourself, “Life is too short to waste my time hating my body this way.”
20. Eat when you are hungry. Rest when you are tired. Surround yourself with people that remind you of your inner strength and beauty.

For more information and resources dealing with eating disorders, visit www.nationaleatingdisorders.org.

It’s National Condom Week

Condom Fashion

The purpose of National Condom Week is to focus on the importance of safe sex. The week kicks off on Valentine’s Day for obvious reasons. So, in honor of the week, here’s a little info about condoms:

• They really do work in preventing HIV transmission and unintentional pregnancy.
• HIV and STDS can be spread during oral, anal or vaginal intercourse, so always use protection (or abstain).
• Condom testing is very thorough and “goes above and beyond adequate safety measure testing.

And, in my opinion, this post wouldn’t be any good without some fun facts:

• It’s estimated that 5 billion (yes, billion) condoms are used yearly worldwide.
• There are about 100 different brands of condoms available.
• The Egyptians reportedly used condoms in 1350 BC; they were mostly made from animal bladders or intestines.
• Condoms in the 18th century were made from sheep, lamb, goat intestines and even fish skin.
• The Danish word for condom? Svangerskabsforebyggendemiddel.

For ways to get involved, click here.

Sources:

National Condom Week of Action

Condom Fun Facts

Wear Red Day!

If you didn’t know, today is National Wear Red Day. The purpose is to show your support for women’s heart disease awareness. This observance also promotes the Red Dress symbol and gives an opportunity for everyone to unite in this life-saving awareness movement by showing off a favorite red dress, shirt, tie or Red Dress Pin.

For more info, check out my source: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/educational/hearttruth/materials/wear-red-toolkit.htm 

What young women should know about heart health

If you’re a youngin like me, you probably don’t think too much about your heart’s health. And you’re not alone- I honestly don’t think about it much either. But February is Heart Health Month, and the ever fabulous Yahoo Shine gives us six reasons to pay attention to our heart health as young women.

1. Cardiovascular disease (or, CVD) is the number one killer among women. In 2005, CVD was the cause of death for 454,613 American women (cancer claimed the lives of 268,890). Also, American women are four to six times more likely to die of heart disease than of breast cancer.
2. CVD can affect women of every age. Heart disease progresses over time, and it can even start while you’re a teen. Some things that increase your chances of developing heart disease early include lack of physical activity, smoking and poor nutrition. Therefore, you should make good lifestyle decisions as early as possible.
3. The death rate due to CVD is higher in women than men. More women than men die of stroke, and 42 percent of women who have heart attacks die within one year, compared to 24 percent of men. Also, if those women are under 50-years-old, they are twice as likely to die as a result of a heart attack than men. 
4. Survival doesn’t mean it’s over. Heart disease can manifest itself through a stroke, and while many people can (and do) live through one, they might end up with permanent health issues. Additionally, stroke is a top cause of serious, long-term disability (15-30 percent of victims end up permanently disabled), and two-thirds of women who have a heart attack don’t make a full recovery.
5. Diagnosis isn’t easy. I’m sure you’ve heard that men and women show different warning signs of a potential heart attack- and it’s true. Silent heart attacks, those with little or no symptoms, are more frequent among women than men. Seventy-one percent of women have flu-like symptoms, often without chest pains. Other unusual symptoms: neck, shoulder and abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fatigue and shortness of breath.
6. Ethnicity and heart health. Black and Hispanic/Latina women need to be concerned about getting heart disease because we tend to have more risk factors than white women. These factors include lack of physical activity, obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. Additionally, the death rate because of CVD is significantly higher in black women than in white women.

The great news is you can lower your heart disease risk by as much as 82 percent just by leading a healthy lifestyle. So, start taking steps to improve your heart’s health!

Source: 6 Reasons young women should care about heart health; Photo from: thebridge-cc.org

For more info on heart health, check out:

www.nhlbi.nih.gov

www.americanheartassociation.com

Cervical Cancer Awareness Month

 HPV, or Human Papillomavirus, is a family of very common viruses that causes nearly all cervical cancers and can cause other cancers. HPV also causes other problems such as common, genital and common warts.

Over 100 strains of HPV exist, 35 known different types infect the genital tract and at least 15 of them can lead to cervical cancer. The most frequent cancer-causing types are 16 and 18- these two cause around 70 percent of cervical cancer. However, an HPV infection rarely leads to cervical cancer.

HPV is the most common STD with at least 70 percent of indviduals getting it at some point in their lives. It happens most frequently to those in their late teens and early 20s. You can get HPV even if you’ve only had gential contact with someone (and not sexual intercourse). There are usually no symptoms, but a woman’s first clue is an abnormal Pap, but it doesn’t show up all the time.

Things that increase your risk for HPV include:

• Smoking
• Starting sexual activity at an early age
• Having many sexual partners
• Your partner has/had many sexual partners

While there are no cures for HPV, it usually goes away on its on without medical treatment. So, how do you prevent it?

• Refrain from all sexual contact
• Get the HPV vaccine
• Reduce the number of sexual partners you have
• Use condoms

For more info on HPV, check out my sources cervicalcancercampaign.org and cancer.about.com.

Click here to read about cervical cancer

Ways to stress less everyday!

If you’re an alive, adult woman, I’m sure you experience stress quite frequently and maybe even daily. But, no fears, here are some easy tips to (hopefully) help you reduce stress everyday:

• Laugh out loud.
• Make a list.
• Throw something away.
• Have a good book to read.
• Don’t say mean things about others.

Check out the other 15 tips  here.

Have a stress-free day (if you can)!

Photo from flikr.com

Get Healthy in 2010!

In Get Yours: How to Have Everything you Dreamed of and More, Amy DuBois Barnett speaks about many things, including health.

Here are some things you can do this year to get healthy!

Come up with realistic health & weight goals. If you have or are heading for particular conditions (like diabetes or high blood pressure), your main goal should be to control or keep them from coming. If a disorder is in your family history, do everything you can to stay healthy. Additionally, discover the right weight range for your height, frame and age and get there!

Find the  correct fitness program. When you find activities you really like, you’ll stick with a work out routine. So, try lots of different things to see what you really enjoy. For instance, try exercising alone or in a class or find a friend to work out with- it’s often easier to stick to a workout plan when you have someone doing it with you.

Kick fatigue’s butt. Like most women, you probably have a lot going on in your life. And while you may not be able to do less, you can rest better. You can start by coming up with a ritual before going to bed- it can be taking a bath, reading a book, whatever helps you relax. If you do this nightly, it will give your body signals that it’s time for bed. Also, be sure your room is relaxing, try waking up the same time daily (yes, even on weekends) and only schedule what you can reasonably achieve every day.

Get checked for STDs. Getting a clean bill of health when it comes to this will give you a sense of relief and cause you to always protect yourself in the future.

Be sure to always take care of yourselves, chicas. You gotta look out for numero uno!

How to make your ‘better body resolutions’ come true

In two days, we’ll be bringing in a new year (and decade!), and you might be like me and have some fitness and health goals you want to accomplish. Well, here are some tips to help you get there:

1. Come up with a fitness goal. And be sure to give yourself enough time to get there. Create smaller objectives as well, and treat yourself when you reach them; doing this will help drive you toward your bigger goal.
2. Devise a workout plan. Try three 40-minute workouts weekly at specific times, and remember, your exercise schedule should be as important as your other tasks. Also, try switching up your exercise routine to challenge yourself and to keep from getting bored.
3. Give yourself a reality check. This means being totally truthful with yourself about how fit you are. Focus on where you are currently and the improvements you have made.
4. Get support. By working out with a friend, you’re less likely to ditch working out; you’ll also have emotional support. Try to find positive individuals who have the fitness lifestyle you want, but don’t compare yourself to “uber-fit types.”
5. Eat healthier. You should eat the “best foods to fuel your body”- this includes a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy fats and lean proteins. Additionally, you should drink at least six cups of water daily (and more on the days you work out).

Source: 5 Ways to Make Your Better Body Resolutions Come True