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You probably know someone who’s had gestational diabetes mellitus, or may have been diagnosed yourself. By any measure, it’s not rare. It’s estimated that about 200,000 cases of gestational diabetes—a condition that’s marked by glucose intolerance in pregnancy—occur every year. In fact, gestational diabetes may be present in up to 9.2% of all pregnancies. But the fact that gestational diabetes is pretty common doesn’t make it any easier to live with—especially when you’re dealing with all the other challenges of pregnancy. Gestational diabetes occurs when hormones from the placenta block the action of the insulin that the mother’s body produces. Insulin’s job is to help the body transform glucose in the bloodstream into useable energy. When the body can’t make or use insulin properly, glucose builds up in the blood, causing higher blood glucose levels that can be dangerous for a mother with diabetes and her baby. Women with gestational diabetes mellitus […]

A recent survey by Nemours Children’s Health System, the Delaware Survey of Children’s Health (DSCH), showed that parents of 88 percent of children with asthma were educated by health professionals on how to recognize early signs or symptoms of asthma episodes in their child. Understanding what an asthma flare-up is and how to recognize the early signs or symptoms are key steps in improving the health of your child. Increasing the percentage of parents who are taught how to recognize their child’s early signs or symptoms of an asthma flare-up (also called an asthma attack) can help reduce the number of asthma-related hospital visits and improve the overall health of their child. What is an Asthma Flare-Up? During an asthma flare-up, the breathing tubes (also called bronchial tubes) in the lungs constrict — like a straw being squeezed — which triggers wheezing, coughing and tightness in the chest. Some kids […]

It seems like everyone has a story that involves a child, a small object, and an orifice: a bean in a nostril, a pebble in an ear—maybe even a swallowed Barbie shoe or penny. It’s no wonder these instances are so common. Kids are naturally curious, and their worlds contain so many things that fit just so in the body parts they’re learning to explore. So what do you do when your child becomes one of these stories? It all depends on two things: what’s the object, and which opening is it stuck in? First things first: If you know or suspect that your child has swallowed a button battery, get to the emergency department immediately. Swallowed batteries can cause esophageal perforation (a hole in the tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach), and other life-threatening injuries—sometimes within hours. It’s also time to head to the ER […]

You might worry if you’re told your child has a heart murmur. But lots of kids are found to have heart murmurs at some point. And most won’t affect a child’s health at all. So What Is a Heart Murmur? The term “heart murmur” isn’t a diagnosis of an illness or disorder. The doctor might hear an extra sound in addition to the “lub-dub” we recognize as the heartbeat. A heart murmur is an abnormal sound (like a blowing or whooshing) that’s usually detected by a doctor who’s listening to the heart with a stethoscope during a routine examination. What’s an “Innocent” Heart Murmur? The most common type of heart murmur is an “innocent murmur” (also called a “benign” or “functional” murmur). This type of murmur is harmless. An innocent heart murmur is the sound of blood moving through a normal, healthy heart in a normal way. Just as you might hear air moving through an […]

It’s a Saturday afternoon, and you’ve just watched your 8-year-old take a terrifying flip over the handlebars of his bicycle. Or, it’s dinner time on a Tuesday night, and your 2-year-old has put his peas into his nose — instead of his mouth — and now they’re stuck. Should you call your child’s regular doctor? Should you pack up and head to the Emergency Department, or seek out your nearest urgent care center? It can be a tough decision, and it doesn’t help when you’re tired, stressed, and concerned for your child’s health. In some cases, you’ll know instantly if your child requires immediate medical attention. But in other cases, it might be hard to determine whether an injury or illness needs the attention of a medical professional or can be treated at home. The first call can always be to your child’s primary care physician. Your doctor — or […]

Sudden cardiac arrest is nothing new, but it still gets plenty of attention when it affects a young athlete—usually because it’s so rare, unexpected and tragic. We’re all familiar with the stories of seemingly healthy teenagers collapsing on the field or court and succumbing to cardiac arrest. It’s estimated that between 6,000 and 8,000 young people experience sudden cardiac arrest (or SCA) each year, and only about one in 10 survive. The exact causes of SCA vary widely. Abnormalities in the heart or genetic conditions are often to blame, though there are times in which a definite cause is never found. In all cases, something causes the heart to unexpectedly beat out of control or stop beating altogether. Sudden cardiac arrest is so dangerous because it’s so hard to predict. But if the symptoms are recognized immediately, lives can be saved. Symptoms of SCA include: Collapse Lack of pulse No […]