Massage has been used in premature and low birth weight babies to promote growth and development. Before birth, babies are exposed to physical stimulation.

Because premature and low birth weight babies are usually placed in incubators or open beds and are attached to numerous monitors that interfere with them being touch as often as full term babies are.

Researchers at the University of Miami’s Touch Research Institute have reported for over two decades on the benefits of infant massage. It increase the baby’s resistance to infection by enhancing the immune system. Also, babies receiving massage experience faster weight gain.

Massage also raises oxytocin levels, a hormone that possess pain relieving abilities and a calming effect.

A review of 14 randomized research studies involving premature and or low birth weight babies was conducted.

The review included studies in which a control group of babies that did not receive massage. The were compared to the babies who did. The babies, in most of the studies were massaged for about 15 minutes, three or four times a day, for five or ten days. The studies determined that that babies receiving massage experienced more weight gain (about 5 grams), were discharged from the hospital faster, had slightly better developmental test scores and experienced fewer complications. Massage did not have any negative effects. While it is a time consuming process for nurses to provide, parents can perform it without extensive training.

Benefits for Babies:

* Improves weight gain

*Helps the baby to become more organized

*Allows the baby to be more alert and interactive with others

*Helps start oral feeding earlier (rather than tube feeding)

* Promotes healthier bones

* Supports parent-infant interaction

* Facilitates weight gain in preterm infants

* Lowers levels of cortisol, the stress hormone

*Improves muscle tone

*Improves sleep and awake patterns

* Shortens lengths of stay in hospitals

*Improves cognitive and motor development at eight months of age

*Infant massage is an inexpesive tool

* Can be used as part of the developmental care plan of preterm infants

Benefits for Parents and Caregivers

* Provides all of the important ingredients of the parent-infant bonding and attachment: eye-to-eye, touch, smell, movement, voice and temperature regulation.

* Encourages pre-verbal communication between caregiver and infant

* Helps parents feel more confident and competent in caring for their children

* Helps parents to reduce their stress, if they are working and must be separated for their child for extended periods during the day

* Provides parents with one-on-one quiet time or interactive play with their children

* Creates a regular time of intimacy between parent and child

*Elevates parents’ self-esteem by enhancing and reingforcing their skills as parents and validates their role

* Gives parents the tools for understanding their child’s unique behavior and patterns

* Teaches parents how to read their infants’ cues and recognize their states of awareness

Gives parents a precious way to interact with their children who may be hospitalized. It helps parents to feel a greater part of the healing process

* Daily massage helps parents to unwind and relaxe.

* Provides a positive way for fathers to interact with their infants/children

Learn more about holistic family health. Stop by Dr. Elaine Ferguson’s site where you can find out all about infant massage and what it can do for you.

Receptive Language

When a person understands what is being said to him or to her that is receptive language. The person receives or understands language. Many times receptive language is more advanced that expressive language, which will be discussed momentarily.

Receptive language skills are critical in the educational setting. Without them, a child is unable to take in the lessons that are being taught. Soon, the child falls behind in school work and a downward spiral ensues. Speech therapists target receptive language by playing games, reading and using various speech software programs aimed at improving this ability.

Expressive Language

Expressive language is the language that a person uses to express themselves, to tell how they feel, to answer a question or to generally participate in classroom discussions. Expressive language deficits are common in children with intellectual disabilities, autism and other disabilities.

Imagine the frustration of knowing an answer but not being able to tell the teacher what the answer actually is. This happens over and over again for a child with expressive language issues. Therapy helps the child compensate for expressive language problems by teaching him or her strategies to use in the classroom and daily life.

Vocabulary

Poor vocabulary can negatively impact expressive and receptive language abilities. Children living in poverty or near poverty often have not been exposed to the same kinds of things by the time they enter school as children from more well-off families. The children’s vocabulary suffers as a result.

In school, speech therapists can work with the classroom teacher to assist the student with learning the vocabulary from his or her classes.

Articulation Abilities

Articulation refers to a the ability to make speech sounds correctly. People who have poor articulation are difficult to understand for a variety of reasons. They may have a lisp, they may talk too fast, too softly or in some other way mispronounce sounds.

Problems with articulation can create huge problems for a child at school. Often these children are teased and bullied by classmates. Soon this takes a toll on self-image.

In articulation therapy the speech therapist works with the student on lip closure, tongue position and flexibility, as well as other areas. Many different techniques are used to teach articulation including sucking very thick liquid through a small straw, blowing bubbles and the like.

Children’s speech therapy is a vital part of helping a child succeed at school. The earlier therapy is started, the more successful it will be. Some speech problems are noticeable quite early in a child’s life. If they are addressed at that point, so much the better for the child when he or she reaches school age.

There is no doubting the fact that Florida speech therapy can make an immense difference in any child’s life and any adults career. We’ve got the super inside scoop on the best Florida speech therapy jobs available.

There are several reasons why a child might need to have some therapy around their speech. It could be a medical reason that is assisting with their speech issues. Some kids have enlarged tonsils or parts to the back of their throat that can prevent them from forming certain sounds, it could also give them a nasal sound. Cleft palate is another reason for speech problems, so is a tied tongue or dental problems. If your child has motor issues, it could be related to that and how the child uses the motor skills in their mouth to form words.

A plan is always designed to assist the child with long and short term goals relating to their speech. After medical tests have come back, the pathologist will form a plan based on the child’s needs.

Many times in young children, they learn to pronounce sounds based on how they think they are said. And if the child is not helped as they are saying the errors, their brain learns to say it that way all of the time. In this case, a speech therapist will work hard to try and change the way the child says the word through lots of organized play activities that include the repetition of the sound.

Parents might receive some work to do with their child at home. Things like activities and tasks to help the child work on certain sounds might be given out to highlight what is trying to be taught in speech therapy. Sometimes the therapist will give out fun and more hands on tasks that involve things like blowing liquid and sucking lemons to increase the motor ability of the mouth. That may help build up strength for the letters being worked on.

Speech therapy can take some kids many years to overcome their speech issues. Due to length of time it might have taken to learn the speech problems, it might take just as long to re train the brain how to say the sound correctly. And while kids may take years or months to change their speech, some kids learn quicker and results can be seen in a short period of time.

When kids learn to talk more effectively it can promote more friendships at school and a better self image. Children often become more confident and feel amazing that they are no longer misunderstood by adults and peers.

If your child requires children’s speech therapy, just know that your child’s improved speech will only lead to good things. They will have more confidence about themselves and have an easier time feeling included with friends.

Find out more about Florida speech therapy jobs and where they are. Several opportunities await you in Florida speech therapy. Head online and find out more today.

What is the underlying advantage to consulting an insurance broker over shopping different health plans? Three underlying benefits result from consulting a licensed agent experience; professional advice and diverse health plan options. The health insurance marketplace’s critical amendments intensify the need for consulting a licensed insurance representative.

Since, insurance representatives broker different policies, it saves the arduous process of shopping from company-to-company. Expertise and knowledge of the industry affords consumers the most valuable coverage alternatives at an economical price. Since legitimate agents prefer to maintain client relationships throughout the years, it is in the agent’s best interest to steer the consumer toward appropriate health plans.

Aside from being licensed, what types of services should I expect from the insurance broker? Your insurance agent should offer guidance through the intricate process for selecting the best Michigan health plan. The professional insurance broker exudes and offers the following shortlist of service offerings:

-Selects Michigan health insurance quotes, which are conducive for your health requirements

- Evaluates the pros and cons of various health insurance plans

- Provides advice regarding your specific requirements

- Does not use coercion sales tactics

- Acts on your behalf (with the insurance agencies, physicians, medical facilities in regard to regulations, benefits and claims

How long should consumers expect to plan for Michigan health insurance enrollment? Enrollment depends on what the applicant’s current health situation is. Certain Michigan health plan providers approve coverage as soon as three to four days for healthier adults. In the case of elder and less healthy applicants the process can span up to a month’s time. All situations vary. An insurance broker, representing several Michigan health plans should be able to provide a wealth of information.

For additional consumer information regarding medical coverage in Michigan, one of the best resources, featuring Michigan health insurance and free medical quotes is MichiganHealthandLife.com.

If you notice a growth on your skin that looks translucent, tan, pearly, brown, black, or multicolored, or has suddenly changed in appearance or size, you must immediately contact a doctor. This is a possible skin cancer warning sign that should not be ignored. If it turns out to be cancer, treatment can commence immediately and increase your chances of eradicating the cancer.

If you notice signs of skin cancer immediately contact a physician in order to treat the condition in its earliest stages. During a self examination you should focus on areas of your skin such as moles that have been present for a long time. A warning sign of skin cancer is change in color or shape of moles and pigmentation. You should always consult a physician before self-diagnosing skin cancer.

An early warning sign of skin cancer is noticeable lacerations that do not heal. If you notice any wounds or cuts that do not heal in a reasonable amount of time, you should contact a doctor to check it out.

Being aware of the signs of skin cancer is your responsibility and only you can monitor your own health. To ensure that you fight the battle against skin cancer, do everything you can to protect yourself including consulting a doctor and using sunscreen when outdoors.

Stay out of the sun during the suns strongest times between the hours of ten AM and three PM. This is the period when the most harm can be done if you are exposed to the sun without any protection.

To prevent skin cancer you should take the time to recognize the warning signs and wear sunblock. You should always be aware of any abnormal physical changes in your health to increase prevention of possible serious conditions.

Would you know the skin cancer warning signs ? Things to look for and whether to seek medicalassistance?? Spend some time to learn Things to look for and save yourself stress and worry later on.

When we were cut off from Asian resources for rubber latex during WWII, industries would have been crippled if it were not for domestic resourcefulness that included farming a lowly little Southwestern desert shrub called guayule (pronounced “why you lee”). Natural rubber could be processed from its bark at the effective ratio of one ton of latex per one cultivated acre of land. But at the end of the war with Asian markets once again open, the little guayule plant receded into the shadows of the American desert.

Once again, however, guayule appears to be a sleeper crop in wake-up mode. Researchers and entrepreneurs are currently poised to cash in on one of its fascinating properties. Guayule latex is allergy free and the benefits could be far reaching.

Latex allergies have become so prevalent and potentially dangerous that Johns Hopkins, the medical center where the latex glove and its uses were originally pioneered, has now declared itself a latex-free environment. Symptoms of a latex allergy can be range from hay-fever type symptoms to life-threatening anaphylactic shock. Not something to be taken lightly.

With the new awareness of HIV in the’80′s, the use of latex gloves exploded in medical settings. Subsequently with this increased exposure, allergies to latex proteins had a dramatic rise. Today nitrile gloves or neoprene can provide a healthy alternative. But the prospect of an allergy free latex for medical supplies, as well as for other industrial applications, is a promising idea.

Guayule’s beauty exceeds its allergy free latex. Only pure water is required to extract guayule’s latex, no harmful chemicals of any sort are necessary. Being a desert native, guayule needs very little water to produce a harvest and it is not in competition with food producing crops. A perennial, it produces crops for years from a single planting and has natural pest resistance. Syngas and other bio fuel are realistic byproducts of the plant’s remainders once the latex has been extracted. This is indeed one environmentally friendly little plant.

The author, Jen Long lives in South Carolina where she is Director of Web Community Support for an online discount retailer that sells Vinyl, Nitrile and Latex Gloves. She is creating a helpful library for those adapting to wearing gloves: Glove Tips.

Our civilization and its science has long abandoned disease and germ theories that evolved from the early blaming of evil spirits to the later public health notions about vapors and bad drains. But now that we have an understanding of the life of microorganisms and can witness them multiplying under the microscope’s lens, there is a temptation to swing too far in the other direction in the name of prevention.

Of course, it is only natural that one’s scalp should crawl when viewing the rapid colonization of certain bacteria under the microscope’s magnification. It can be like watching an alien invasion, an idea that has not been overlooked or undercapitalized upon by household cleaning product marketers. Antibacterial compounds are present in everyday products on supermarket shelves, from dish soap to floor cleansers, touting promises of a better, healthier home. Latex gloves and protective masks are found on grocery store end caps and clinicians daily write prescriptions for the “pink stuff”, simple antibiotics, for sniffley noses.

Now alarms are sounding thought out the scientific community that we have gone too far in our combat against bacteria. We have ended up compromising our immune systems in some cases, with our fixation on wiping out germs. The hygiene hypothesis is a line of thinking that has a growing following. It suggests that if we are not living with a proper balance of bacteria and microscopic life, we run the risk of autoimmune disorders, our immune systems becoming desperately out of whack. Some concerned parents have taken this message to heart and are deliberately encouraging their children to play in the dirt for the betterment of their health. (For a story on this, see the January 27, 2009 edition of www.nytimes.com.)

Perhaps it is advisable to know what really exists on a clean and healthy person’s skin as they go about a normal day. At www.science.tv, there is a brief but insightful video called “Our Skin is a Zoo. Viewing it may help some of us loosen up on our phobias and become more accepting of certain facts. On the other hand, it does make for some challenging viewing.

The video’s unforgettable comment that “at any time there are as many bacteria on our skin as there are people on the earth”, does give one pause. But , hopefully, that pause will lead to healthy acceptance and keep us focused on normal preventative hand washing, casting aside our antibacterial fixations.

Ms. Long has been a glove industry strategist for over thirty years. As Director of Web-Based Support for an online discounter of Disposable Gloves, she maintains an web resource for disposable glove consumers. Visit herlibrary, Coping with Latex Gloves.

Mathios begins to tell a tale of a family from a neighboring village who has several children. The unfortunate thing about their village is that its inhabitants use its streets and pathways as toilets. At this point in Mathios’ story, his doll springs some leaks in its latex abdomen. He continues, telling his listeners how the family’s water and food become contaminated from fecal bacteria that runs into wells and onto crops. Two of the family’s children become desperately ill with diarrhea. Just as his homemade doll empties of fluid and collapses in Mathios’ hands, he sadly announces that the children have died of dehydration.

This visualization of a child’s rapid death is not hard for Mathios’ audience to believe. They too live and trade in streets that have their share of human waste. For many in this room, it is easy to understand the moral of his tale. Child mortality rates, public health and personal prosperity are directly connected to sanitation efforts. But how does a small town like this manage to incorporate effective changes to their sanitation when it is something their culture has not always emphasized?

Mathios takes visitors on a tour of the town to demonstrate how his program is getting the “latrine message” across to his audience. “We have a model latrine here that is made from locally available resources. Using that, we teach them” What looks to be a little tukul (a thatched hut) is the famous model latrine right in front of the shop where people buy sugar, flour and other materials.

“Everybody come here, and when they come, we teach.” There are some hired guards or maintenance people who encourage its use and keep the surroundings tidy. Public health instructors regularly teach visitors how to build and maintain simple pit latrines near their own homes, latrines no more complicated than properly dug holes with stone covers.

Sure enough, as the visitors walk along their village tour, they look up at a nearby ridge and spot a child barely more than a toddler dutifully dragging a flat stone lid back across the top of a latrine his mother had made for him. It is evident that the serious lesson of the doll with the latex glove tummy got across to this family.

Author: Jen has been a glove analyst for over tweny-nine years and PR Director for a high-volume discount web retailer of Discounted Vinyl Gloves where she manages a growing pool of information for those struggling with gloves: Wearing Vinyl Gloves.

Did you know, most of these concerns can be addressed if you buy a tomy baby monitor the No1 UK brand with 70% of mothers making the Baby Monitor Reviews as their first choice. In fact a third of mothers see having a baby monitor they trust as ‘absolutely critical’ to getting a good night’s sleep.

The Tomy Baby Monitor has won many awards for style and innovation making it the UK’s favourite brand.

Each Baby Monitor Reviews has been intensively researched and tested to provide the very highest standards of safety and a host of innovative features from guaranteed privacy and two-way talk back to remotely controlled night lights, vibration alert and last feed timer, that really do make parenting easier.

When choosing your monitor ask yourself a few questions first about your priorities, where you live and your lifestyle and this, together with the Tomy Baby Monitor table, should help you find your ideal monitor:

* You may want to ensure that no-one else can listen in to your monitor? A Design unique to the Tomy Walkabout Baby Monitor, privacy is guaranteed thanks to an inbuilt scrambling device and 65,000 unique combinations in the Walkabout Baby Advance, Classic Advance and Premier Advance and an auto channel hopping selection function and digital audio in the Walkabout Platinum Digital. Fully guaranteed privacy means that the sounds your baby makes cannot be picked up by any other monitor in the area.

* Will you be spending time out of the house in the garden? If so consider a Tomy Baby Portable Monitor with a longer range for flexible, portable monitoring. Also consider having a monitor with a vibration alert which is great for noisy environments such as when mowing the lawn.

* Will your baby be sleeping in their own room? If so you might consider buying a with a two-way talk back facility which is handy for when your baby only needs a word of reassurance from afar. Also consider a Baby Monitor Reviews with a night light on the baby unit to give a comforting glow in the dark to reassure your child.

* If you are concerned that you might disturb your child when entering the room when they are asleep? If so you might want to consider a monitor with a night light on the baby unit so there is no need to disturb your baby using the main light in the nursery.

* You may be concerned that you might forget when the next feed is due during the night? In order to reduce uncertainty about when the next feed is due, the innovative last feed timer on our top of the range Tomy Baby alkabout Platinum Digital Monitor will keep track for you.

* On many occasions you may feel that the temperature of your nursery might not be ideal? In order to keep the nursery at the ideal temperature you might want to consider a Baby Monitor Reviews with an in-built temperature display enabling you to continuously monitor the temperature of your baby’s nursery. If you are also worried about temperature variances overnight in the nursery you might want to consider the Tomy Baby Walkabout Platinum Digital Monitor which records the maximum and Minimum temperature the nursery got to during the night.

* What about being able to judge the intensity of your babies sound when not in the nursery? Consider a Tomy Baby Monitor with a sound-sensitive light display which is a display of moving lights which echo the level of your baby’s sounds meaning you can stay alert to your baby’s needs even with the sound turned down and can also judge when you want to react to your baby’s sounds.

* Do you have two small children and want to use two monitors at one time? It is possible to use two monitors at one time however, it is not recommended to have two analogue monitors in close proximity as interference between the two monitors could prevent them from working properly. Using 2 DECT monitors in close proximity is fine and both will work normally with no interference.

Just by reading the above comments, you can see that there is a Tomy Baby Monitor for most applications that is why Tomy is the No 1 brand of baby monitors in the UK.

Buy Your tomy baby monitor today at up to 70% off Normal Retail Prices

Christina Danzarola is a freelance journalist and has been using a tomy baby monitor for the past 12 months since her daughter Claire was born which has given her real peace of mind as she was always fearful of leaving her baby on her own even in the next room but she was able to monitor everything. Check out the baby monitor reviews by visiting the website.

Have you ever wondered why some children see doctors more frequently, are on antibiotics many times in a years time and yet never seem well?

The reason is simple; medications ruin the body’s defense mechanism. That is putting it simply. Steroids, antibiotics and other meds commonly dosed out to children destroy the delicate balance in the intestinal tract that makes it possible to assimilate nutrition and grow and heal.

These small children begin to see life as a series of doctors visits; and more than that, they will never get entirely well. Intermittently they will be well enough until the next round of sniffles comes and off they will be rushed to the doctor. Their reality will be a life of sore throats, runny noses, diarrhea that goes into constipation, inability to enjoy food, allergies, headaches, lethargy, apathy, maybe early onset arthritis, and the list goes on. What is the answer?

First of all colds and influenza, bacterial or viral, are messages that the body needs rest and is out of balance. That will never be corrected by medication. Medication is a suppressor of the symptoms only, inevitably of the immune system itself. In a tough spot, and on occasion, medication is needed. A child’s life should not be endangered; however, a parent must be equipped with the internal fortitude, enough fresh juice, vitamin C and Homeopathic Remedies to carry through the most ordinary of situations: colds, influenza, and allergies.

I’ve raised three children, and it is a tough call between letting a fever break or calling the doctor; however, a fever is how the body burns out infection. That is part of its Internal and Higher Intelligence. When parents study the healing capabilities of the body and support that function, they will weather the tide of simple colds and influenzas much better equipped.

No one but a parent can make the decision between getting to an ER or letting a fever burn itself out; however, vigilance and conscious care should alert when enough is enough in the natural healing arena.

Children should never have soda, and absolutely not when they are ill. Fresh, hand squeezed, or organic bottled juices are the best thing for sick children. Rest is imperative, and if I can go on record, even from computers and televisions at close range. Those transmissions at close range are detrimental to the immune system. Homemade soups are good food. Vitamin C, maybe Ginger, Chamomile or Dandelion & Echinacea tea with stevia or honey will soothe and assist the body to do its job. Sometimes recurring symptoms are a cry for love and attention so give it when a child is sick and again when they are well.

Try to get the fever under control a bit even if you have decided to take the trip to the doctors office. Now that we have covered some warm and cozy alternatives to the habitual running to a doctors office, let us go back to reminders why we want to have the courage to teach children how great their body is designed.

Being balanced in regards to health will support health in your child. To know they get well naturally from very normal cleansing illnesses, colds and flu, will make them strong and confident. They will realize how to access their inner strength. Fortify your home today, before illness appears. Make it an arsenal, so to speak, of healthy feel good remedies that strengthen the body’s immune defenses: Echinacea, goldenseal, dandelion, vitamin C (always) herbal teas for children, tuck away organic bottled juice (if you don’t juice yourself) and make homemade soups. Support children to be healthy strong adults.

Children are as varied as adults. Some have more energy, others are inquisitive, creative, inventive; and then, there are those that may be ill. Those that come in ill, with a low mineral bank account should be supported with minerals and enzymes. Remember that medication destroys the integrity of the intestinal tract to absorb nutrients and after continued use the child is more depleted and now has candida yeast overgrowth and compromised gut or leaky bowel syndrome.

As every child is unique, every instance is different. If you have a child that needs medications to stay alive then make sure they get probiotics, vitamins and minerals (and I do not mean the one every day thing). See that they stay regular, which means that they have a bowel movement once or twice a day. Make fresh juices for the child, only buy organic, and drop out sugars, soda or anything white or denatured. You can still take charge and watch the miracle as your child begins getting stronger. Your entire family will be a family of champions because of your courage to take conscious control.

I am a Nutritionist and Naturopath but I have taken my children and myself to the doctor, only when necessary and not that often. Being balanced is the key. Doctors are necessary and so is thoughtful self care.