Last week, I thought my 16-month-old baby was teething again. I learned early on that babies normally start teething around four to eight months. The majority of Levi’s teeth had grown in by the time he was 11 months old. The only reason I thought he was teething was because he was having explosive diarrhea.
Category: Health
Mami & Me: C-section after care tips for new moms like me
Our birth experiences are often scary and challenging and not what we had expected. Modern medicine has made C-sections possible. And I will forever be grateful for having that option, it ultimately saved my baby’s life. It can be difficult to deal with things that don’t go as planned, especially when you are a first-time mother who is unprepared physically and mentally for a C-section birth. Not to mention all the things you need after the surgery to take care of the wound.
Latino community significantly affected by diabetes, Clinica Medica offers help
Clinica Medica San Miguel in LA is operated by Dr. Mahfouz Michael, who uses an unorthodox, yet proactive, approach to determine whether a patient is pre-diabetic. This approach focuses on testing fasting insulin levels. By preventing and educating patients, he helps them avoid a diagnosis altogether.
Mami & Me: Here’s what my emergency C-section experience was like
I should have researched more before my first birthing experience so that I could have been mentally prepared. Truthfully, no one is ever prepared to give birth for the first time, and I understand that now because it’s not an easy task. Because it ultimately saved my baby’s life, I don’t regret getting a C-section.
Community workers fan out to persuade immigrant seniors to get health coverage
Community workers are spreading word about health coverage for immigrant seniors improving access to healthcare for vulnerable populatation
Sen. María Elena Durazo proposes $25 minimum wage for health workers
Union-aligned Democrats were set to introduce legislation Wednesday mandating a statewide $25 minimum wage for health workers and support staffers, likely setting up a pitched battle with hospitals, nursing homes, and dialysis clinics. State Sen. María Elena Durazo’s bill would require health facilities and home health agencies to give raises to many support employees, including nurse technicians, housekeepers, security guards, food workers, and laundry providers. The Los Angeles Democrat said workers remain underpaid even as they have played a crucial role in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Risks of cardiovascular disease during pregnancy and after
February is American Heart Month, and in celebration, the American Heart Association and Sharp HealthCare held a virtual community conversation about maternal health. The virtual meeting included guest speakers such as Dr. Marin Nishimura, a physician in cardiovascular disease and internal medicine at Sharp Grossmont Hospital, and Dr. Lisa Johnston, a children’s specialist and chief medical officer at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for women and newborns in San Diego.
The role of structural and social determinants in Alzheimer’s disease
At the University of California, Los Angeles, the Equity for Latinx-Hispanic Health Aging Lab (EHLA) for Alzheimer’s Research and Care Department of Neurology recently went through the process of evaluating the role that structural and social determinants play in dementia care. Dr. Mirella Díaz-Santos is an assistant professor in the department of neurology with the Easton Center for Alzheimer’s Research & Care, and the director and founder of the Equity for Latinx-Hispanic Healthy Aging Lab at UCLA. She is also a neuropsychologist with expertise in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, working primarily with the Latino older adult community and their families.
Mami & Me: If your pediatrician says your baby has jaundice, I got you
In the first few weeks of being a first-time mom, so many challenges come at you unexpectedly. Unfortunately, my journey on a steep learning curve started on the first day I became a mom. A few hours after Levi was born, he was taken from me and placed into the intensive care unit (ICU) for a few days. Not only did he have to stay there, but as we were being discharged we were told that Levi was had jaundice.
Mami & Me: My baby underwent orchiopexy surgery at Children’s Hospital
The doctor told me and my partner that my baby was born with an “undescended testicle,” which means that a child’s testicle has not dropped down to its normal place in the scrotum. Before birth, a baby boy’s testes will develop inside his abdomen. Closer to delivery, these organs travel through a canal in the groin. When all goes as it should, the testicles then fall into place in the scrotum. How do I know this? Lots of research as a mom.
I was so happy to hear the good news that I will be going home.
However, along with the good news, came the bad news. The doctor told me and my partner that my baby was born with an undescended testicle. When a child has an undescended testicle it means that the testicle has not dropped down to its normal place in the scrotum.
KAT NOVOA, founded Babes of Wellness gym for body and mind
In addition to being a certified personal trainer, nutrition coach and certified Olympic weightlifting coach, Novoa is also a domestic violence advocate. Witnessing domestic violence, which, according to Esperanza United, affects about 1 in 3 Latinas (34.4%) in their lifetime, during her childhood, Novoa shared a blog post about her own experience in 2017. Soon after, she received an overwhelming amount of feedback from survivors and invitations from different shelters in Orange County, LA and Long Beach to speak and share her story. “I felt that we needed to, again, start having these conversations because, if we don’t have the conversation, nothing’s going to happen, and domestic violence is going to continue,” Novoa said
Dr. Mirella Díaz-Santos helps Latinos fight Alzheimer’s disease
Dr. Díaz-Santos is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is also a neuropsychologist with expertise in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, working primarily with the Latino older adult English-Spanish bilingual community and their families. She is also the director of research at the Hispanic Neuropsychiatric Center of Excellence and Human Behavior. In addition, she is an active member of the Women’s Alzheimer’s Association, which funds research into disparities in Alzheimer’s disease. They also focus on education, prevention and advocacy.