Health Blog

A healthy body and a sound mind

Types of Paternity Testing

pregnancy-belly

An alleged father or mother do not have to sit and wonder whether or not a child is really his or hers. There are actually a few different options that parents can choose from to reveal a child’s paternity. Some parents might choose to do this in order to affect things like child custody or child support. When being used in a custody or child support case, there may be certain laws regarding DNA collection. Before having any testing done, parents should make sure they understand how the results of the test can be used or if they will hold up in a court case. Three common types of paternity testing are home kits, laboratories, and a prenatal paternity test.

Home DNA Test Kits

A home test kit is simple and easy to use. All it takes is finding a reliable company that can ship the kit to you. If you know you want a laboratory to process the DNA samples, you will need to pay the lab fee. Some companies will initially send you a free kit thats private and confidential. Should you choose to use it, you pay the lab fee later. Many home testing kits can still provide reliable results. You collect the samples yourself, often by just swabbing the cheek of the people in question, then mail the kit to the lab for testing. Once the test results are in, the lab mails them back to you.

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New Fertility Treatment Breakthrough

Many couples who can’t manage to conceive by themselves often turn to fertility clinics to help them to have a child. One of the most common ways that fertility clinics help is by performing in vitro fertilization (IVF). Since the first baby born by IVF – Louise Brown – came into the world in 1978, there have been enormous advances in the field, but the technique still isn’t always successful. In fact, a study done in the UK showed that only about 24% of women who have an IVF embryo implanted actually give birth to a live baby. This type of rate is not specific to the UK – if you are looking for a reproductive endocrinologist Kansas City success rates are likely to be quite similar.

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However, it looks like there may be some new hope on the horizon – and again, it is coming from the UK. The use of IVF is very widespread there, with about 60,000 couples having the treatment each year. Because of this, there is a lot of research carried out in the UK on IVF, including at a number of UK fertility clinics. One of those, CARE Fertility Group, now seems to have made a breakthrough that may raise the success rate for IVF to as high as 78%. [Read more…]

Diabetes and Depression

DiabetesStudies have shown that pregnant women and new mothers that have diabetes are in far greater risk for developing post partum depression (PPD). Though the reason for the higher risk is not yet exactly known what is known is that out of 11,000 women who were enrolled in New Jersey’s Medicaid program 15.2 percent of those that had diabetes became depressed during pregnancy or up to a year after birth. The percentage of diabetic women who did not suffer from postpartum depression is significantly lower at only 8.5 percent.

What this means for expectant mothers is that if routine diabetes tests give you a positive result you should also discuss with your doctor the possibility of post partum depression and ways to prevent and manage problem. This is very important because post partum depression IS treatable. Since the disorder is underdiagnosed, by being aware and discussing with your doctor the risk factors involved, in case you end up suffering from PPD chances of it going undetected will be minimized, which in turn means fast help for you.

The link between diabetes and depression has already been studied before but it is only now that the figures for diabetes and PPD have come out.

Photo via MsH_ISB

Kicking the Morning Sickness Habit

Some people may wake up in the morning and start sneezing, coughing or may sound drowsy. These unusual habits are often referred to as morning sicknesses, stemming from inherent traits or surroundings that may be polluted at times. This is why the cleanliness of surroundings has been given much premium since the after effects will surely turn out after some time and not immediately.

Pregnancy Morning Sickness

Morning sickness would usually be such reactions that would occur when a person would wake up after a good night’s sleep. This habit is considered to go on and on for years to come. While there is no clear explanation on how to cure such, they usually would last for an hour or two and would suddenly disappear as fast as it came.

For pregnant women, this is normal since their immune system is a whole lot delicate. Their morning sickness can go to as much as a day in the process of their current state of pregnancy.

Are there Medical Cures for Insomnia?

Insomnia is a sleep disorder that has been rampant for people who have had a hard time reverting back to the normal body clocks. Insomnia has so far altered the body clock, resulting into problems that people who report for work on a regular 8 to 5 shift due to absences and tardiness.

Sleep Disorder Insomnia

While there are people who seek medical attention, it all boils down on how the person would be determined in finding out how to regulate their sleeping habits once more. There will always be Valium to help people sleep at preferred times but the normal recourse would be to try and re-adjust the body clock.

Physicians who would stay away from prescribing medical drugs, would advise patients to drink warm milk and even drink vitamins before they sleep. While the latter would be up for questioning, the explanation behind it is simply filling in the lost nutrients that a body would normally have and thus make people more comfortable and relaxed, thus pointing towards sleeping for a complete body rest at the right time when a person should be taking his long deserved sleeping habit.

[tags]insomnia, sleep disorder, sleep apnea[/tags]

4 Most Common Injuries Following a Car Accident

Getting into a car accident is never a pleasant experience. It can cause serious injuries that impact your life for years to come.  Beyond physical damage, a car accident can also take its toll mentally. Take a look at some of the most common after-effects of car accidents and what you can do about them.