HEALTHYKIDSHOME

  It is every pregnant woman’s dream to have a healthy baby who has no birth defects. Unfortunately, there are times this dream does not come to pass. There are a number of things that can negatively affect the development of a fetus (baby in the womb) which is beyond the control of parents. But sometimes, the actions of pregnant women can be responsible for these negative outcomes. An example is the type of medicine taken during pregnancy. Some medicines have the potential to harm the developing fetus. One of such medicines is Chloramphenicol. This drug can cause serious blood disorders and gray baby syndrome. Gray baby syndrome is characterized by, vomiting, diarrhea, hypotension and a grayish discolouration of the skin. Ciprofloxacin can cause defects in the     baby’s muscle and poor skeletal growth. This is known as arthropathy. Codeine and Diazepam can lead to withdrawal symptoms in newborns. When the baby is born, they can have difficulty suckling. They can a...

    I remember Charles (name changed) very well. He was my patient when I was training to become a Paediatrician. Patients with cancer usually stayed on the ward for a long time and we usually grew fond of them. Charles had retinoblastoma (cancer of the eye).   He came to the hospital with advanced disease and we sadly, lost him. During my training, there were times when caregivers or parents who were told that their wards had cancer protested and said their children could never get cancer.   It usually took repeatedly counseling to get them to accept the diagnosis and agree to treatment. Their reaction was quite understandable. Cancer is a hard pill to swallow. But as unpleasant as it sounds,   the harsh truth is that children can get cancer too. Fortunately,   the  majority of childhood cancers are curable when detected early and treatment, commenced early.   Cancer is the abnormal multiplication of cells in the body. The cells in the bo...