Although a newborn can see, she isn't born knowing how to use her eyes or how to interpret images. It's normal for a child not to see at a distance or to have crossed eyes up until 3 months of age. However, signs of a visually impaired infant may...
A newborn's eyes are not fully developed, according to Lawrence M. Kaufman, M.D., Ph.D. at the University of Illinois Medical Center. The elements of the eyes develop in utero, but the nerve and internal structures continue to grow over the first...
Oxygen therapy is commonly used to treat a variety of medical conditions including heart attack, emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, and other hypoxic conditions where the cells are deprived of oxygenation for various...
Teenage birth rates in the United States exceed those in most developed countries, according to the March of Dimes. Teenage mothers have much higher risks for medical complications during pregnancy and are the least likely to seek out prenatal...
Herpes simplex type 2 is a sexually transmitted disease affecting nearly 20 percent of the adult population, according to the New York Department of Health. The condition is spread during sexual contact when mucous membranes and fluids carrying...
Mercury toxicity may come about from eating seafood with unsafe amounts of mercury over time. Mercury can also be taken into the body through topical medications containing mercury, such as ammoniated mercury. The effects may show up gradually or...
One of the main ways that children learn about the world is through sight. However, when babies are first born their vision is not very sharp, so they prefer looking at nearby objects or those that are bright, contain contrasting colors or are...
In 2006, according to the Guttmacher Institute, 750,000 females under the age of 20 became pregnant. This represents about seven percent of young girls in the United States between the ages of fifteen and nineteen. California, Texas and New York...
According to the American Council for Drug Education, tobacco use is responsible for more than 400,000 deaths in the United States each year. Tobacco in cigarettes, cigars, pipes and snuff, or smokeless tobacco, contains a highly addictive central...
Vitamins are natural or synthetic compounds with biological activity that are necessary for health. Vitamins are available in three forms: pills, liquid and injectable fluid. All types of vitamins promote growth and development. However, the best...
Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease, or STD, caused by the herpes simplex viruses type 1 or type 2. Herpes simplex virus enters the human body through small breaks in the skin or through mucus membranes. The major means of the spread...
A woman's daily requirement for nutrients including folic acid, calcium, iron and vitamins A and D increases during pregnancy, according to the American Pregnancy Association. It is possible to get these nutrients from a healthy, well-balanced...
Consuming fish in moderation is a healthy way you can obtain protein and omega-3 fatty acid in your diet, which is good for heart-health. The American Heart Association recommends eating fish twice per week for most people, unless you are a woman...
In order for us to see in color, light is absorbed by visual pigments in the eye called photoreceptors. Cones, which can be one of three different pigments, are the photoreceptors that are responsible for color vision. Color is perceived when the...
Herpes infections are due to a virus that can infect the genital tract. This virus can cause an infection in the genital tract of both men and women. The infection can occur in newborns and can cause severe disease. According to "Nelson's...
Vision problems in babies can prove difficult to assess, since babies can't verbalize a loss or change in vision. Some eye conditions that affect babies are visually obvious. Other conditions are known risks of certain medical procedures, such as...
Krabbe disease--also referred to as globoid cell leukodystrophy--is an inherited medical condition that causes degeneration of the central nervous system. Patients with this condition have insufficient levels of a particular enzyme called...
Most harried parents will attest that newborn babies do sleep a lot, but that unfortunately most of the sleep is in chunks of one to two hours instead of the longer stretches the parents once enjoyed. While your newborn is likely to need regular...
Some babies are born with eye conditions, or eye problems may develop shortly after delivery. Serious eye conditions are rare, however. Before going home from the hospital, the doctor will check the baby's eyes for normal appearance, proper...
Although vision does not affect muscle use, lack of vision can indirectly affect a child's ability to walk. According to the nonprofit Blind Children Center, "Without special training, fully capable infants who are visually impaired may not learn...
Genetic diseases are those that are passed on from parent to child through genes that carry the codes for each specific trait. Many of the diseases and disorders that affect the eyes have genetic factors. Some diseases are linked to a single gene...
Pregnancy does not always last 40 weeks, but babies who are born before their mothers have been pregnant for 37 weeks are considered to be premature. Some of these babies go on to live full and healthy lives, but others die or have health problems...
Newborns sleep up to 16 hours each day, making crib selection a priority. A safe sleep environment for a baby reduces the risk of suffocation and death. Selecting a crib based on looks alone ignores the safety aspect of the purchase. Take time to...
Atopic eczema is an inflammatory skin condition that is associated with environmental allergies. It is characterized by itching, scaling, oozing and thickening of the skin on the scalp, neck, extremities and abdomen. Atopic eczema typically begins...
The safest oxygen level for an infant on a ventilator is the lowest level that delivers enough oxygen to sustain the life of vital organs. The right amount of oxygen differs with each case and the course of the underlying disease and therapy over...
Rebecca Atkinson published an essay on July 17, 2007, in the Guardian newspaper about her gradual loss of sight from a condition called Leber's congenital amaurosis. Atkinson states, "Suddenly you can smell the world and sense when someone is...
Abnormal blood vessels in the eyes of children can cause serious, irreversible vision loss. Most abnormal vessels aren't visible from outside the eye, and small children can't explain that they can't see, so abnormal blood vessel growth can cause...
Protein is one of the most critical nutrients. In fact, Janice R Hermann, PhD, RD/LD from the University of Oklahoma describes it as the second most abundant element in the body. Think of protein as the concrete in the foundation that makes it...
Some parents, desperate to feed their colicky baby, turn to goat's milk as an alternative to cow's milk. Many pediatricians advise against goat's milk for infants under a year old because it might cause anemia or intestinal irritation. Parenting...
