Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/52879
4A Daily News – Tuesday, January 17, 2012 Vitality & health CHICAGO (MCT) — James Robinson will tell you the hardest part of his son's death was having to face his fiancee. The Chicago man blames himself for bring- ing 7-week-old D'Angelo into bed with him that fate- ful night. But after spend- ing the day at the hospital with their older son, who had been diagnosed with cancer that day, Robinson feared that if his newborn cried, he'd be too exhaust- ed to hear. So he put his arm around him, as if to form a shield, and the two drifted off to sleep. When he awoke, the first thing he saw were his son's bluish lips. At its worst, the contro- versial practice of bed- sharing — typically defined as when infants sleep in the same bed as their parents — has stolen babies from their families, usually when a well-inten- tioned parent rolls over on the baby and suffocates him or her. At its best, advocates say the practice can strengthen bonds between parent and child, facilitate breast-feeding and cure sleepless nights. As the number of par- ents who choose to bed- share appears to be on the rise, the debate over its safety continues to heat up. In Illinois between 2008 and 2010, bed-sharing was the culprit in at least 190 infant deaths, according to state data. In Lake County, Ill., a recent spate of infant bed- sharing deaths — eight between March 2010 and June 2011 — caught the attention of Coroner Artis Yancey, who has since sought to educate parents on the issue. He now dis- tributes material on safe sleeping practices and keeps a crib in his office for parents who need one. So far, he said he's given away three. "It's a tragic thing," he said. "It should be the hap- piest time of (parents') lives, and it turns out to be the worst time of their lives." Public health officials, researchers and distraught Bed-sharing deaths persist despite warnings typically sleep in a safer, protective position. He said parents should be allowed to make educated deci- sions on bed-sharing with- out feeling like they're doing something wrong. "Moms just aren't these passive, lethal weapons they're being portrayed to be," he said. In November, a Mil- waukee ad campaign spon- sored by a nonprofit showed a baby sleeping in an adult bed next to a knife and words underneath that read, "Your baby sleeping with you can be just as dangerous." Katie Martinson, a MCT photo At her home in Dolton, Ill., on Jan. 8, Kakuna Smith, 34, holds a box of belongings for her 11- week-old daughter Kamilah Gilmore, who died while they shared a bed in a 2005 incident. parents are also stepping up efforts to spread the word on safe-sleeping practices for infants. Illi- nois legislators passed two laws aimed at curbing sleep-related infant deaths. One, which went into effect this month. requires additional training for day care providers. The other, implemented last year, mandates that hospitals provide new parents with safe sleeping information. In an article published this week, a Centers for Disease Control and Pre- vention senior scientist called for better reporting of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death, including whether an infant died while bed-sharing. "These deaths seem to be increasing, and we want to understand why. To do that, we need better data," said the scientist, Carrie Shapiro-Mendoza, who previously led a study that found infant deaths blamed on accidental strangulation and suffocation in bed quadrupled from 1984 to 2004. And in October, the CUSTOM WE HAVE MOVED TO 333 S. Main St. Suite H Refurbished HP Dual Core Laptop $ 3600n Color Laser Printer $ 225 200 We carry Copy & Printer Supplies 20% off with this ad Labor, Parts & Accessories 530-690-3331 American Academy of Pediatrics released a policy advising against bed-shar- ing while stating when par- ents sleep in the same room as a baby — but not in the same bed — the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome can be cut by as much as 50 percent. Since experts came out in the early 1990s with the recommendation of plac- ing babies on their backs to sleep, deaths from SIDS have dropped dramatically, said pediatrician Rachel Moon, a SIDS researcher at Children's National Medical Center in Wash- ington, D.C., and lead author of the academy's policy. But Moon said deaths from some of the most common bed-sharing causes, such as suffoca- tion, are on the rise. Because each circum- stance is different, it's hard to quantify the risks of bed-sharing, so "we can't say it's safe. We can't rec- ommend it for anybody," Moon said. Yet James McKenna, director of the Mother- Baby Behavioral Sleep Lab at the University of Notre Dame, maintains that an outright ban on bed-sharing is "a social judgment and not a sci- ence." Barring risk factors like substance abuse, which he said aren't taken into account in the numbers, McKenna believes bed- sharing can be done safely and with great benefit to the mother and baby. While he doesn't recom- mend bed-sharing for babies who are bottle fed, he believes that mothers who are breast feeding have a greater sense of their babies' presence and Every Wednesday January 18 & 25 Woodridge mother of four and registered nurse, said she has bed-shared with all of her children. Her youngest, who is 3 months old, goes to sleep in her bassinet but moves into her parents' bed as soon as she wakes for her first feeding. "I think I could resent (breast feeding) if I was slogging out of bed con- stantly," said Martinson, 30. "But this way, (babies) don't really fully wake up. They just kind of dream- feed." Martinson, who teaches childbirth education class- es, said she informs par- ents inquiring about bed- sharing of the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendations. "I also say in many other parts of the world, this is how it's done," she said. "People sleep with their babies in bed with them." Sarah Grunner said her 2 {-year-old son has been sleeping in his parents' bed since birth. The decision was a joint one with her husband and it gave her, as a working mother, another opportunity to bond with her son. "It's strange," said Grunner, of Wheaton, Ill. "It's more like I'm in tune with what's happened with him than other things. I don't hear other noises, but I always know what's going on with my son. ... It's kind of like being able to assure him that we're always there, and he feels that immediately. Hopeful- ly that will carry over emo- tionally as he gets older." But all the potential benefits aren't worth the risk of losing a baby, con- tends Judith Bannon, exec- utive director of the Pitts- burgh-based organization Cribs for Kids. "If there was anything else killing children at this rate, there would be an outcry from the communi- ty," Bannon said. "You can't go into people's home and dictate where the baby sleeps, but you can edu- cate them about safe sleep- ing for the infant and the consequences of putting them in an unsafe environ- ment." WE ARE YOUR RESOLUTION SOLUTION! What are you waiting for? Make the commitment and get the body you deserve in 2012! Pine Street Plaza 332 Pine Street, Suite G Red Bluff, CA Stacy L. Garcia Hearing Aid Dispenser Lic. #7440 (800) 843-4271 See why our members get results! Tehama Family Fitness Center 2498 South Main St • Red Bluff 528-8656 www.tehamafamilyfitness.com fitness Can you spare 15 minutes, three times a week? (MCT) — "Maybe you love to eat but hate to exercise," Jim Karas proposes. For most of us, that about sums it up. Karas wants to help you get over the exercise part of that equation. "The biggest hurdle you will ever face in losing weight isn't sticking to a diet or going to the gym every day. It's simply this: getting started," he says. Can you spare 15 minutes, three times a week? Trainer and author Karas says that's enough to get you off to a good start. "If you're doing nothing, this is absolutely a step in the right direction," says Karas, who blogs (and sells his fitness products) at jimkaras.com. Just those 45 minutes weekly will rev up your metabo- lism, increase your energy, and make you look and feel better, he says. Karas brags that after an appearance years ago on "Good Morning America," he cornered Diane Sawyer and delivered the bad news: She needed to lose 25 pounds. "She was shocked, but I got her attention." (And became her trainer to help her do it.) For those of us who aren't Diane Sawyer, who have put off starting an exercise program, he insists that we don't need to spend hours a week on a tread- mill. "You don't have to have equipment. You don't have to go to the gym," he says. Instead, Karas recommends taking three basic exercises — pushups, Pilates planks, and squats or lunges — and doing each until "you're almost out of breath." Then repeat the series "until you fill up 15 minutes" three times weekly. Instructions for all of these are all over the Internet. And yes, he disagrees with federal guidelines that recommend 75 minutes a week of vigorous aer- obic activity (or 2{ hours of moderate exercise). In most exercise regimens, "the neglected vari- able is intensity," Karas says. "If you really get in there and get the job done, you optimize results and you save yourself time." Stress may cause brain to shrink (MCT) — If you're stressed out from a divorce, a hard day at work or a fight with your girlfriend it might be causing your brain to shrink. A study by Yale University researchers found that stressful life events can reduce gray matter in regions of the brain that regulate emotion and important physiological functions in healthy people to brain structure changes associated with psychi- atric disorders, such as addiction depression and anxiety. Past studies have only linked stress. The effects of stress on the brains of healthy individuals hasn't been clear. The researchers looked at MRIs of more than 100 healthy people. They found the changes soon after stressful events occurred and said the findings may serve as warning signals of future psychiatric disor- ders and chronic diseases, such as diabetes or hypertension. The study, which was published in the journal Biological Psychiatry, was funded by the National Institutes of Health. James W. Tysinger, Jr. M.D. Eye Physician & Surgeon Fellow American Academy of Ophthalmology We accept Medical, Medicare & most Insurances Office Hours: Tues-Wed-Thurs 8am-4:30pm Mon & Fri 1pm-4:30pm For Emergencies, After Hours, Week-ends, Call 530-567-5001 345 Hickory St. Red Bluff Tel: (530) 529-4733 Fax: (530) 529-1114