Parenthood
Questions about pregnancy and impending parenthood? familydoctor.org has facts on pregnancy, fetal health, labor, childbirth and caring for your newborn.
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For Parents: Eating Disorders in Teens
An eating disorder is a focus on food and bodyweight that causes a person to go to extremes when it comes to eating. Three of the most common eating disorders are binge eating disorder, b…
For Parents: What to Expect When Your Child Goes Through Puberty
Puberty is the time in life when your child’s body becomes sexually mature. Your child will experience many changes in their body during this time. For girls, puberty usually occurs between ages 10…
Preparing for Parenthood: Bathing Your Newborn Baby
Bringing your newborn baby home from the hospital can be a joyful time. But it can also be a time when you have many questions about everything. Even something as seemingly simple as bathing your b…
Preparing for Parenthood: How to Change a Diaper
Bringing a new baby home is one of the most exciting times in a parent’s life. It can also be overwhelming with the abundance of responsibilities and routines that come with taking care of this new…
Preparing for Parenthood: How to Clean Baby Bottles
Having a baby is a big life change. Babies sleep a lot, soil their diapers a lot, and eat a lot. In general, newborns eat every 2 to 3 hours, or 8 to 12 times per day. As they grow, the number of t…
How to Give Your Child Medicine
There comes a time in every parent’s life when their child needs medicine. It can be a confusing, scary time. But communicating with your family doctor and pharmacist, asking the right questions, a…
Natural Family Planning
Natural family planning (NFP) is a form of pregnancy planning. It does not involve medicine or devices. NFP helps people observe their body’s fertility signs to know when to have sexual intercourse…
What You Can Do to Change Your Child’s Behavior
There are many things that can cause a child to have temper tantrums, emotional outbursts, and general “bad” or unexpected behavior. These can include biological reasons, like being hungry or overt…
Breastfeeding: Hints to Help You Get Off to a Good Start
Breastfeeding has many benefits for your baby. Breast milk is rich in nutrients. It has antibodies, which help protect your baby against infections. It also can help prevent sudden infant death syn…
Circumcision
Circumcision is a procedure where the foreskin (the skin that covers the tip of the penis) is removed. Circumcision isn’t required. If parents choose this for their baby, the procedure is usually d…
Common Newborn Rashes and Birthmarks
Many newborn babies have skin conditions. Some are born with birthmarks. Some get rashes in their first few months of life. Most bumps and spots on a baby’s skin are harmless and usually clear up o…
Flu Symptoms vs. Cold Symptoms
As fall approaches each year, it signals the time for changes in the weather, holidays with family—and coughing, sneezing, sore throats, and headaches. When these symptoms hit, how do you know if y…
How to Choose a Family Doctor
How to choose a family doctor that’s right for you What does a family doctor do? A family doctor is one who takes care of the whole family. Many doctors train in a specialty area of medicine. Howev…
Pacifiers: Benefits and Risks
Sucking comes naturally for babies. Some babies suck their thumb or fingers. Others like to suck on a pacifier. Pacifiers are the most helpful in children younger than 6 months of age. They often a…
Preparing for Parenthood: Bathing Your Newborn Baby
Bringing your newborn baby home from the hospital can be a joyful time. But it can also be a time when you have many questions about everything. Even something as seemingly simple as bathing your b…
Preparing for Parenthood: How to Clean Baby Bottles
Having a baby is a big life change. Babies sleep a lot, soil their diapers a lot, and eat a lot. In general, newborns eat every 2 to 3 hours, or 8 to 12 times per day. As they grow, the number of t…
Recognizing Newborn Illnesses
Bringing your baby home from the hospital is a very exciting time. But having a newborn around can be stressful for lots of reasons. One of these is concern about the new baby getting sick. How wil…
The Importance of Vaccinations
Vaccines are an important part of family and public health. They prevent the spread of contagious, dangerous and deadly diseases. Vaccines are available for measles, polio, mumps, chicken pox, whoo…
Healthy Eating for Kids
Why healthy eating for kids is important Many children and families today have busy schedules. These make it hard to sit down to homemade meals every day. Many kids’ diets involve a lot of convenie…
Effects of Sun Exposure
Everyone who goes outside is exposed to the sun. It is important to know the effects of sun exposure. The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) advises talking to children, teens, and young …
Enuresis (Bedwetting)
What is enuresis (bedwetting)? Enuresis is the medical term for bedwetting while sleeping. Bedwetting is fairly common among children. It is often just a stage in their development. Bedwetting is m…
For Parents: Eating Disorders in Teens
An eating disorder is a focus on food and bodyweight that causes a person to go to extremes when it comes to eating. Three of the most common eating disorders are binge eating disorder, b…
Immunizations
Vaccinations are proven to be safe and effective, and they save lives. They are an important part of everyone’s health: babies and toddlers, school-age children, teens and pre-teens, pregnant women…
Hydration: Why It’s So Important
Your body depends on water to survive. Every cell, tissue, and organ in your body needs water to work properly. For example, your body uses water to maintain its temperature, remove waste, and lubr…
Teenagers: How to Stay Healthy
A person’s overall health is about much more than the absence of disease. It’s the state of physical, mental, and social well-being. Ultimately, it’s the key to living a productive and satisfying l…
Homosexuality: Facts for Teens
Understanding your identity is an important part of growing up. This page provides clear and supportive homosexuality facts for teens to help you make sense of your feelings, learn about sexual ori…
For Parents: What to Expect When Your Child Goes Through Puberty
Puberty is the time in life when your child’s body becomes sexually mature. Your child will experience many changes in their body during this time. For girls, puberty usually occurs between ages 10…
Girls and Puberty
Puberty is the period or age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction. For girls, it’s a period of change. Understanding what is happening to her body can make your daughter’s tran…
Busting Period Myths
When it comes to your period, you may have more questions than answers. When does it start? How often does it come? Can certain foods affect how you feel? In your search for details, you may have f…
Mental Health Myths: Stop the Stigma
Mental health is widely misunderstood. There is a stigma that surrounds mental health issues. This stigma prevents people from getting the help they need. The only way to stop the stigma is to lear…
Different Types of Mental Health Treatment
Mental health or psychiatric conditions are common. Many times, they run in families. Some of the most common mental health conditions are depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. These illnesses…
Depression | Coping With Suicidal Thoughts
Suicidal thoughts are thoughts about hurting yourself or taking your own life. Suicide is the act of taking your own life. Suicide can be linked to depression. Suicidal thoughts can happen to anyon…
Family Doctors Are a Consistent Presence in Challenging Times
I sat trembling, clasping my patient’s frail hand as I held back tears. Patricia (not her real name) told me about being diagnosed with terminal cancer and described her current symptoms. She was a…
Taking Care of Your Child
Taking care of your child means nurturing their health, happiness, and growth with love, guidance, and consistent support.
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