pregnancy and babies - doc.mediaplanet.com
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Alanis Morissette dishes on her pregnancy and life with a bundle of joy
WHAT YOU OUGHTAKNOW ABOUT MOTHERHOOD
no.1/March 2011
Observationthe food that makes your children smart
baby balancetiffani thiessen mixes motherhood with screen time
Observationthe food that makes your children smart
no bump frumpJeanne beker’s pregnancy fashion do’s and don’ts
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WHAT YOU OUGHTATIPSTIPS3
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CHaLLEnGEs
Whether new life starts with a wish, or comes upon us when we least expect it—pregnancy and babyhood require a health plan for both mother and child.
“i think few modern women today shop exclusively at a maternity store just because they’re pregnant.”
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Be preparedThere are many things that you and your baby need for your fi rst trip home together. Here’s a list of items to keep you on your nesting to-do list.
Baby ■ Car seat ■ Stroller ■ Baby clothes ■ Crib ■ Baby carrier ■ Baby monitor ■ Diaper-related items ■ Baby bath items ■ Breast feeding equipment ■ Bottles ■ Infant medications
Mom sometimes forgets to shop for herself—here are some good items to have on hand when you get home from the hospital.
Mom ■ Menstrual-related items ■ Breast feeding-related clothing ■ Breast leaking pads ■ Creams and lotions for breast
and body
No frumpy bumpsJeanne beker’s pregnancy fashion tips
pregnAncy And bAbies1st editiOn, MArch 2011
Managing Director: gustav [email protected] Manager: Jackie [email protected] Developer: David [email protected] Developer: Jennifer [email protected]
Responsible for this issue:Publisher: Shannae [email protected]: Penelope [email protected]: Jennifer Blake, Robert Daniels, Jessica hume, Ted Kritsonis, andrew Seale, carol Tice
Distributed within:Toronto Star, March 2011This section was created by Mediaplanet and did not involve the Toronto Star or its editorial Departments.
Photo credit: all photos are from iStock.com unless otherwise accredited.
Mediaplanet’s business is to create new customers for our advertisers by providing readers with high-quality editorial contentthat motivates them to act.
Being pregnant is a time of great anticipation, but the anxiety that goes with ensuring the baby’s health can be a health risk to both the mother and her unborn child.
The good news is that more is known now about how best to prepare and deal with health concerns for a healthy and stable pregnancy.
Plan for the unexpectedDr. Gideon Koren is the director of the Motherisk Program at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, and he recommends that women planning pregnancies take prenatal multivitamins to off set any risks of Spina Bifi da, a congenital defect of the baby’s spinal cord that could cause paralysis of the lower limbs or mental handicap.
“We do also have to recognize that about 60 percent of pregnancies are unplanned,” Koren says. “But there are relatively simple tests to gauge the potential for Spina Bifi da, and there are a number of things women can do to improve the health of the baby, like not smoking and controlling her weight.”
Load up on nutrientsRegardless of whether the pregnancy was planned or not,
women do need to ensure that they eat enough protein and calcium to pass it on to the baby, both in the womb and when breastfeeding.
Koren says that pregnant women tend to eat more carbohydrates, which he discourages because they could end up eating more calories than they need to. No doubt, the
appetite increases dramatically because of the hormones involved with the pregnancy, but it then becomes a big fi ght for women to ensure they’re not eating too much.
“In the past, doctors used to say that it was okay to deal with the excess weight after birth, but
we now know that’s simply not the case,” he says. “This is why moderate exercise and activity are so important.”
Age doesn’t necessarily mean riskKoren also dispels the myth that having a baby after the age of 35 is inherently risky. While he admits there is increased risk of Down Syndrome and other chromosome issues, women in their late 30s and early 40s are generally in better health than the previous generation. “We already know about all of these and can rule them out through simple tests,” he says.
As for lactation, concerns over tainted breast milk are usually overblown, he adds. While a baby will take in remnants of any medication the mother is taking, she passes more of it on when taking the same medication while the baby is in her womb.
“Nature can be cruel because if the mother doesn’t consume enough calcium, the body will take it away from her teeth and bones and give it to the baby,” he says.
teD KRitsonis
FacTS
Pregnancy myths ■ Smoking is definitely risky for
a baby, but two to three cups of coffee per day generally aren’t.
■ Epileptics need not worry about getting pregnant; 96 per-cent of their pregnancies go smoothly.
■ Older women in their 30s and 40s can also have problem-free pregnancies.
■ Exercise is very important, so long as it’s not overly strenuous.
■ Before taking any medication,
talk to your doctor. ■ Try to stay away from alcohol
while pregnant. ■ When planning pregnancy,
take prenatal vitamins prior to conception.
■ Try getting plenty of sleep. ■ Seeing a dietician is a great
idea after getting pregnant. ■ Sex need not be a problem
during a pregnancy, though it may be uncomfortable later in the term.
Ensuring the health of mother and unborn child
start your pregnancy with a plan
pregnancy. Before wo-men had the oppor-tunity to control the timing of this life-changing milestone, it was dealt with as it happened. Now, preg-
nancy is something we are supposed to plan—and make perfect. But pregnancy is unlike anyth-ing any of us have ever done before; a healthy pregnancy and baby is, at best, only part planning—for the rest, we have to go along for a bit of a ride. As my mother, now 90, told me when I called her with my big news, “Oh my dear, from this moment on you are a hostage to fortune.” As an obstetrician, I thought I knew a lot about pregnancy—but I had a lot to learn.
Our job, as obstetricians, fami-ly doctors, nurses and midwives, is to help anticipate where there may be trouble on the road, and help get mother and babe through as safely as we can. In this supplement we will pass along some of what we ha-ve learned to help you prepare for a most important, and exciting, time in your life!
It starts with strategyHealthy pregnancy starts with the basics—your health as a mother. If
you are thinking about pregnancy, it is a good time to get a check up, starting with your gynecologic and overall health. Are you a healthy body weight/ do you have an acti-ve life style/ are you up to date with your pap smear, and with your im-munizations? Have you had a den-tal check up? Do you have any med-ical issues, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. that you need to do some extra planning for?
Folic acid supplements are key when you begin to think about pregnancy. They not only protect your baby from spinal problems (neural tube defects) but are also known to protect your child later on from childhood cancers, such as leukemia and neuroblastoma.
You can’t talk about pregnan-cy without talking about diet and weight gain. But did you know that your diet and weight gain during pregnancy can aff ect your future child’s risk of obesity and diabetes?
How old is too old? I keep hea-ring that women are delay-ing pregnancy, but honestly I don’t see that in my office. I hear from many women who are anx-ious to get started but they may not be in a relationship, or their partner isn’t ready. What are the consequences of delaying
pregnancy?
A healthy beginningFor those who are pregnant, it’s a matter of keeping your baby heal-thy. It is amazing what we can now see with ultrasound to help answer your questions, and prenatal scre-ening has come a long way.
Pregnancy doesn’t always
go as planned, and prematu-re birth is still a major concern. The risk is greater still when car-rying twins or triplets. What are the implications of a premature birth? The neonatal intensive ca-re unit can seem a scary place—how can parents cope with the situation?
Information overloadOnce your baby is born, the world is full of advice. There is a lot to learn, and the information can be over-whelming. Childbirth preparation classes can help, and connect you with other parents to talk to, so you are not alone. The simple things ge-nerally work—babies are good at teaching their parents, and there is help to be had.
Then there are the health strate-gies we can put in place for the fu-ture. Families today are faced with questions about whether to bank their baby’s cord blood. The scientifi c research in cord blood is exploding, but will it make a diff erence to you or your baby?
So read on, whether for yourself, your daughter or sister or wife; I think you will be fascinated by how much more we know about pregnancy, and all of the things that you can do to prepare.
“healthy pregnancy starts with the basics—your health as a mother.”
Jennifer Blake, MDchief of Women & Babies Program,chief of Obstetrics and gynaecology,Sunnybrook health Sciences centre
START WITH A BABY PLAN
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“We do also have to recognize that about 60 percent of pregnancies are unplanned.”Dr. Gideon KorenDirector, Motherisk, hospital for Sick children
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Canadian rocker Alanis Morissette announced in August that she and her husband, hip-hop artist MC Souleye, are expecting their first child, a boy. Here, she shares her take on her future parenting style.
inspiration
What you oughta know about motherhoodYou were performing from the time you were nine or 10 years old. Looking back to-day, as you prepare for the birth of your first child, do you ever wish that your own childhood was more normal?When I was working through some of the grief that adults can endu-re when they look back, I may have wished during some moments that my childhood had included some more relaxation and frivolity. But now that I have gotten all the wis-dom from those chapters of my life, I wouldn’t wish it to be any different.
Are you concerned about ha-ving your parenting views and family life put under a microscope?I’ve never had a problem being an outspoken philosopher, and I have a lot of experience with people agree-ing and vehemently disagreeing with my approach to life, so this will be no different.
I think my approach to paren-ting will become self-evident. Our job as parents will be to behold what our son’s essential qualities are, and then foster and nurture those. He may surprise us: he may lean toward mathematics, or athletics, or music, or any number of vocations. So a lot of it will be just standing by and sup-porting him.
New parents often go in with expectations, only to learn that kids can throw a lot of curveballs. Have you wonde-red whether you will be able to manage family life the way you’ve managed your career?If I hadn’t done all of the inner work that I have been doing in my adult years, then I might be in a tougher position. But I’ve done a lot of work on letting go and just trusting life — trusting that things will unfold in their own time. I have done a lot of recovery work on control, and co-de-pendency, and addiction, and I think that will come in very handy. At the same time, I’m human, and I know that I’m an animal in many ways, so I will be very protective of my off-spring!
What have you done to keep
your body and mind healthy in pregnancy?I’ve been working out throughout the whole pregnancy, although in the third trimester it has tapered off a bit in its intensity, for obvious reasons! I’ve been doing a lot of walking, spinning, yoga, swimming, and tons of stretching. For me it’s al-so about getting a little sunshine, be-cause my moods are very much af-fected by gray skies or being unable to get outdoors.
I know how important a relaxed state of mind is, so I’ve put a lot mo-re emphasis on curing my worka-holism during the pregnancy. Ins-tead of doing 12 projects at once, I’ve whittled it down to a couple, which for me is huge. That’s been valuable on so many levels, personally and spiritually. This whole prenatal jour-ney has been very eye-opening and heart-opening for me.
I’ve done a lot of preparation — it is so my personality to take every class and read every book.
Have you been writing about these experiences?I’ve been writing a lot. On my MySpace page, I just wrote a piece
on birth and death revisited. Becau-se it’s impossible for me to consi-der this whole miracle of birth wit-hout also considering the other end: death. I’ve been dwelling on some of the huge existential questions and conversations.
At the same time, I’ve cut myself slack and not pushed myself to be overly disciplined. What’s wound up happening is that I have gotten into a very natural rhythm. Throug-hout this pregnancy I’ve realized that even when I completely let go, I still always want to write, so I’ve been writing songs, free verse — po-etic e-mails at four in the morning to my friends!
I’m also still working on my book, and it has reached this really beau-tiful pace. There was a time when I was overdoing it, overwriting and kind of burning out. Now I’ve found the right balance of writing when I’m inspired.
A lot of people around me wanted the book to be very memoiresque, and I’d always been resistant to that. But now there’s a nice balance of me using personal anecdotes, but not having my story be the driving force. There was a lot of resistance to the
part the book that is very academic. But I’ve come to a place where I ha-ve no apologies for what my natural inclination is. I’m just going to write the book of my dreams, even if only two people read it.
As you work on the book, ha-ve you been writing more about the anxiety and worry, or about the excitement of what’s coming?I’m not directly writing about the pregnancy in the book — maybe in Volume 2 I’ll get into that! I’m mo-re inclined to write about the phi-losophical and spiritual aspects of it. I am definitely subject to the hu-man parts, and some of the Twitte-red stuff touches on that — how can it not?
I have moments where items sei-zed with incredulity about what is about to happen. At the same time, though, I know I’ll need to surren-der to what is about to happen, and I know there is so much that I won’t know until I’m on the other side.
Are you planning to take a break from recording and touring?
Once I get some semblance of fami-liarity with parenting, then my in-tention is to go back into the studio, because I’m excited to write the next record. And, predictably, I’ll be going on tour after that. But I don’t know when that will be.
Have you thought about how your music will change on-ce you’re a parent? I’m as-suming you’re not planning to record an album of Raffi songs?No, but you would be surprised what I’ve been offered! I think a lot of the healing that has come from this pre-natal journey has opened me up even more emotionally. I don’t have any preferences when it comes to emo-tions: it’s not like I’m just going to wri-te about relaxation. Anger and joy, and all of these flavors of being human still course through my veins as an artist. Life just has its way with me, and then it comes through me in song. I’m loo-king forward to seeing what comes out.
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1-2. Alanis MorissettePhoto: Corbis
1
A speciAl Advertising feAture by MediAplAnetA speciAl Advertising feAture by MediAplAnet MArch 2011 · 5
More than 600,000 Canadians are affected by infertility.
That means 10 percent of the population within the reproductive age range is unable to conceive, despite repeated attempts.
But Canada is in no way isolated when it comes to infertility.
“Internationally, it’s one in six,” says Beverly Hanck, executive director of the Infertility Awareness Association of Canada
(IAAC). But despite the figures, knowing your options when it comes to infertility can help make a difference when it comes to reproducing.
Creating optionsLife Sciences have made huge advances in the last few decades and as technology improves, more alternatives are developed for dealing with fertility issues.
There are a variety of causes for infertility and it’s important to select the option that matches your
situation.Workplace chemicals and toxins
can aff ect fertility. Studies have also shown tobacco products are detrimental to infertility.
Alcohol can also aff ect estrogen levels and ovulation in women.
Speaking with a reproductive endocrinologist (a doctor specializing in fertility) or urologist (for male infertility) can point you in the right direction.
According to figures released through the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society (CFAS), 1,500
babies were born in Ontario in 2006 through in vitro fertilization (IVF). IVF is a process in which eggs are fertilized outside of the body. It is considered a major treatment for infertility and is used when other assisted reproductive technology has failed.
On the other end of the spectrum, fertility drugs such as clomiphene can regulate reproductive hormones and help with the release of eggs during the ovulation cycle.
Surgery can help fix genetic
defects or blocked fallopian tubes, or remove endometriosis, fi broids, or ovarian cysts.
Artificial insemination is another option. As part of the process, your partner’s sperm (or a donor’s) is injected into the uterus using a catheter.
It’s important to realize that there are a variety of options in Canada.
anDReW seale
Know your fertility options2
■ Name:alanis nadine Morissette
■ Born:June 1, 1974 in Ottawa, Ontario
■ Her album “Jagged Little Pill” was the highest selling album of all time by a female and the third higest selling album of all time.
■ Has won 12 Juno awards and seven grammy awards.
■ Baby news: Proud new mom of son ever Imre Morissette-Treadway, born December 25, 2010.
Profile
inspiration
KNOW YOUR OPTIONS
KNOW YOUR
2TIP
A speciAl Advertising feAture by MediAplAnet6 · MArch 2011
tiffani thiessen maintains her balanceIn between the first and se-cond seasons of her acclai-med USA Network show, “White Collar,” actress Tif-fani Thiessen and her actor-artist husband, Brady Smith, welcomed their first baby Harper Renn. Since Harper’s birth, Thiessen, 36, also co-founded a children’s-décor company, PetitNest.
How does Thiessen juggle it all? With an understanding employer—and a lot of help from her mom.
Family supportThe “Saved By the Bell” and “Bever-ly Hills, 90210” star relies on mom Robyn as her sole sitter. “My mom is a complete Godsend,” she says. “I don’t want to put Harper in the
hands of anyone I don’t know. I trust my mom, and it’s a great way to start their relationship.”
Sometimes Grandma hits the ro-ad with baby, too. For instance, Ro-byn recently packed up Harper and accompanied Thiessen to a Las Vegas furniture show where PetitNest de-buted. Harper goes everywhere with Thiessen in part because the baby is
entirely breastfed.“She won’t take a bottle at all,”
Thiessen says. “Harper is with me, 24/7. My mom gets up for 4:30 a.m. call times, we put [Harper] in the car seat, and go off to work.”
On-set parentingThiessen is grateful for an under-standing cast and crew at “White
Collar,” which has fi nished shoo-ting for now. The Los Angeles resi-dent was back on the set when Har-per was just six weeks old, sharing a New York apartment with her hus-band and mom for the season.
“It was funny living with my mom again,” she laughs, “and she and my husband got very close.”
Thankfully, Thiessen is in a sup-porting role and isn’t on the shoo-ting schedule every day. When she did work, she says Harper’s nursing needs weren’t a problem.
“My show was wonderful,” she recalls. “They’d wait when I had to nurse. It couldn’t have been a better situation.”
BABY BLISSTiffani Thiessen and Brady Smith with their first baby, Harper Renn. Photo: JoE bUissiNK
teD KRitsonis
When Robyn Green-Ruskin started Movies for Mom-mies 10 years ago, she hadn’t even crossed the bridge into motherhood.
“I was single and looking for a job,” says the mompreneur.
It was an adequately timed epiphany at the cinema that got her mind racing.
“I don’t really remember what the movie was,” says Green-Rus-kin, but she saw a mother in the theatre struggling to keep her ba-by happy while watching the fi lm. “I started thinking ‘There should be a place where moms can go and not get dirty looks from someone because their baby is crying’.”
Throughout the movie, Green-Ruskin brainstormed ideas for what would become Movies for Mommies.
“It’s nice because I was ab-le to approach it as a business when it first launched,” says Green-Ruskin.
Over the next few nights, Green-Ruskin laid awake coming up with ideas.
She wanted to create a space where moms would feel comfor-table if their babies were crying or needed to be changed midway th-rough the show and wouldn’t be chastised for it.
“There was a myriad of pro-grams focused on stimulating the babies but this is really for the pa-rents to fi nd a way to connect with life before babies (but still keep the li’l ones around).”
Opening night “The fi rst movie was Chocolat with Johnny Depp and the moms came out in droves,” says Green-Ruskin.
Today, the mompreneur has two kids of her own—a two-and-a-half-year-old and a four-year-old—or three (if you count Movies for Mommies says Green-Ruskin) and the program has grown to in-clude showings once a week at 16 franchises across Canada in both English and French.
Green-Ruskin says there is usu-ally 40-60 parents at the event which off er spots for heating up baby bottles, change tables and other conveniences for parents—not to mention a judgement-free atmosphere.
“When I first started it I thought it would be the kind of thing that mums would come to with their friends,” she says. But as it turned out, the event fun-ctions as a community where pa-rents (and caregivers) can make new friends.
Upping the age bracketOf course, the tireless mother isn’t fi nished yet.
Her new project—Toons for Tots—is geared towards toddlers.
“(It’s) a fi rst movie experience for toddlers,” says the mompre-neur, adding that the fi rst one felt like a “rock concert” for the wee ones.
Whether she’s planning for toddlers or parents, Green-Ruskin doesn’t see an end to her ideas.
“I really like working on that creative side.”
DOn’T MISS!DOn’T MISS!
insiGHt
a bump doesn’t have to mean frumpPregnancy certainly has its challenges, but that doesn’t mean staying fashionable over the course of those nine months has to be difficult.
It’s true that part of being pregnant has a lot to do with the clothes wo-men must wear to accommodate the baby growing in their womb, and in a bygone era, this would’ve almost certainly meant hiding be-hind smocks and tent dresses to keep that bulging belly away.
Flaunt with flairJeanne Beker, host of CTV’s Fashion-Television, believes that materni-ty wear has changed radically sin-ce she started covering the fashion world in the mid-80s. When she was pregnant in those years, she couldn’t necessarily flaunt it, especially when working on-camera.
“In those days, you really tried to cover up your belly,” Beker says. “We were still wearing ’proper materni-ty clothes’, so it wasn’t anything li-
ke the way women show it off today, which I think is beautiful.”
Bump it up!Specialty garment stores were tradi-tionally the retailers that catered to women looking for maternity clo-thing, but that has changed to the point where pregnancy won’t ne-cessarily stop women from shop-ping where they want to. Women may still buy some things from spe-cialty maternity stores, particular-ly undergarments, except current trends make it a lot easier to fi t in fashionably.
“I think few modern women today shop exclusively at a maternity wear store just because they’re pregnant,” Beker says. “Women who have great bodies and work hard to keep them-selves in shape, even during their pregnancy, which is important, if they happen to have this great big belly, they want to show it off .”
She suggests looking for styles that are fl owing and luxe becau-se there’s a “great kind of fl ow go-
ing on” with a lot of garments this spring. But she adds that it’s just as important to go for what’s easy and comfortable to wear with a lot of stretch. Fabrics like spandex and ly-cra can be an elegant alternative to
putting on a pair of sweatpants and an oversized tunic.
Even with jeans, there is faux de-nim that look like jeggings, which are now being made for materni-ty wear, Beker says. Even tops and sweaters that were traditionally looser now hug the body more and accentuate the curves.
“These clothes now look like any regular clothes, and if there happens to be a big belly underneath, that’s great,” she says.
Keep it comfortableAs for shoes, pregnancy can push a woman’s foot up a size, so wobbling around in high stilettos may not be ideal. Hence, why revisiting your shoe wardrobe makes sense as your belly starts to show, she says. “Flats are more chic now anyway, but you can still have a bit of a platform or a thicker heel,” she says.
FASHION GURUJeanne Beker, Host of CTV’s Fashion-Television, had to be creative to hide her bump working on camera in the 80’s.Photo: CtV
CaRol tiCe
“harper is with me 24/7. My mom gets up for 4:30 a.m. call times, we put [har-per] in the car seat, and go off to work. ”Tiffani Thiessen PhOTO: JOe BUISSInK
anDReW seale
screen time for moms sees great success
3TIP
Robyn Green-Ruskin PhOTO: PRIVaTe
ASK FAMILY FOR HELP IF NEEDED
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nEWs
With cold and flu season in full swing, it doesn’t take much for stuffy noses and chest colds to work their way through toddlers like the plague.
But nasal congestion is a bit more of a concern for the wee ones then it is for adults.
When babies are born, they only know how to breathe through their nose so it’s not uncommon for the little one to panic when things get a little stuff y in there. A congested nose can also affect your baby’s sleeping and feeding habits.
But rest easy—illness is a natural part of growing up and there are several ways you can clear your baby’s blocked sinuses.
Most doctors agree that babies younger than three months shouldn’t be taking medicine, as
their fresh immune systems need to learn to fi ght off infections.
Clearing the airAn easy medicine-free solution is to run a cool-mist vaporizer near the baby’s crib. It’s important to make sure the vaporizer is cleaned frequently and refi lled with fresh water to avoid bacteria growth. The mist can help loosen any mucus stuck in the baby’s tiny nostrils.
Running warm water in the bathroom to create steam can achieve the same eff ect.
Vapor rubs (available at most pharmacies) can be used as well. Try rubbing it on the bottom of the baby’s feet as the intensity of the oils in it could be too much for your child.
If this doesn’t work, you could use saline nose drops. Salt water is a traditional remedy that is tried and true.
Non-medicated nose-drops come in a variety of forms and can be picked up at any local pharmacy.
There are also suction bulbs that can be used to gently remove the mucus from the nose.
Exercise caution when using these as the membranes in a baby’s nose can be tender.
According to an article written by Karen Sokal-Gutierrez, M.D., M.P.H. and doctor of pediatrics for Fischer Price’s Advice from Experts section, touts how common congested noses are in young ones.
“Usually, babies recover from stuff y noses within a week or two without any problems,” writes the expert.
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Unblocking a common issue
neWS In BRIeF
iVF is expensive—but worth itDanielle Alderman has spent today, like every other for the past eight months, attending to the needs of her infant daughter Elizabeth. It’s almost nap time, she explains, during which she will have brief re-prieve from the demanding lifestyle that comes with new motherhood. Though it is draining, Alderman says she enjoys every moment of it; she and her husband, Jeff , fought long and hard for this child, spending fi -ve years in infertility treatments and about $68,000 trying to conceive.
Today about one in six Canadian couples suff er from infertility, a sta-tistic that has risen over the past 30 years. Health experts attribute this reality in part to women having children later in life—their 30s—when the chances of conceiving are lower and the quality of the eggs po-tentially diminished. Lower sperm count in men from industrialized countries has led to ongoing studies looking at how environmental fac-tors aff ect male fertility.
A lesson in patienceIn 2004, upon learning she and her husband could not become pregnant naturally, Alderman began in vitro fertilization treatments, of which about 5,000 are performed annual-ly in Ontario, though not yet covered by OHIP. “I learned patience, that’s for sure,” Alderman says, describing the stressful fi ve years of undergo-ing treatments without becoming pregnant. And though she explains that insurance helped cover some of
the cost, “it was frustrating to see the money go when the treatments were unsuccessful.” Now, she says, it was worth it.
Waiting for the payoffUnfortunately, not all couples are lucky enough to see the payoff of dif-fi cult and expensive IVF and other infertility procedures. Kara De Rose, 29, counts herself among them. The professional photographer and her husband have been trying for fi ve years to have a child. They are among the roughly 33 percent of couples whose cause of infertility is unk-nown. De Rose has undergone intra-uterine insemination and IVF—pro-cedures that cost them about $20,000 in 2009 alone—but to no avail.
“There are lots of hard parts,” De Rose admits. “You never know if what you’re going through to get to the point of having a baby will work out.” But De Rose remains optimistic and in 2009, organized an annual Por-trait in the Park event in Kitchener, where she lives, through which she hopes to raise awareness of infertility issues in Canada. At the top of that list is government assistance, something the Infertility Awareness Association of Canada has been pressuring the provincial government to adopt.
In the meantime, De Rose says the couples she has met through Por-traits in the Park have illuminated for her the fact she is not alone in the painful experience of dealing with infertility.
JessiCa HUMe
life’s tough when your nose is blocked
Help your baby breathe easier with a clear, hydrated nose Developed with paediatricians, the hydraSense® Nasal Aspirator
with its soft tip allows you to gently and effectively clear tiny blocked noses. Its single-use fi lter system and easy cleaning make it a simple,
safe and hygienic solution.
Used in combination with our 100% natural-source seawater nasal care, hydraSense® Easydose® individual vials or hydraSense® Ultra-Gentle Mist, which liquefi es mucus prior to aspiration, the hydraSense® Nasal Aspirator
helps restore nasal breathing and facilitates eating and sleeping for your baby to the benefi t of the whole family.
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Hydrating nasal care for babies
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M
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RÉSERVOIRCynthia Chartrand
(514) 489-1534HydrasenseHYD-2011-022-1P-MMP-fev2011
dateitem
format échellecouleur
bleed
9 fevrier 2011Magazine
10,375 x 20,73 po100 %CYMKoui
Die*** Attention***Ne pas imprimer
Certaines manipulations techniques (conversion des noirs en valeur de surimpression (overprint attributes) et les chevauchements (trapping) n’ont pas été effectués sur ce document.
maq_Affiche_MBB_v2.indd 1 11-02-09 4:27 PM