April
Cesarean
Awareness
Month

SINCE 2009, a third of all births in the U.S. have been by cesarean section—the delivery of a baby through a surgical incision in the mother’s abdomen and uterus. The percentage of cesarean births has been rising steadily for more than a decade; they are up nearly 60 percent since 1996, despite evidence of the increased risk of maternal and neonatal mortality when healthy women agree to a scheduled surgery.

This awareness month was initiated by the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN), a nonprofit organization founded in 1982 primarily to improve mother-child health by preventing unnecessary cesareans through education about risk and appropriate childbirth decisions.

ELENA ROSE PHOTOGRAPH Y

Costco member Dr. Phyllis Ritchie (http://drphyllis ritchie.com) is a board-certi;ed infectious disease specialist. She writes a medical column for The Oregonian and OregonLive.com.

What are probiotics and what do they do?

—Vince, Portland, OR

WE ALL HAVE bacteria that occur naturally in our gut. Certain factors (such as taking antibiotics) can cause an overgrowth of “bad” bacteria overtaking “good” bacteria in the gut, resulting in ;atulence and/or severe diarrhea.

Probiotics are concentrated supplements of bene;cial bacteria similar to those that occur naturally in the digestive tract. They can be purchased in liquid, powder or pill form. They are sold in almost any pharmacy and can even be found in some yogurt.

Although more research is needed, there is
encouraging evidence that probiotics may:
• Help treat antibiotic-associated diarrhea
• Prevent and treat vaginal yeast infections
• Help treat irritable bowel syndrome
• Prevent and treat eczema in children
Side effects from probiotics are rare, and it
would be dif;cult to overdose on them as long as
you follow the directions on the bottle.

DOXYCYCLINE falls in the class of tetracycline antibiotics. There has been more than 50 years of experience with these medications. Tetracyclines are used for a broad range of infections, including acne.

Tetracyclines may indeed cause permanent discoloration and/or dis;guration of teeth in children under the age of 10. Pregnant and breastfeeding women should not take tetracyclines because they can be passed to the fetus or baby and cause tooth discoloration.

Minocycline (another type of tetracycline) may occasionally result in prolonged grayish discoloration of adult teeth in about 5 percent of people.

If you are not pregnant, planning to become pregnant, breastfeeding or under the age of 10, doxycycline will not stain your teeth yellow. C Cesarean facts from ICAN

Helping kids
with autism

COSTCO MEMBERS Scott and Ann Leslie’s son, Gage, was diagnosed with autism at the age of 2½ in 2005. “Gage and our struggles with learning how to communicate with him were our inspiration to do something that would help children with autism learn important social skills—skills which they otherwise have quite a bit of difficulty learning,” says Ann.

They saw that Gage responded positively to children’s videos and decided to develop an educational tool to help him learn and improve his behavioral and communication skills. The couple met with speech therapists and board-certified neurologic music therapists with the idea of making a kids’ video for children on the autism spectrum.

Using Scott’s experience in video produc-
tion, they created and produced Kibbles
Rockin’ Clubhouse ( www.noteabilities.com).
“Kibbles Rockin’ Clubhouse endeavors to fos-
ter independence in children affected with
autism through engaging, fun and interactive
videos,” says Ann, who is also chairperson of
the 2012 San Diego Ride for Autism, an
annual motorcycle ride benefiting children
with autism and their families. “The DVD/
CD set helps children with autism express
their feelings and teaches them the social
skills needed in various social situations.”
Skills are taught using speech and music
therapy, peer modeling and fun songs. The
DVD also has teaching tools for parents.