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The benefits of fish and shellfish, collectively termed “seafood” as part of a balanced, healthy diet have been described. Seafood is low in saturated fat and a good source of high-quality protein and micronutrients including vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium, iron, and zinc.
Lead is an environmental pollutant that serves no useful purpose in the body and tends to accumulate in the body's bony structures based on their exposure. Some studies show that the half-life of lead in bone is approximately 27 years. Thus you may never get rid of all the lead you have absorbed during your life without chelation therapy.
At present there is enormous concern about the birth defects believed associated with infections for an old virus called Zika during pregnancy.
Information concerning the Zika Virus and its implication in microcephaly has been reported in many countries, including the USA.
Influenza is a viral infection that affects the respiratory tract. It is especially risky in pregnant women and increases the risk of premature delivery, abortion, and stillbirth. (1) Pregnant women are also at an increased risk of complications from the virus.
Breastfeeding is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics as the exclusive source of nutrition for feeding young infants for the first six months of life. Data suggest that not only are there psychological benefits from its use, but nutritional, gastrointestinal, and host defense benefits as well. Some...
Sarah has had depression on and off throughout most of her adult life. She finally found an antidepressant that worked for her. But now she’s pregnant and she’s been hearing all the awful things about antidepressants during pregnancy. She’s talked with her doctor about it, and he has assured her that the risk of problems is very small. But he is willing to consider other approaches....
During pregnancy there is an increased demand for certain vitamins and nutrients to ensure proper and adequate growth of the fetus. Prenatal vitamins generally contain higher levels of folic acid, iron, and calcium to meet this increased need. It is...
When faced with a health concern, the first place that many people go is the internet. Although having medical advice at your fingertips is convenient, your search bar may not be the best bet for obtaining accurate information.
Migraines affect up to 17% of women of childbearing age. These headaches are usually one sided and are likely to have a pulsatile or throbbing quality. Accompanying features may include nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light or sound. Stress, weather, hunger, menstrual periods, sleep disturbances, light, birth control pills, and certain types of foods can be contributing factors.
A recent study estimated that 1 in 5 Americans are at risk for vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in a handful of foods (e.g. fatty fish or cod liver oil). Vitamin D is also produced in the body after sun exposure and can be obtained from supplements and food additives.
Current studies indicate that approximately 4% of women in the USA use illicit drugs while pregnant. Seventy five percent of these cases report the use of marijuana. Despite the widespread use of this product, the public is not aware of the potential neurobehavioral effects of this drug on the fetus or the newborn infant.
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About the InfantRisk Center Team
Thomas Hale, Ph.D., R.Ph., is a professor of pediatrics and associate dean of research at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and acting executive director of the InfantRisk Center. Hale is considered one of the foremost expert in the field of perinatal pharmacology and the use of medications by pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.
The vision of the InfantRisk Center is to create a new body of drug information concerning the safety of medications and their use during pregnancy and lactation. Additionally, the center will expand, enhance and disseminate knowledge regarding the use of medications and other environmental chemicals by pregnant and breastfeeding women worldwide.
Christine D. Garner, PhD, RD, completed her doctorate Nutrition at Cornell University, where she was an NIH Doctoral Trainee in Maternal and Child Nutrition. She was trained as a Registered Dietitian at the University of California San Francisco, where she also worked for several years as a Pediatric Clinical Dietitian.
Garner’s interests involve maternal and child health from a nutritional perspective. The majority of her research has centered on maternal obesity and breastfeeding, and she has used a combination of statistical and qualitative methods to investigate research questions pertaining to these topics.
Kathleen A Rewers-Felkins is a Research Associate in the Department of Pediatrics at Texas Tech University School of Medicine. She received her Bachelors of Science from Loyola University Chicago and completed her Masters of Science at University of Houston. She has worked for Harrington Cancer Center, including a clinical trial as well as in several TT research labs, involved with cell culture, bacterial culture, PCR assays, animal work and liquid chromatography/mass spectrophotometry.
Amanda Griffin MD graduated from University of Nebraska Medical Center and completed her residency training in Pediatrics from Texas Tech University School of Medicine. Her practice includes direct patient care as well as supervision and education of residents and students in the outpatient clinic, newborn nursery, and inpatient ward. She also serves the same roles in a clinic for children with special healthcare needs.
Dr. Griffin also helped establish and presently supervised a breastfeeding clinic in the Department of Pediatrics. She supervises a Board Certified Lactation Consultant and helped expand the access of our patients to lactation services in our community. She is a Pediatric hospitalist and admits and cares for inpatients of private pediatricians in Amarillo.
Rachel Anderson MD is an assistant professor of pediatrics. She graduated from Texas Tech University School of Medicine in 2013 and completed her Pediatric residency at TTUHSC Amarillo in 2016. She has interests in Foster Care, breastfeeding, child abuse and neglect, and other disorders in pediatrics.
Sandra Lovato, RN is a Registered Nurse and telephone advisor for the InfantRisk Center. She received her ADN from the Amarillo College of School of Nursing in May of 2008. She began working at the InfantRisk Center in November of 2013 as a Senior Adviser for Dr. Hale. Since she began working under Dr. Hale, she has learned a lot about the effects of medications and their passage into breastmilk. She is glad to be a part of such a valuable and important resource for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and seeks to help mothers have a long, healthy breastfeeding relationship with their child.
Teresa Baker, MD. graduated from the University of Texas Southwestern and completed her residency training at Parkland Health and Hospital System in Dallas, TX. She is Board Certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Dr. Baker has a combined private and academic OB/GYN practice with the University Physicians at Texas Tech Health Sciences Center in Amarillo. She is interested in teen pregnancy, postpartum depression, and promoting preventive medicine for the women of the Texas Panhandle, as well as Resident and Student education and serves as the Residency Director.
Palika Datta Ph.D. is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Texas Tech University School of Medicine. She completed her Ph.D. in All India Institute of Medical Sciences. Dr. Datta did postdoctoral work at TTUHSC School of Pharmacy before joining the InfantRisk Center 4 years ago. She has broad experience in conventional biochemistry and molecular biology techniques. Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, Microarray, Protein expression, purification in mammalian and bacterial cell culture system. Dr. Datta runs and supervises our highly sophisticated clinical pharmacology laboratories.
Dr. Mubariz Naqvi, MD is a long-time member of the Department of Pediatrics. He is Professor of Pediatrics and is a board certified neonatologist. Dr. Naqvi has spent many years supporting the use of human milk in his premature infants. He is a member of the Critical Care Committee, Neonatal Transport Committee, Pediatric Residency Committee, Chair of Education Research Sub-committee, and numerous other hospital and educational committees. Dr. Naqvi is Board Certified by American Academy of Pediatrics with a subspecialty Board of in Subspecialty Board of Neonatal/Perinatal Medicine.
Todd Bell, MD. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics although he is double boarded in Pediatrics and Internal Medicine. He received his MD from the University of Arkansas School of Medicine cum laude in 2001. He completed a combined general internal medicine and general pediatrics residency in Durham, North Carolina at Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Bell has extensive research experience, particularly in influenza, infectious diseases, and dysautonomia.
Jonathan Craddock is a Full Stack Web Developer and Mobile app developer for the InfantRisk Center. He received his degree in Computer Information Sciences from Amarillo College in 2010 and began working with Dr. Hale and the IRC early in 2012. He develops and maintains the InfantRisk Center websites, apps, and other applications and systems critical to Dr. Hale's research and data.
Alicia Gill, RN is a Registered Nurse and telephone advisor for the Infant Risk Center. She graduated the Vocational Nursing Program from Clarendon College in 2007. Then she received her ADN from Amarillo College in 2010. She began working at the Infant Risk Center in June of 2019 as a Senior Advisor for Dr. Hale. She has learned a lot about the effects of medications and their passage into breastmilk. She is excited to be a part of an important and valuable research center for pregnant and breast feeding moms.
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