health and wellness

In case you haven't heard, flu season is in full effect, and this year is one of the worst in recent history. As parents, it has us thinking constantly about keeping our kids healthy, so a new study reporting that nearly half of all children in the US are late in receiving their vaccinations caught our attention.

The study was conducted by researchers at Kaiser Permanente Colorado and examined the immunization records for some 323,000 children. Over the course of the research, the number of kids who were late on at least one vaccine (including measles, mumps and rubella, diptheria, tetanus, and pertussis shots) jumped from 42 percent to 54 percent. Just over one in eight children were undervaccinated due to their parents' decisions, and for the rest, it was unclear as to why they were missing shots.

Many parents ask their pediatricians to delay or skip immunizations, citing safety concerns such as a link between the vaccines and autism — a theory that scientists now agree is a nonissue. So what does this mean for the health of our country as a whole? "It's possible that some of these diseases that we worked so hard to eliminate [could] come back," said Jason Glanz of Kaiser Permanente, who led the study.

Do you think it's acceptable for parents to develop "alternative" vaccination schedules for their kids?

popsugar poll

Are You For or Against Alternative Vaccination Schedules?

Yes — Your kids, your choice.

No — Our pediatricians recommend shots for a reason.

It's hard to believe, but if you look around you'll notice that in addition to falling leaves, it's also cold and flu season, and just about every pharmacy is offering a flu shot to those who want one. With kids back in school, stuffy noses are popping up all over the place — even at my home. While simmering a big pot of homemade chicken soup and offering my daughter orange-juice-filled sippy cups, calling the pediatrician to schedule a flu shot seemed like the smartest thing to do this Fall season.

But is getting a flu shot the best way to prevent getting sick this cold and flu season? With the vaccination needing two weeks to take full effect and the height of flu season due to hit mid-October, scheduling the shot sooner rather than later ensures your lil one may be protected. Even if your tot gets vaccinated, she's still at risk of getting the flu, making the shot an opportunity to expose her to various strains, which might come with side effects including rash, headache, fever, and hives. With many parents still nervous about vaccinating their kids, getting a flu shot is once again a hot-button issue.

Reducing exposure to the virus is the best way to prevent the flu. Eating healthy, spending time outdoors, enjoying regular exercise, and washing hands can also reduce the chances for catching the flu. But kids are social butterflies, making hitting the local playground, playing with friends at school, and even visiting the grocery store during the flu season big opportunities for exposing kids to thousands of germs.

Tell the truth — does your kid get a flu shot each year or do you take the risk that they might get sick?

popsugar poll

Tell the Truth: Does Your Kid Get a Flu Shot?

Yes — The entire family gets flu shots every year.

No — We take our chances and practice healthy habits.

Every mama wants to give her baby the best start possible, but just how clean should that beginning be? Anna Getty, the organic living expert and founder of Pregnancy Awareness Month (which happens to be now), recently wrote about her thoughts on preparing the body for pregnancy on the Healthy Child Healthy World website. She shared her year-long, pre-conception plan to whip her body (and soul) into shape for baby, saying:

I cut out all forms of caffeine including black or green tea and (gulp) chocolate, all refined sugars, gluten, dairy, and alcohol, any form of pharmaceutical drugs like aspirin or Ibuprofen and ate a mostly raw diet. I also included acupuncture, colonics, meditation, yoga and juicing. I had planned on cleansing for a year, however, somewhere in the middle, maybe five months, of my pre-conception cleanse the spirit of my unborn daughter decided I was "clean" enough and graced my womb with her presence.

It seems everywhere I turn these days, I hear someone talking about the latest juice cleanse. Friends, colleagues, and celebrities are busy touting the weight loss and detoxifying benefits of the drinks but I never thought about using them to prepare for pregnancy. You clean baby's linens and clothes before she uses them, but do you need to clean your womb before she enters it?

Source: Flickr User Meagan

popsugar poll

Should You Cleanse Before Pregnancy?

Yes — If you know you plan to get pregnant, there's no reason not to prepare the body.

No — While it may be nice, there's no reason you need to put yourself through that.