Why Should You Consider a 3D Ultrasound?

Being pregnant is such an amazing gift and with the availability of 3D Ultrasounds, you can make your pregnancy even more memorable. A 3D Ultrasound is a great way to see your unborn child up close and personal. Long gone are the days of wonder and anticipation of giving birth in order to determine the gender of your baby and who he or she looks like. With today’s technology you can see your baby boy or girl before he or she even exits your womb. Does he have his daddy’s nose? Mommy’s lips? Well, you can actually see all those things, and more, when viewing your baby through a 3D Ultrasound. 3D Ultrasounds really show just how far technology has come. Even as recent as 10 years ago you probably were not given an ultrasound unless there was a cause for concern during your pregnancy. Nowadays, however, women are given ultrasounds quite frequently during a pregnancy in order to see how the baby is growing, make sure the estimated due date is correct and, if the couple chooses to, learn the gender of their unborn baby. Having the ability to see your baby and know how he or she is doing really helps to ease your mind as a parent and makes you feel that much more connected. This is especially true for the fathers because they don’t get to experience the pregnancy the same way the mother does. When you see your baby for the first time, it truly is a magical experience and one that everyone looks forward to after finding out they are pregnant. 3D Ultrasounds are even more special than the 2D Ultrasounds that most OBGYN’s continue to use because they really allow you to see the details of what your baby looks like. They also allow you to hear your baby’s heartbeat and really encourage parents because they help build up the excitement they are already feeling that much more. By seeing little Johnny or Sally’s face, parents are really able to build that connection because they know there actually is a little person growing inside there. 3D Ultrasounds just make the experience that much more intimate and real. Plus, they are fun because once your baby is born, you can compare his or her photo to the ultrasound pictures you had taken while in utero and see how much they really did show! Isn’t technology amazing?

About Baby’s Premiere 3D 4D Ultrasound

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Thursday, June 13th @ 6:30pm

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It’s that time of year again- cold weather, snow, ice, clouds and days with less sunlight. For parents, winter is a tough time- finding activities that are always inside, worrying about snow days and delays and making sure kids get plenty of physical exercise even though the weather is cold and the days are shorter. On top of that some parents have to deal with a type of depression called Seasonal Disorder. This type of depression usually happens in the winter months due to the weather and shorter periods of daylight. Being that this type of depression is seasonal, the symptoms usually come back the same time every year and go away around the same time. The symptoms usually start late fall or early winter and the symptoms start to disappear when the warmer weather and longer days of sunlight return.

About Diane

Therapist, Educator, author and Life Coach Diane Lang has dedicated her career to helping people turn their lives around and is now on a mission to help them develop a sustainable positive attitude that can actually turn one into an optimist, literally. A therapist and educator of Positive Psychology, she has seen that it can provide a strong foundation for finding great happiness and is gratified that it is becoming a mainstream method of treatment. Lang has an M.A. in Counseling and a B.A. in Liberal Arts from the New York Institute of Technology.

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The Mind, Body, and Baby Connection

Yoga offers many benefits, especially during pregnancy.

If you have practiced yoga before pregnancy, you can continue yoga through your pregnancy. (A pregnant woman should always check with her medical support team to be sure it is safe and appropriate to begin a yoga practice during pregnancy.) Some poses may need adjusting depending on your belly size and your body’s and baby’s needs, however, yoga is generally safe to practice for pregnant women. And if you have never tried yoga before, now is a great time to give it a shot, while you are experiencing wild mood swings, changes in balance and body, and even complete exhaustion.

Yoga is an exploration – exploration of self, of mind, of body. It can be an amazing journey inward as you work on your outward. And what better time to learn about yourself and what you are capable of doing than when you are pregnant!

Prenatal yoga is a good way to put aside some time for yourself when you are pregnant.
During a pregnancy, a woman can find that she loses time for herself. She’s busy planning for the new life she is about to bring into the world. That means planning a place for the baby to sleep, clothes for the baby to wear, and stocking up on diapers, diapers and more diapers! At the end of the day, she may be too tired to do anything for herself. Yoga is a wonderful opportunity to be with herself in her pregnant state and learn about her changing body – and her changing self. It also gives a pregnant woman some time to bond with the growing child (or children!) inside of her. Now that is time well spent!

Prenatal yoga helps you learn about your changing body…and your changing sense of balance.
A woman’s body will go through incredible transformation during a pregnancy. Pregnancy alters a woman’s sense of balance because the enlarging uterus and breasts shift her center of gravity. High hormone levels make pregnant women’s connective tissues more lax, so her joints may be more susceptible to injury. Prenatal yoga works with all of these changes and helps women to understand them and work with them.

Prenatal yoga teaches breathing techniques that will come in handy during everyday pregnancy, and labor!
Pregnant women need more oxygen than non-pregnant women and have to work harder for that oxygen, especially as pregnancy progresses because the enlarging uterus crowds the diaphragm. These changes make it easier to become short of breath. A major part of yoga practice is pranayama, or breathing exercises. These exercises teach you how to take complete breaths – something we don’t typically do in everyday life, and something that will sure help during pregnancy – and after!

Prenatal yoga helps decrease stress levels, which can lead to better birth outcomes.
Yoga provides relaxation techniques that everyone can use – and these techniques are particularly important for pregnant women. Women who experience large amounts of stress during their pregnancy are more at risk for preterm births or other complications. And every pregnancy has its stresses – pregnancy itself is stressful! Prenatal yoga can teach a woman techniques that can help turn off emotional and physical stresses, if only temporarily, which is helpful for both mom and baby.

Prenatal yoga helps you connect with other moms-to-be!
In a prenatal yoga class, you’ll also get the added benefit of a sense of community by connecting with other local women who are pregnant. A class full of women who had this ache or that pain, or a doctor who said this, or a husband who did that or just felt the first kick…how wonderful to have an opportunity to share those experiences!

Yoga’s benefits are there for you before, during and after pregnancy. Take advantage today!

A pregnant woman should always check with her medical support team to be sure it is safe and appropriate to begin a yoga practice during pregnancy.

NOTE: Prenatal yoga should be done with a trained professional to guide you through your experience. PCYH is delighted to offer Prenatal Yoga on Thursdays at 6:30 pm. Space is limited. Contact us for next series or additional times which may be offered.

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Prepping for back to school: It’s that time of year again, the end of summer…

The end of summer break means no more late nights, sleeping late in the morning or playing outside till dark. This is the time of year when kids and parents are thinking about school supplies, new classrooms and teachers, making new friends and getting back to the school routine. Whether your child is starting pre-school or going to high school, it can be an anxious time for both the kids and parents. However, if you prepare your child for school you can sooth their nerves and have a smooth transition into the school year. Here are some great tips to get the school year off to a good start.

1. After a long summer of going to bed late and sleeping late, it will be hard for the kids to go back to their old school schedule. The best way to get your kids back into their old routines is to start off slowly. In August you can start the process. Each week have your kids go to bed a little earlier until they get back to their normal school routine. Each week my daughter goes to bed 30 minutes earlier by the last week of August she will be back to her school schedule.
2. Make school fun – have the kids go shopping with you. Let the kids be involved with their school shopping including school supplies, back packs/lunch bags and school clothes. The younger kids have fun picking out their pencil bags and lunch bags. The more your kids are involved the happier they will be. This will also make the parents lives easier; you won’t have to go return things they don’t like.
3. School visits – most schools have special days before the school years starts that are for visiting. Take this time to go to your child’s new school or new classroom. Walk around so your child knows where her/his locker is, the bathrooms, etc. Most of the teachers are usually there on these days so you can meet your child’s new teacher(s) as well. This will help your child to feel more comfortable in their new environment and it also makes us parents feel more comfortable as well.
4. Always talk positive about school. Kids are more “Aware” then we think. They watch and hear everything you say. So, if you talk negative about school or teachers, you can change their perspective on school. Be positive.
5. Have your child prepare for school the night before. This helps with the morning confusion. Have your child set out their clothes/shoes the night before, make their lunches or set out the lunch money. Both you and your child will feel more prepared in the morning.
6. If your child has any special needs (physically or cognitively) talk to the school and teacher(s) before the New Year starts. Let the school know what your child needs to have a good learning experience.
7. Ask your child if they have any questions about school. Ask before school starts and the first few weeks of school. Be an Empathic Listener – imagine how your child is feeling. Always put yourself in their shoes. What might seem like a small issue to you could be a big issue to them.
8. Active Listening – ask how your child’s day is each and ever day and then really listen when they speak. Ask what they did in school. Stop any other activities and have eye contact with your child. Ask questions if you’re not sure about what they are saying. Don’t interrupt. Don’t think about other topics while they are talking. Think before answering. When you’re an active listener, you show your child that you are really listening and that you care about what they are saying.
9. Set up a school calendar – I set mine up on the refrigerator so everyone can see it. This schedule should include the lunch menu, after or before school activities, who is driving to each activity, etc. This will take away from the confusion.
10. Basic needs – make sure your whole family has their basic needs met. Is everyone eating a healthy breakfast, taking their vitamins, drinking plenty of water, getting plenty of sleep and exercise? Everything will be better when your basic needs are met.
11. Set up some “Free time” in the morning. The Just in case, “extra” time. I wake my daughter up 10-15 minutes earlier and get her ready for school. At the end we usually have 10 minutes or so free time which is nice or if she gets pre-occupies, the extra 10-15 minutes is used up but either way we are ready on time ( most of the time)
12. Take care of you first. I wake up at 7am and my daughter at 7:30. That half hour gives me the time I need to wake up and take a shower so I’m refreshed and ready to go. This takes away from the crankiness of the morning.
13. Use positive reinforcement and a behavior chart to reward the good behavior. Set a positive reinforcement board up on your refrigerator where everyone can see it. Put the behavior that you want to change on the board and every time your kids do it right, they get a sticker or a check to say it’s done. After a specific amount of time of doing the right thing, they get a reward. The key factors are: Every day they put the sticker up for the good behavior, you give positive reinforcement as in praise. When they have done the good behavior for a specific amount time, the reward has to be specific to the child’s wants/needs. For my daughter, after a month of making her bed and putting her clothes away, she got an in ice cream sundae. It’s what she wanted, what she picked. Another rule: you can only work on one behavior at a time.
14. For younger kids they feel more comfortable at school if they can take one of their small comforts from home. It could be a picture of their mom or dad, a very small stuffed animal, etc. Having something from home brings them comfort. They don’t need to carry it, just put the little memento in their backpack.
15. Keep your kid’s school ready by keeping up with math and reading over the summer. The libraries have great reading programs with tips on what books to reach for all ages and positive reinforcement. You can buy a practice math book at your local book store and have your kids practice during the summer. It’s a great way to keep their cognitive skills strong and makes for an easier transition into their next grade.

About Diane

Therapist, Educator, author and Life Coach Diane Lang has dedicated her career to helping people turn their lives around and is now on a mission to help them develop a sustainable positive attitude that can actually turn one into an optimist, literally. A therapist and educator of Positive Psychology, she has seen that it can provide a strong foundation for finding great happiness and is gratified that it is becoming a mainstream method of treatment. Lang has an M.A. in Counseling and a B.A. in Liberal Arts from the New York Institute of Technology.

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Do you do everything possible to keep your kids healthy, but still feel like you are constantly running to the pediatrician?

Have you heard other moms talking about foods or natural solutions for things like ear infections or colds, and wish YOU had more confidence using natural remedies?

Is there a nagging feeling inside you that wishes you didn’t have to use Tylenol or other over the counter medications, but you just don’t know the alternatives?

If this sounds familiar, join my good friend Amara Wagner for this free tele-class, Natural Remedies for Healthy Kids. Even though this tele-class is free, Amara is going to share tons of information and tools that you can begin using immediately, to help make this your family’s healthiest year yet.  During this class, you will learn:

• Why natural remedies play a crucial role in your child’s long-term health
• Simple things you can do to start boosting your entire family’s immune system
• What you need to know to make sure that you are choosing the right remedies that really work

You don’t want to miss this! Learning with Amara can help shift your family from feeling sick and tired to vibrant and healthy. Her tips are simple yet profoundly effective.

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Three ways to build learning into everyday moments

Original Content by: Erica Danziger, Holistic Health Coach and Owner of Nature Girl Wellness

As a Mom, I watch my children grow and learn about the world around them. I see their little minds picking and choosing habits and behaviors to take with them on their journey toward adulthood. I love littering their path with healthy options so making healthful choices becomes easy for them. Whether it’s a carrot picnic in the yard with my 2-year-old or encouraging my 4-year old to attend his yoga class, my goal is to expose my kids to a wide variety of ways to help their bodies feel good. If I’ve done my job right, one day, when my kids go off to college to guzzle down beer and chicken wings as their primary meal of the day, maybe they’ll also sneak in kale chips or carrot juice, too. As a Health Coach, I help my clients build healthy families by creatively increasing their fruits and vegetables, changing the way they talk or behave when it comes to mealtime and helping them reduce stress when faced with a picky eater or a family member with food allergies. Together, we find strategies so they, too, can make healthy and attractive food and lifestyle options easy and accessible for their families.
Here are three ways I’ve taken every day opportunities and turned them into educational moments for my children to learn about health.

Sample #1: T is for Tomato

When my son joined a new pre-school this past fall, like most pre-Kindergarten classes, they started to explore the alphabet. To emphasize their learning, the teachers used food. The first letter they studied was “M” and my son came home with marshmallows pasted to matzah (a white flour cracker) with vanilla frosting. I wanted to gag. My son wanted to devour it. We wound up striking a compromise that sounded something like, “Two bites then we throw it away.” At this point, I knew I had a choice that many parents face. One option was to confront my son’s school and express my disappointment that M wasn’t celebrated with mango or melon. My other option was to shrug my shoulders and use the “a little junk food doesn’t matter” approach. I chose to talk to my son’s school and address the issue head-on. I also wanted to offer a helpful solution. If purchasing fresh whole foods for the children on a weekly basis wasn’t in their budget or agenda, I would offer to do it for them (one mango cut into 14 slices wasn’t going to break my wallet!). Then I went a step further because pioneering change doesn’t mean you have to stand alone. I contacted all of the other parents in my son’s class and asked if anyone else wanted to volunteer to share this task of helping the children learn the alphabet while helping them learn about fresh whole foods. I’m pleased to report that four other Mothers offered to help. We shared responsibility throughout the school year. Last week, we completed the alphabet and the children celebrated the letter “E” by each eating a half of an organic hard-boiled egg.

Some of my favorite foods from this experiment:
 Homemade whole wheat waffles for the letter “W”
 Grape tomatoes for the letter “T” (children in the other class came home with Tootsie Rolls)
 Quesadillas for the letter “Q” (in the past, the school said they skipped food for this letter)

Sample #2: Frozen Rainbows

I love browsing home schooling blogs and Facebook pages for creative learning ideas I can do at home with my children. I send my children to school outside of our home but we really enjoy educational activities at home, especially those that are hands on! I heard about these ice pop molds from a Facebook page and thought they looked great. My son decided we should make smoothies in each of the colors of the molds. To each of these blends, we added just enough water to help the ingredients break down in the blender.We used what we already had in our house.

 To make a red ice, we blended strawberries with beets

 To make a blue ice, we blended blueberries

 To make a green ice, we blended frozen grapes and little dried greens powder

 Then we mixed the leftover red and blue smoothies to make purple

 My son wanted to make a “rainbow” ice in the yellow mold so we poured in the purple ice, let it freeze for about 20 minutes and then poured the leftover green ice liquid on top to make a layered effect.

Sample #3: From Seed to Table

Last year, my family joined four other families from Holistic Moms Network – Bergen County, where I am a co-leader, and shared a plot in a community garden in my town. We didn’t expect to grow much, as amateur gardeners, but our goal was focused on involving our kids in the process and helping them see the life cycle of our food, from seed in the ground to our kitchen table. One important lesson I learned was that kids memories are short. When we discovered that the kale and spinach we had planted in the fall had miraculously grown into a harvest in the spring, my son didn’t share my excitement. He simply didn’t remember planting those seeds. Oh right — four months ago was a lifetime ago in my son’s world. Involving kids in the garden can be a great way to explore healthy foods.

  Start small – with just one crop, if you like.

 Examine everything with your child – the size of the seed, if it smells like the vegetable, poking your fingers in the dirt, covering up the seed with a “soil blanket” and nurturing it with minerals, water, sunlight and even a story or song.

 Herbs are a great first seed for kids. They grow quickly so there is a fast reward and they smell great, which uses more than just their sense of taste to explore it. I learned this year that parsley also doesn’t need a lot of sunlight so give it a try!

 Add raw herbs to salads, soups, grains or pasta. Maybe your “picky eater” will want to try it just because he was a part of it from the very beginning.

Erica Danziger is a Holistic Health Coach and Owner of Nature Girl Wellness, LLC.

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  Original Content by: Diane Lang, Counseling Educator

It’s that time of year again.  School is out and the heat is on.

We want to have a fun summer but sometimes it’s tough.  Kids get bored and we feel stressed with all we need to do.  Here are some great tips to help have a great summer for the whole family….

1. Even though school is out; you still want them to keep up their chores. Set up times/days for chores. This will help keep their normal routine even in the summer.

2. The library is a great place for free fun. The library has various children activities and events throughout the library. For adults: Libraries also have great workshops, events and book signings for free. The library is a great place for everyone – take advantage of it this summer.

3. Most local libraries have reading programs for kids. These programs reward kids for reading. It’s a great way to motivate your kids to keep reading over the summer. Most libraries also give book suggestions for different ages.

4. While I’m talking about libraries: I find libraries to be a great place where I can bring my daughter and we can both enjoy the summer. My daughter can read a book or listen to story time while I get to read through my favorite magazine.

5. Have some educational fun with good old fashioned board games. Board games help with memory, fine motor skills (connect 4), problem solving and much more. Some great games: Monopoly, sorry, payday, etc.

6. Make sure your kids get plenty of physical exercise. This can be done at your local park (bring a picnic and make it an all day event). The local park near me has a track right next to the playground so I can get some exercise while watching my daughter play.

7. Kids need play dates with kids their own age. If your child doesn’t go to camp sign up your child for activities at your community center, park, library etc.

8. Look into discounts. Example: If you have all 3 services with cablevision (cable, phone and internet) you get a cablevision card which allows for Free Movies on Tuesdays and some mornings.

9. Field trips are a great way to spice up your days. It can be a local trip to a lake, beach or a park. Then mix it up with museums, shows and mini day trips to new local places.

10. Summer is a great time to get involved with volunteering. Find a local place that lets kids volunteer. Try to make it a weekly or biweekly activity. Volunteering builds kids self-esteem, teaches them respect for themselves and others. The bonus: helping others gives us an instant boost of happiness. So, the whole family can feel good.

11. Teach your kids some business skills. Have them start a_______ stand. Let your kids fill in the blank with their own ideas. It could be the traditional lemonade stand or they can get creative and sell other types of drinks and/or food. Let them be creative by naming their business, making the sign and decorating the table.

12. For parents: make sure to check into your local supermarket and health clubs, they usually have free daycare while you shop or use the gym. You can continue your normal routine while the kids have some fun!

13. Mother’s helpers – this is a great way for parents to get some free time while your child is entertained at your home. This is great for work at home parents. A mother’s helper is usually a student who wants to make some extra money so it’s usually inexpensive.

14. Self-care – to remain sane in the summer months, make sure to schedule in self-care. It’s important to make yourself a priority. Kids are visual learners. If your not feeling your best, you will kids will see it right away. Kids imitate our behaviors.

Remember, Happy Parents = Happy Kids! Self-care will make you feel good. Take care of you.

Diane Lang is a Therapist, Educator and Author 

She has an expertise in multiple mental health, lifestyle and parenting needs.

In addition to holding multiple counseling positions, Diane is also an adjunct professor at Montclair State University & Centenary College.  

Diane’s latest book is out!

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An Overview of Stem Cells

If you had to summarize the value of a stem cell in one word, it would be potential. This is because stem cells hold extraordinary potential – they are not only the building blocks of our organs, tissues, blood and immune system, they also have the ability to develop into different cell types in the human body.

Unlike any other cell in the human body, stem cells have three unique and remarkable characteristics. Stem cells are unspecialized, can divide and renew themselves without differentiating and in certain circumstances, a stem cell can also become a specialized cell in a process known as differentiation. This unique ability for stem cells to divide, differentiate and specialize is what makes stem cells invaluable in the emerging field of regenerative medicine. To learn more about how stem cells work, visit the National Institute of Health’s introduction to stem cells.

Stem Cells Used In Treatment
Today, stem cells are primarily used in the treatment of disease and in tissue regeneration. They largely come from one of three sources – cord blood, bone marrow and peripheral blood.

Medical advances using cord blood stem cells are moving forward quite rapidly. With their instant availability at birth and demonstrated utility, cord blood stem cells are the fastest growing source of stem cells, and are currently used to treat nearly 80 life-threatening diseases including blood disorders and certain types of cancers.

While research in tissue regeneration is in its relative infancy, it is clear that the future is encouraging. Clinical studies involving regenerative therapies directed at treatments such as Cerebral Palsy and Type 1 Diabetes, are being conducted today. Demonstrated clinical utility today and emerging treatments in regenerative medicine make the banking of a baby’s cord blood an important consideration for families.

Future Treatments with Stem Cells
As scientists continue to investigate new clinical applications for stem cells, it is likely that more diseases will be treated by stem cells. Researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston, for example, are exploring ways to understand how stem cells may treat muscular dystrophy, congenital and genetic disorders, and heart disease.

Since cord blood is a primary source for stem cells, we encourage you to consider your banking options when it comes to your baby’s cord blood, either saving it for your family at a family bank or donating it to a public bank. Saving your newborn’s cord blood with a family bank, like ViaCord, will provide your baby and your family with direct access to his/her cord blood stem cells if a medical need arises. For more information, speak with your OB/GYN about all of your options and visit ViaCord’s website.

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Understanding all the words that are a part of the cord blood stem cell world can be challenging. Sometimes, it can feel like you need a medical dictionary with you when trying to read an article or have a conversation on the topic. While we normally try to define terms within our blogs, we’re creating a one-stop-blog for most of your cord blood stem cell terminology needs. We hope you find it helpful as you explore other places for information on these valuable stem cells.

Breaking down the most common terms
Cord blood: Umbilical cord blood, or cord blood, is the blood remaining in the umbilical cord after a baby is born. Cord blood contains a variety of cells including red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma, platelets and is also rich in hematopoietic stem cells. Read more about cord blood here

Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC): A type of stem cell found in cord blood. Hematopoietic stem cells are blood forming stem cells meaning they can create and repair the blood and the immune system. HSCs can help treat nearly 80 diseases today, including certain cancers, genetic diseases, immune system deficiencies, and blood disorders. They are also being used in clinical trials for regenerative therapies to help treat conditions such Type I diabetes and cerebral palsy. Read more about HSCs here >>

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA): Human leukocyte antigens are proteins, often referred to a markers, found on most cells in the body. These markers help the body recognize which cells belong in the body and which cells are foreign, and do not. HLA markers are used to match patients and donors for stem cell transplants. A blood test known as “HLA tissue typing” is used to find suitable matches.

HLA Tissue Typing: HLA typing matches the markers on the donor’s cells to the recipient’s cells. A close match between the patients HLA markers and the donor’s can reduce the risk that the patient’s immune cells will attack the donor’s cells, or that the donor’s immune cells will attack the patient’s body after the transplant. A well-matched donor is an important factor in the success of a transplant. Read more about HLA here >>

Allogeneic transplant: A transplant where the patient receives the stem cells from a donor, either related (family member) or unrelated (stranger). Allogeneic transplants require a type of ‘conditioning regimen’, pre-transplant, in order to destroy the unhealthy cells and immune system before introducing new healthy donated cells into the patient’s body. Some common forms of conditioning are chemotherapy and radiation. Read more about alleogeneic transplants here >>

Autologous transplant: ‘Auto’, meaning ‘self’ – an autologous transplant uses the patient’s own cord blood stem cells in the transplant. An autologous transplant also requires a pre-transplant conditioning regimen like an allogeneic transplant. With autologous transplants the cells being used will be a perfect HLA match, because the patient is receiving his/her own cells. This eliminates any chance of rejection. These transplants are more commonly used to treat neuroblastoma and brain cancer. They can also treat acquired disorders, where the problem is not genetic. Read more about autologous transplants here >>

Autologous re-infusion: A treatment where the child’s own cord blood stem cells are used to help a repair and re-grow damaged cells. Since cord blood stem cells have demonstrated regenerative properties and there is no risk of rejection there are clinical trials evaluating if autologous re-infusions can help treat children with Type 1 Diabetes and Cerebral Palsy. Unlike transplants (autologous and alleogenic), re-infusion treatments do not require a conditioning regimen. Read more about autologous re-infusions here >>

Engraftment: Occurs when the stems cells that were transplanted into the patient’s body move into the spaces inside the bone and begin to create new marrow and build a new healthy blood and immune system. Engraftment is one indication of a successful transplant. Read more about engraftment here >>

Graft vs. Host Disease (GVHD): A condition that occurs as a result of the donor cells attacking the patient’s body and/or the patient’s immune system rejecting the transplanted cells. Finding as close of a donor-recipient match as possible is important because it reduces the risk of Graft vs. Host Disease. With cord blood stem cells from a family member, the chances of finding a match greatly increase. Read more about GVHD here >>

The importance of understanding cord blood stem cell terminology

When considering cord blood banking options, we encourage families to set aside a little bit of time to get familiar with common terms and gain the knowledge necessary to make an informed decision. After all, an informed decision is often the best decision. We understand navigating the cord blood stem cell world on your own can be a little overwhelming. And we know that time is not always a luxury when planning for the arrival of a little one. That’s why we’re here for you, to answer any questions – cord blood stem cells are our lives at ViaCord! Do you have a term you want to understand better? Let us know. You may find that others are wondering the same thing.

If you would like to sign up to learn more about banking your baby’s stem cell’s please contact us here.

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