Deliver in Hastings for the expert care your baby deserves.
There are big differences in the type of care you can choose when you’re expecting.
It’s the difference between relying on a neonatal nurse practitioner—or placing your trust in a pediatrician with 10,000 hours and 6 years of training here in Hastings.
The difference between long-distance consultation over the internet—or expert, in-person pediatric care from a physician who partners with a local center of excellence for obstetrics right here in Hastings.
The difference between just focusing on the birth of your baby—or helping you anticipate and plan for your child’s wellness and development long after you get back home.
The difference when you deliver your baby is expertise—delivered right here. And it really matters to you…and to your baby.
What is RSV?
According to the CDC, Respiratory syncytial virus is a common respiratory virus that usually causes “mild, cold-like symptoms.” It’s also the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children younger than 1 year of age in the United States.
What are the symptoms of RSV?
Symptoms of RSV usually begin to appear within four to six days after initial infection and include:
- Runny nose
- Decrease in appetite
- Coughing
- Sneezing
- Fever
- Wheezing
- The CDC said the symptoms typically appear in stages and not all at once. In young infants, the only symptoms may be irritability, decreased activity, and breathing difficulties.
How is RSV spread?
RSV is an airborne pathogen and can also spread in other ways. It can spread when:
- An infected person coughs or sneezes
- You get virus droplets form a cough or sneeze in your eyes, nose, or mouth
- You touch a surface that has the virus on it, like a doorknob, and then touch your face before washing your hands
- You have direct contact with the virus, like kissing the face of a child with RSV
- How long is someone contagious with RSV?
- People who have RSV typically are contagious for three to eight days. But, some infants and people with weakened immune systems can continue to spread the virus for as long as four weeks. RSV can also survive for hours on hard surfaces such as tables and crib rails.
Who is at the highest risk of severe RSV infection?
The CDC said infants/young children and older adults are the most vulnerable to the virus and most likely to get serious complications if they become ill.
Among infants/children most at risk:
- Premature infants
- Very young infants, especially those 6 months and younger
- Children younger than 2 years old with chronic lung disease or congenital (present from birth) heart disease
- Children with weakened immune systems
- Children who have neuromuscular disorders, including those who have difficulty swallowing or clearing mucus secretions
Among older adults, the most at risk for severe RSV infection:
- Older adults, especially those 65 years and older
- Adults with chronic heart or lung disease
- Adults with weakened immune systems
What diseases can RSV cause?
- In children, RSV can cause bronchiolitis (inflammation of the airways in the lung) and/or pneumonia (infection of the lungs).
- In older adults, the CDC said RSV can cause pneumonia, severe symptoms for people with asthma, severe symptoms for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and severe symptoms for those with congestive heart failure.
How can you prevent RSV?
RSV is typically seasonal during fall, winter, and spring, but can appear at any time. The CDC gives the following steps to try to avoid catching or spreading RSV to infants/young children and older adults.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer
- Keep your hands off your face
- Avoid close contact with sick people
- Cover your coughs and sneezes
- Clean and disinfect surfaces
- Stay home when you are sick
How do you know if you’re in flow?
- You lose awareness of time. You aren’t watching the clock, and hours can pass like minutes. As filmmaker George Lucas puts it, talent is “a combination of something you love a great deal and something you can lose yourself in — something that you can start at 9 o’clock, look up from your work and it’s 10 o’clock at night …
- You aren’t thinking about yourself. You aren’t focused on your comfort, and you aren’t wondering how you look or how your actions will be perceived by others. Your awareness of yourself is only in relation to the activity itself, such as your fingers on a piano keyboard, or the way you position a knife to cut vegetables, or the balance of your body parts as you ski or surf.
- You aren’t interrupted by extraneous thoughts. You aren’t thinking about such mundane matters as your shopping list or what to wear tomorrow.
- You are active. Flow activities aren’t passive, and you have some control over what you are doing.
- You work effortlessly. Flow activities require effort (usually more effort than involved in typical daily experience). Although you may be working harder than usual, at flow moments everything is “clicking” and feels almost effortless.
15 Tips to Boost Your Well-Being and Happiness
Taking better care of your body boosts your well-being fairly fast. “[Exercising and eating well] provide nearly instant benefits, helping the body and the mind to manage most any difficulties, including anxiety and depression,” according to clinical psychologist and certified life coach John Duffy, PsyD. In fact, this is the first thing Duffy discusses with new therapy clients.
In addition to nourishing your body and participating in physical activities you enjoy, there are many other ways you can improve your mental health.
According to clinical psychologist Ryan Howes, Ph.D, “well-being is associated with balance, understanding, acceptance and constant growth.” Below you’ll find 15 ways to help you flourish and bolster your well-being.
1. Accept your emotions.
“Some would argue that most of our physical, mental and relational problems come from our inability to adequately experience emotions,” Howes said. “We deny, bury, project, rationalize, medicate, drink away, smother in comfort food, sleep off, sweat out, suck (it) up and sweep under the rug our sadness, anger and fear.”
Some people spend more energy on avoiding their emotions than others do on actually feeling them, he said. So the key is to give yourself unconditional permission to feel your feelings. “When you feel safe enough to let your guard down, whether that’s alone or with someone you trust, you can focus on the situation, fully experience the feelings and may then be able to better understand why it hurts and what you want to do about the situation,” Howes said.
Writing about negative emotions also helps. According to clinical psychologist Darlene Mininni, research has shown that people who write about their deepest emotions are less depressed and more positive about life than before they started writing. To reap the benefits, it’s important to follow a few guidelines. Here’s Mininni’s emotional writing guide.
2. Take daily risks.
Structure and routine are important. But you also might get stuck in a rut. And that means you’re not growing, Howes said. Taking certain risks can be healthy and rewarding, he said.
“Challenge yourself to take a risk each day, whether it’s talking to someone new, asserting yourself, trusting someone, dancing, setting a tough workout goal or anything that pushes you out of your comfort zone.”
3. Live in the present.
“Mental health tends to become challenged when we get sucked into what used to happen or what people ‘did to me’ rather than taking responsibility in what I am doing or creating today, right now,” according to psychotherapist Jeffrey Sumber. He encouraged readers to live in the present without hyperfocusing on the future or the past.
4. Be introspective.
Avoid coasting through life without assessing yourself, Sumber said. For instance, he periodically asks himself questions such as “Am I in denial about anything or resisting anything anywhere in my life?”
Duffy also suggested stepping back and considering where your thoughts, feelings and behaviors are coming from. You might ask: Is that thought helpful? It that behavior necessary? Is there a better option?
5. Laugh.
“Sometimes, we take life far too seriously,” Duffy said. Need proof? Duffy ran across information that revealed that kids laugh about 200 times per day; adults laugh an average of 15 times per day. He suggested everything from seeing a funny movie to playing games like Charades or Apples to Apples.
6. Determine and live your personal values.
“[Your values] serve as an ‘inner GPS system’ that guides you through life, helping you make the right decisions and keeping you on track,” said Megan Walls, CPC, PCC, ELI-MP, a certified executive and life coach and owner of Conscious Connection. “Knowing and living your values will lead to a sense of balance, confidence and fulfillment.”
7. Identify and use your individual strengths.
Using your strengths, Walls said, helps you feel energized and empowered. Not sure what your strengths are? Walls recommended Tom Rath’s StrengthsFinders 2.0, which features 34 strength themes and an assessment.
8. Keep tabs on your thoughts.
Without even knowing it, you might be caught in a vicious cycle of negative thoughts, which seem to sprout naturally. Not only do these thoughts sink our mood but we also start to see them as truths.
Fortunately, we can work through these thoughts and see them for what they are: untrue and changeable. Walls suggested monitoring your thoughts and challenging and replacing negative ones. (Here are four questions to ask to reduce automatic negative thoughts.)
9. Practice gratitude.
“You’ll find you shift your overall outlook on life when you come form a perspective of gratitude,” Duffy said. He suggested readers make a list of three things they’re thankful for every morning.
Another idea is to recite at least 10 reasons why you’re grateful for your job, according to Master Certified life and career coach Kristin Taliaferro. “Look for unexpected surprises such as ‘my sunny office window’ or ‘cool work friends to have lunch with.’”
For inspiration, you might check out Living Life as a Thank You by Mary Beth Sammons and Nina Lesowitz. It’s filled with inspiring stories of gratitude, according to Duffy.
10. Discover or rediscover a passion.
Take the time to consider your passions. For instance, Duffy’s wife recently tried painting, and found that she loves it and is really talented. “Without a doubt, it has done great things for her overall sense of well-being,” he said.
11. Do what makes you happy first thing.
Sometimes it can feel like you’re going through your days on autopilot, and that can get tedious and depressing. Start your day off on a positive note by engaging in an enjoyable activity every morning.
One of Taliaferro’s clients started swimming at a YMCA pool in the a.m. She told Taliaferro that it’s completely shifted her outlook and lifted her mood.
12. Get rid of rotten eggs.
“There’s usually at least one rotten egg in your life that’s dragging down your mental outlook,” Taliaferro said. For example, some of Taliaferro’s clients are especially affected by the news. One of her clients decided that if it’s not on the AOL homepage then she doesn’t need to know about it.
Identify your rotten eggs and figure out how to remove them. Your rotten eggs might seem small. But even annoyances can add up and chip away at your mood and well-being.
13. Surround yourself with positive scents and sounds.
Our surroundings can affect our well-being. “You can create a positive feeling at home with lemon, peppermint or other essential oils you love,” Taliaferro said. She plays different kinds of music regularly depending on what she’s in the mood for.
14. Get inspired.
Find inspiration in everything from subscribing to a daily quote to listening to uplifting audio books on the way to work to reading magazines with exciting ideas, Taliaferro said. Duffy also suggested reading Inspiration by Wayne Dyer, which is one of his favorites.
15. Carve out time to meditate.
“Protect a few minutes each day to sit, relax and breathe,” Duffy said. People tend to think that meditation is complicated. But you don’t need much time or effort to meditate, and it’s quite soothing. Try this super simple meditation from Mininni.
National Women’s Health Week
About National Women’s Health Week
National Women’s Health Week (NWHW) is a weeklong health observance led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health (OWH). The week May 10–16, 2020 serves as a reminder for women and girls, especially during the outbreak of COVID-19, to make their health a priority and take care of themselves. It is extremely important for all women and girls, especially those with underlying health conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular and respiratory conditions, and women 65 years and older, to take care of your health now.
Download a helpful fact sheet here: Download Fact Sheet