Primary Care Medicine - Lifestyles and Family Health

Pregnancy and Prenatal Health

Family health really starts with prenatal health. Here is when the child first has the opportunity at a healthy start and it is important for the mother to stay healthy too. Most professionals believe that prenatal health is much more than just health care during pregnancy. The health care provider is there to discuss many different issues, like nutrition and physical activity. The health care providers will also often times go over information regarding caring for the newborn child as well.

The doctor or midwife will schedule the mother-to-be for her prenatal visits. As the pregnancy progresses, the mother will be asked to visit her doctor more often. Typically, in the beginning of the pregnancy, the mother will be asked to see the doctor once a month and then later, during the seventh and eighth month will be asked to visit every two weeks. Finally, during the ninth month, the mother will need to see the doctor each week until giving birth.

Families and Addiction

Addiction within families can be very difficult to deal with. Some individuals develop addiction problems as a result of not having close family members or the much-needed family and friend support that others find. There are people who struggle with addiction problems and that they lost important family members at a young age and that their friends became a new type of family, in a sense, thus the reliance on addiction and fitting in with their newly found group.

People who suffer from addiction or who have family members that suffer from addiction, tend to take on different roles. Unfortunately, one can stereotype these roles as the addict, the hero, the mascot, the lost child, the scapegoat or the caretaker or enabler.

The person with the addiction is obviously the center of the situation; however, the caretaker is very important because he or she tends to make all roles within the family possible. The hero tends to ignore the problem by making excuses or taking an overly positive outlook on the situation at hand. The mascots will often times make inappropriate jokes or take “jabs” at everyone. This may bring some level of entertainment to everyone.

The “lost child” remains silent and will never acknowledge or mention the addiction or the recovery to anyone, while the scapegoat will usually “act out” in front of others, taking a rebellious role in life.

Dealing with Mental Health Issues within the Family

Families sometimes tend to be big, but whether they are small or large, the odds are sometimes against the group when it comes to dealing with mental health. Alzheimer’s disease is becoming an even bigger problem within families. Even though there is a lot of information out there, it may not be so easy to discover that a family member is having an issue.

People who begin to suffer from the early signs and stages of Alzheimer’s often times do not have an understanding of what is going on with them. Even if they recognize a problem, they may attempt to hide it and will do a pretty good job for a while. Unfortunately, by the time anyone can prove the problem or find out about it, the damage may be done.

Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s takes a lot of patience, work, and effort for the family members involved. More than likely, one family member in particular takes more of the responsibility on for the individual than the rest of the family. It can be a balancing act in order to ensure that this caretaking role does not disrupt other important parts of his or her life, such as employment.

When it comes to schizophrenia, the term “tortured artist” takes on a whole new meaning. New research indicates a link between genetic mutation and psychosis and schizophrenia. This mutation also influences creativity, researchers have found, and this could explain why a creative individual may be at a much higher risk for developing schizophrenia.

Families and Terminal Illness

Dealing with a terminal illness can be trying since the person with the terminal illness and the family knows that death is coming. However, knowing that death is eminent helps the person and his or her family prepare themselves financially and emotionally.

In hospice care, there comes a time when they are simply making the person as comfortable as possible. Anyone who has ever had a loved one pass this way, knows that when walking into the room and reading a note on the patient’s dry erase board that nursing staff is to make the patient as comfortable as possible, that there is not much left to do. Parents with small children often worry about the effects of their illness on their children and extended family members. This is something trained professionals can help the family deal with.

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