You’re pregnant.
Just one thing separates you from a future filled with flowers and Mother’s Day cards each May.
Childbirth.
And there’s the rub. With their bright lights and stainless-steel delivery tables, conventional hospital delivery rooms are not exactly welcoming or spa-worthy places.
But healthy, low-risk, mothers-to-be now have a new alternative - Charleston Birth Place. Since opening in January, the freestanding birth center located near Trident Medical Center offers the luxury of privacy and the assurance of safety. The facility has private birth suites that contain large beds, bathrooms and whirlpools. One satisfied customer compared the birthing room to a honeymoon suite.
Sarah Crocker
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Dylan Crocker
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In August of 2005, David and I were happy to learn we were pregnant but got an even bigger surprise when we found out it was with triplets. We knew they would not go full term but were determined to keep the babies in the womb as long as we could.
The pregnancy went better than most. At a 28-week checkup the doctor told us I was preeclamptic and one of our children was not growing as well as he would like. Nothing improved so at 29 ½ weeks, three healthy children arrived who had received surfactant developed by the March of Dimes (MOD). Dylan at 3 pounds, 2 ounces, Ryan (his identical twin brother) at 1 pound, 12 ounces and Sarah at 2 pounds, 5 ounces.
PROVIDED BY DHEC
Warm weather is approaching, and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control wants your help to reduce the risk from the serious diseases mosquitoes can carry.
"Citizens of South Carolina can assist with their own protection from West Nile virus by submitting dead Blue Jays and crows for West Nile virus testing," said Chris Evans, a Ph.D. entomologist with DHEC’s Bureau of Laboratories. "Bird surveillance is an integral part of the surveillance system and having the public’s involvement helps us sample a much wider area.
"Submission dates for Blue Jays and crows began March 17 and will continue through Nov. 28," Evans said. "Citizens are asked to follow the directions on the bird submission Web site to safely pick up and transport the birds to the closest DHEC Environmental Health office for testing."
Myths abound about addiction, according to Dr. Kathleen Brady, a professor of psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina.
It is not about willpower or morality. Addicts are not bad, crazy or stupid.
Perhaps the most harmful misconception is that addicts must hit rock bottom before they’re ready for treatment, she said.
"Changing the Shape of South Carolina" will be the theme of the 2007 S.C. Obesity Conference on March 30, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control announced last week.
"South Carolina has the fourth-worst rate of obesity in the nation, with more than 60 percent of the adult population either overweight or obese," said Erika Kirby, director of DHEC’s Division of Obesity Prevention and Control. "Overweight and obesity threaten the quality of life for South Carolinians of all ages, races and socioeconomic backgrounds."
