Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month

Pregnancy & Infant Loss is an eternal heartache for hundreds of thousands of parents around the world. October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month – a month we at Bears Of Hope, recognise and promote the importance of early and ongoing support for the 1 in 4 parents who experience the loss of their baby within Australia.

More than half a century ago Eleanor Roosevelt said, It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.

Many have since gone on to believe that the lit candle represents hope in the dark and a resistance against the shadows of our own minds.

October 15th is Pregnancy & Infant Loss Remembrance Day. A day where families across the globe are asked to light a candle in remembrance of their baby whose life was too short. If everyone was to light a candle at 7pm in their local time and leave it burning for an hour there will be a continuous wave of light across the world for 24hrs.

May you always see the hope through that flicker of light.

For more information, visit Bears of Hope.

World Mental Health Day (WMHD) is a day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy. An initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health, WMHD is an annual program held on 10 October to raise public awareness of mental health issues worldwide.

This year in Australia, WMHD has three objectives:

1. Encourage help seeking behaviour
2. Reduce the stigma associated with mental illness
3. Foster connectivity throughout communities

You don’t have to have a mental illness to take part, you just need to have an interest in your own good health, which is important to everyone.

Mental Health Australia is delighted to be leading the WMHD campaign in Australia. As the peak not-for-profit organisation representing the mental health sector in Australia, Mental Health Australia has a focus on ensuring the whole community recognises the part we all play in creating a mentally healthy society.

For more information, visit the Mental Health Australia website.

Dwarfism refers to a group of conditions characterised by shorter than normal skeletal growth. This shortness can be manifested in the arms and legs or trunk. There are over 200 types of dwarfism,
Achondroplasia is the most common type of short-limb dwarfism, occurring in around one in 25,000 children in Australia with both sexes at equal risk. This type of skeletal dysplasia (abnormal skeletal growth) is usually diagnosed at birth.

This October, you can help raise awareness of dwarfism through fundraising and donations,  where all proceeds go towards raising awareness about Dwarfism and helping to fund medical aid and equipment for families with Dwarfism in Australia.

For more information visit the Short Statured People of Australia or Dwarfism Awareness Australia Website.

Each October, Polio Australia coordinates awareness-raising through its annual Polio Awareness Month campaign. Known polio survivors are contacted and their stories are provided to the print media and radio stations to broadcast the message that “We’re Still Here!” and that there is information and support from Polio Australia and Networks for people who are experiencing the LEoP/PPS and may not be aware of the condition.

Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus. It invades the nervous system, and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours. Since the late 1950’s people have been vaccinated against polio, and  It has been eliminate world wide except for in Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

For more information, visit Polio Australia.

October is nationally recognised as defibrillator awareness month.

Shocktober is organised by the Cardiac Arrest Survival Foundation to raise awareness and encourage everyone to install defibrillators in workplaces, at schools, sporting centres, shopping centres and on public transport.

Defibrillators (also known as AED) are used in the event of cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest kills up to 33,000 Australians per year. The quicker someone is defibrillated, the better their chance of survivial. But every minute that passes without a heartbeat reduces your chance of surviving by 10 per cent. This is why we need to encourage all public places to install defibrillators, because every minute counts, and the ambulance may not make it in time.

Automated External Defibrillators (AED) provided automated heart rate analysis, voice commands to the person performing CPR and deliver a shock to the heart to try to get it back into normal beating rhythm.

To help educate and raise awareness your workplace can hold a Shocktober event, visit Shocktober’s Website for more information.

Endometriosis is a chronic condition that affects a woman’s reproductive organs. It happens when the lining cells (the endometrium) of the uterus grow outside of it. Often it is found on, and around, the pelvic and abdominal organs, including the ovaries. About 10% of women (around 176 million worldwide) are affected.

The symptoms vary from woman to woman. Some have many symptoms where severe pain occurs, others have no symptoms.

Don’t delay as early diagnosis and treatment may reduce the severity of the disease. Many women do not get a correct diagnosis for up to 7-10 years, often because the symptoms can be different between women and can change over time.

If you think you have endometriosis, make an appointment with your GP to discuss options and investigations.

For more information about Endometriosis, visit the Jean Hailes women’s health website.

Women are born with about a million eggs in each ovary. At puberty approximately 300,000 eggs remain, and by menopause there are no active eggs left.

On average, a woman in Australia will have 400-500 periods in her lifetime. From about 35-40 years of age, the number of eggs left in your ovaries decrease quickly and you ovulate (release an egg from the ovary) less regularly until your periods stop.

Most women reach menopause at between 45-55 years of age, and the average age of menopause for women in Australia is 51-52 years. Menopause will sometimes occur earlier than expected as a result of cancer treatment, surgery or unknown causes.

When to see your doctor

• If you are troubled by shortened cycles
• If you are worried about heavy bleeding
• If you have increased PMS pain
• If you have some of the symptoms of menopause like hot flushes that interfere with your daily life

Call 8038 1070 to make an appointment today to discuss menopause with your GP.

The main symptom of Idiopathic Hypersomnia (IH) is feeling sleepy during the day. There are two forms of IH. In one, the person has a normal amount of sleep at night (i.e. up to 9 hours). In the other, they sleep for longer than usual at night (e.g. 12-14 hours). In both forms, people also sleep during the day, usually in long naps of 1-2 hours. However these naps are not refreshing and they wake up still feeling tired. Many people with IH also have a lot of trouble waking up in the morning. They may feel quite groggy as they surface from being asleep.

If you are always feeling sleepy and cannot explain why, you should talk to your doctor (see excessive daytime sleepiness). You probably don’t have IH if you feel tired or fatigued without the urge to sleep during the day. If you wake up refreshed after having a long sleep, then you probably don’t have IH.

If your GP feels you may have a sleep problem you will be referred to a sleep specialist. Many patients have IH for many years without knowing it. To determine if you have IH or another sleep disorder (e.g. narcolepsy), you may have a “Multiple Sleep Latency Test” in a clinic that does sleep studies.

For more information visit Sleep Health Foundation’s website.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) is a term used for a spectrum of conditions caused by fetal alcohol exposure. Each condition and its diagnosis is based on the presentation of characteristic features which are unique to the individual and may be physical, developmental and/ or neurobehavioural.

The primary conditions common to FASD last a lifetime and may include the following which vary from person to person:

• learning difficulties
• impulsiveness
• difficulty relating actions to consequences
• social relationships
• attention/hyperactivity
• memory
• developmental delays
• major organ damage

NOFASD Australia is an independent not-for-profit charitable organisation. Their vision is the prevention of alcohol exposed pregnancies in Australia and an improved quality of life for those living with FASD.  Visit the NOFASD website for more information.