"Take A Deep Breath"-A Great Resource for ALL Parents

When I am introduced to a "good thing", I want to share. The hope is always that it helps someone else like it has helped me. Remember the headband hair tutorial. :) Well, I have run into a fantastic book that every parent should have. I know I wish I would have had it when we had our first child.

When we had our son over 9 years ago, I worried about everything. EVERYTHING. As a new parent, with little experience, any deviations from what seemed "normal", was concerning. I remember the first time he got sick. He was stuffed up and having a hard time breathing. I didn't sleep at all that night. I laid on the floor next to his crib and listened all night, making sure that I could hear him breath.

I remember pulling out all my "baby books", looking for a resource that could tell me how worried I should be about him. Something to tell me about symtoms that should concern me, and when to call the doctor. I sure wish I had "Take a Deep Breath" back then. It would have calmed my fears, and helped me know how to handle the breathing and sickness. I would have gotten a lot more sleep. :)

"Take a Deep Breath" is a new book by Dr. Nina Shapiro. The entire book is about kids and breathing. The book is so well written, I have found myself reading though it just for fun even though no one in our house is sick or has a breathing problem at the moment. That is when you know a book is good.

At first, breathing made me think only of asthma. I was way off. This book is asthma and a million other things you question when you have a child. Broken up by age (newborn to 3 months, three months to one year, and one year to five years), "Take a Deep Breath" covers everything from sickness to choking to asthma and adenoids. Advice about feeding, and vaccines as well as runny noses. I used it as a reference last night because our daughter was snoring. I wondered if that was normal. Yep, it is. 

It is written in a Question and Answer format and after reading it I had to laugh because I think I have asked nearly every question in the entire book. The other thing I love about this book is that each chapter ends with "The Big Picture" (a summary), "Don't Worry" which tells you what you don't have to worry about, and then "Worry". A section that tells you if you need to call a doctor and get help.  Wheezing, croup, stuffy noses. All your questions are answered. And Dr. Shapiro is funny. I like funny. 

Just having "Take a Deep Breath" in the house has let my husband and I breath easier. Research shows 80-90% of all children have a breathing problem, so Chances are, "Take a Deep Breath" will be helpful in your house too. 


Do you have a child who snores?
Ever wonder when you should call the doctor?

About The Author:

Dr. Nina L. Shapiro is the Director of Pediatric Otolaryngology and an Associate Professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. As the first fellowship-trained pediatric otolaryngologist at the medical center since it was founded in 1955; her presence has put UCLA ‘on the map’ in her field. A graduate of Harvard Medical School and Cornell University, College of Arts and Sciences (cum laude), she completed her surgical internship at Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital and her residency at The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, also in Boston. Shapiro completed additional subspecialty training in pediatric otolaryngology at The Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London and The Children’s Hospital of San Diego.

A native of New York, Shapiro has been honored with several prestigious awards including; The American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology Charles Ferguson Award for Clinical Research, The UCLA Head and Neck Surgery Faculty Teaching Award and The American Academy of Pediatrics Young Investigators Award among others. She was named a “Super Doctor” by Los Angeles Magazine in 2008 and is listed in “Who’s Who in America”.

Shapiro is a Fellow of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The American Academy of Pediatrics and The American College of Surgeons. Other professional society memberships include: The American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology, The American Rhinologic Society, the Society for Ear, Nose, and Throat Advances in Children, the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association, The American Broncho-Esophagological Association, Society for University Otolaryngologists, and The Los Angeles Pediatrics Society.

Shapiro lives in Los Angeles with her husband and children, and is active in several charities.

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