Diabetes support group programs on foot care

BANGOR – St. Joseph Healthcare’s daytime Diabetes Support Group will meet at 1 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 4, in the Diabetes & Nutrition Center, Building 1, St. Joseph Healthcare Park, 900 Broadway.

Group members share personal experiences relating to diabetes management, stress reduction and coping skills.

Guest speaker will be Heidi Anderson from the Wound Care, Lymphedema and Hyperbaric Medicine Center at St. Joseph Hospital. She will speak on “Diabetic Feet and Wound Care.”

The evening support group will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 9, also at the Diabetes & Nutrition Center.

Podiatrist Dr. Roy Corbin will speak on the topic “Diabetic Feet.”

For more information, contact Sheryl at St. Joseph Healthcare’s Diabetes and Nutrition Center at 262-1870.

Healthy start for baby

You never know what the New Year will bring. So, whether or not you’re planning to have a baby this year – about 50 percent of all pregnancies are unplanned – you can start the new year with habits that will help give a baby a healthy start in life.

January is Birth Defects Prevention Month and Jan. 8-14 is Folic Acid Awareness Week.

Taking a multivitamin with 400 micrograms of the B vitamin folic acid daily, starting before pregnancy begins, is an important way to reduce the risk of birth defects of the brain or spine called neural tube defects by up to 70 percent. NTDs occur in the first weeks, often before a woman even knows she is pregnant.

Other healthy lifestyle choices that help babies get a healthy start in life include:

. Not smoking and avoiding secondhand smoke.

. Not using alcohol and illegal drugs.

. Getting a preconception check-up and checking with a doctor before taking any medication including herbal products.

. Maintaining a healthy weight and eating a healthy diet. It’s best to reduce caffeine, avoid fish high in mercury, don’t eat raw and undercooked meat, or unpasteurized juice and dairy products. Also, be sure to include enriched grain products, fortified cereal, beans, orange juice and green leafy vegetables in your diet.

Learn more by visiting the March of Dimes at www.marchofdimes.com, the National Birth Defects Prevention network at www.nbdpn.org or the National Folic Acid Council at www.folicacidinfo.org.

For information on the Northern Maine Division, March of Dimes, call 989-3376.