In the October Author Spotlight:
D. Gary Benfield, M.D., author of
Walking the Baby Beat
Whether you are planning your pregnancy, childbirth, baby care, breastfeeding and immunizations, parenting, child safety, birth defects and genetic disorders, teen health concerns, or how to treat a diaper rash, you'll find it covered in Walking the Baby Beat. Author D. Gary Benfield, M.D. should know all about the "baby beat". He has practiced neonatology for the past 33 years. He is a professor of clinical pediatrics at the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine in Rootstown, Ohio and is co-medical director of the Fetal Treatment Center of Northeast Ohio, located at Akron Children's Hospital.
Dr. Benfield received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland, his M.D. from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and his M.A. in Philosophy from Kent State University. After 3 years of residency, he began practicing in pediatrics. "It allows you to be a little kid yourself," he says.
In his 33 years of practice, Dr. Benfield has participated in thousands of births. He's taken care of seriously ill newborns and their
anxious parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. "I’ve lain awake at night, especially after a baby has
died, and wondered over and over if some other
doctor, somewhere else, might have been able to do
a better job, perhaps saving that baby’s life," he says. He's also taken care of healthy babies and their mothers as well as teenager mothers and their babies.
He has always been interested in the impact of premature birth and their emotional effect on parents. He was greatly influenced by an early experience of his own child dying in the 5th month of pregnancy. "We need to do a better job helping parents through this and to help folks get back on track. People don't want to talk about death, but it's a part of life, Dr. Benfield explains.
Walking the Baby Beat began as a weekly column, "The Baby Beat," for The Alliance Review, Alliance, Ohio's daily newspaper. He has also published articles in numerous medical journals and contributed chapters for several books.
Dr. Benfield has three grown daughters, Terree, Laura and Cindy (who is also a doctor and wrote the foreword to Walking the Baby Beat), and three granddaughters, Emma, Lindsay, and Sarah. His wife, Cathy, is a counseling psychologist and his dearest friend. He is currently working on a second book on a comprehensive reference of prescription drugs and their safety during pregnancy.
To purchase your copy of Walking the Baby Beat, visit
http://www.atlasbooks.com/marktplc/01658.htm
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