Health and Disease Issues

Viral hepatitis refers to infections caused by viruses that directly attack the liver. Chronic cases of viral hepatitis can lead to life-threatening liver cirrhosis (or scarring), liver failure, and liver cancer. The most common forms of viral hepatitis are hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and hepatitis D.  This is an excellent website to learn all about hepatitis.

The CDC is one of the 13 major operating components of the Department of Health and Human Services, which is the principal agency in the United States government for protecting the health and safety of all Americans and for providing essential human services.  Since it was founded in 1946 to help control malaria, CDC has remained at the forefront of public health efforts to prevent and control infectious and chronic diseases, injuries, workplace hazards, disabilities, and environmental health threats. Today, CDC is globally recognized for conducting research and investigations and for its action oriented approach. This is an excellent website to check out a wide variety of heath and disease issues.

Sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, Medline Plus has baby care and health related information from a variety of sources including the Mayo Clinic, The American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Institutes of Health, and the world's largest medical library, the National Library of Medicine. It has extensive information from other trusted sources on over 700 diseases and conditions. There are also lists of hospitals and physicians, a medical encyclopedia and a medical dictionary, health information in Spanish, extensive information on prescription and nonprescription drugs, health information from the media, and may be able to help a birth mother or birth father who is raising their child.