-- Your pulse, or heart rate, is the number of times your heart beats per minute, says the American Heart Association. Your heart rate can be determined at your wrist, inside your elbow, on the side of your neck or at the top of your foot.

For an accurate reading, place your finger on your pulse and count the number of beats in one minute. When you are resting, your heart rate should usually between 60 and 100 beats per minute. If your pulse is very high or low, tell your doctor.

-- Taking a "new mothers" class and asking nurses to help with baby basics during your hospital stay can help prepare you for time at home, says the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Before discharge, the agency recommends that you know how to:

-- About one in five American adults fails to get enough sleep, says the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. It has a variety of causes, including long work hours and certain medical problems.

To help cope with sleep deprivation, the academy suggests:

-- Keratosis pilaris, sometimes called chicken skin, is a condition that causes small rough bumps, says the American Academy of Dermatology. Though the condition is generally harmless, some people opt for treatment.

To treat chicken skin, the academy suggests:

-- Hoarseness describes abnormal voice changes, says Cleveland Clinic. Your voice may sound raspy or strained. Most causes of hoarseness are not serious and go away within two weeks.

Cleveland Clinic mentions these potential causes of hoarseness:

-- Sadness is a normal emotion that often accompanies loss, says Gundersen Health System. Big life events, such as the end of a close relationship or the death of a loved one, can spur feelings of sadness.

Gundersen Health System offers healthy ways to deal with sadness:

- An infection on the tip of your finger can form an abscess, says Harvard Medical School. A painful bump on the fingertip abscess is known as a felon, and is usually caused by a bacterial infection.

A felon can cause pain, swelling and redness. After getting the felon drained by a doctor, most felons clear up within a few weeks.

-- Ankle sprains can occur when the ankle is rolled, twisted or turned the wrong way, says Mayo Clinic. Pain, tenderness and swelling are typical symptoms of a sprained ankle.

To help prevent ankle sprains, Mayo Clinic suggests:

-- Turmeric has been used across the globe for many health conditions, such as pain, fatigue, breathing issues and rheumatism, says the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.

It mentions this information about turmeric:

-- Swearing is a common behavior for adolescents, says the American Academy of Pediatrics. Children and teens often use profanity to impress friends and shock parents.

To help manage swearing your child's swearing, the academy suggests: