Marian Freedman is a freelance writer.
Do infants who had colic have more behavioral problems as toddlers?
December 1st 2018A study conducted in Australia found that that the answer to this question is a resounding “no.” A comparison of behavioral outcomes in 124 children who had colic that had resolved by age 6 months (colic group) and 503 infants without problem crying at 1, 4, and 6 months (no colic group) found that the colic group did not manifest any adverse effects related to behavior, regulatory abilities, temperament, or family functioning when they were aged 2 to 3 years.
Perinatal smoke exposure linked to GER
December 1st 2018Infants who are exposed to tobacco smoke during their mothers’ pregnancy or after birth are at increased risk of gastroesophageal reflux (GER), especially of events with bolus movement detected by impedance (GER-imp), according to a French study in 31 neonates referred to a medical center for investigation of suspected GER.
Parent education by text reduces ED visits for nonurgent care
November 1st 2018Frequently sending texts to caregivers with messages about infant development, safety, and basic care reduces the number of visits to the emergency department (ED) in the first year of life, according to a new study conducted in a large urban pediatric care practice that serves a low-income population with limited health literacy.
Breastfeeding moms who smoke marijuana expose their infants to cannabinoids
November 1st 2018Women who use marijuana while breastfeeding produce breast milk with a measurable amount of the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta 9-THC), for up to 6 days since they last smoked. This was the primary finding in a study in 50 breastfeeding women who reported using marijuana and provided breast milk samples to a research repository for analysis.
Behavioral sleep interventions really work, parents say
October 1st 2018Most parents in a Facebook peer support group for parents using behavioral sleep interventions (BSIs) reported in an online survey that their infant cried significantly less by the end of 1 week of BSI implementation and that they achieved complete success within 2 weeks, regardless of which type of BSI they used.
Obstructive sleep apnea treatment may be a therapeutic option for NAFLD
September 1st 2018Treatment of obstructive sleep apnea/nocturnal hypoxia with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) reduces the severity of liver injury and of oxidative stress.
Vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy benefits offspring
August 1st 2018Infants born to mothers who receive vitamin D supplementation while pregnant are at reduced risk of being small for gestational age and experience improved growth during infancy, with no increased risk of fetal or neonatal mortality and congenital malformation. These were major findings of a systematic review and meta-analysis of 24 randomized controlled trials involving 5405 participants.
Is this child overweight? Parents don’t see what you do!
August 1st 2018Most parents of young children who are overweight or obese think their child’s weight is “just right,” according to a study conducted in Sweden. However, as their child grows older, more parents recognize when their child is too heavy-especially if he or she has reached the level of obesity.
Children’s well-being decreases as media use increases
August 1st 2018Compared with their peers who spend no more than 2 hours each weekday exposed to digital media, school-aged children who are in front of screens for longer are less likely to be doing well overall, according to their parents. Furthermore, how much digital media exposure (DME) a child gets is inversely related, in a dose-dependent manner, to markers of childhood “flourishing.”
Is that child with "penicillin allergy" really allergic?
July 1st 2018Researchers at Wisconsin Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, found that 100 children who visited a pediatric emergency department (ED) with a reported history of penicillin allergy based on low-risk symptoms all had negative allergy testing for penicillin and all tolerated a penicillin challenge (500 mg of oral amoxicillin) without developing a severe allergic reaction. Penicillin allergy labels were removed from these children’s hospital medical records.
Parents are most likely to accept vaccines when you assume they will
July 1st 2018When you approach a parent who is hesitant about vaccinating her infant at the appropriate well-baby visits, perhaps you say something like this: “Well, we have to do some shots.” Or you might say, “How do you feel about vaccines today?” The former strategy (a “presumptive” approach) is more likely to be effective than the latter (a “participatory” approach), according to a study in parents whom a standardized survey classified as being hesitant about vaccines.
How long are new mothers at risk for postpartum depression?
July 1st 2018New mothers may develop postpartum depression (PPD) at any time during the first year after giving birth, an analysis of monthly depression screening data showed. Furthermore, the highest rate of positive screens-23%-was at 12 months postpartum.
Poverty and lack of a car lead to failure to fill prescriptions
June 1st 2018A retrospective study of data from a regional community pharmacy chain in the Midwest encompassing 98 zip codes found that almost 1 in 8 new prescriptions for individuals aged up to 18 years went unfilled after the pharmacy received the prescription.
Antibiotics or antacids in infancy may increase risk of allergy
June 1st 2018Exposure to acid-suppressive medications or antibiotics in the first 6 months of life is associated with development of allergic disease, according to a retrospective study in more than 750,000 children from within 35 days of birth until aged at least 1 year.
Is there a better way to estimate probability of UTI in febrile infants?
June 1st 2018Investigators compared the accuracy of an American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) practice guideline algorithm for diagnosing of urinary tract infection (UTI) in 2- to 23-month-olds with a new tool (UTICalc; University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) that first estimates UTI probability based on clinical variables and then, if laboratory testing is performed, updates the estimate based on the results.
High-nicotine e-cigarettes lead to more smoking and vaping
February 1st 2018Compared with adolescents who use e-cigarettes with relatively low or no nicotine concentrations, those who use e-cigarettes with higher nicotine concentrations are more likely to progress to more frequent and intense combustible cigarette smoking and vaping.