Here's How Many More Babies Would Survive If Breastfeeding Were More Widespread
One of the most effective ways to curb infant mortality rates worldwide is by scaling up the number of mothers who breastfeed, research out of the U.K. concluded. The Lancet, a U.K. medical journal, published an exhaustive series on breastfeeding trends worldwide and found that elevating the practice to near universal levels could prevent 823,000 deaths in children younger than 5 years every year. The authors noted that this isn’t a concern limited to low-income countries. The duration of breastfeeding is actually higher in poorer countries and the benefits span the socioeconomic divide. According t...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - April 4, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
We should be ashamed if we don’t pass Tobacco 21 laws
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In the United States, the national drinking age is 21. States can make it younger, but if they do they lose federal highway funding. The idea is that youth less than 21 are more likely to run into trouble if they drink, and that having them wait until they are older is better. You can argue about whether this actually works, but the idea is a good one.
And yet when it comes to tobacco, as far as the federal government is concerned, you just have to be 18. Which, for anyone who knows anything about what happens when youth smoke, makes no sense at all.
It was really Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - March 29, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Claire McCarthy, MD Tags: Addiction Behavioral Health Children's Health Parenting Prevention Smoking cessation tobacco 21 laws Source Type: news
Grandmothers' beliefs and practices in infant safe sleep - Aitken ME, Rose A, Mullins SH, Miller BK, Nick T, Rettiganti M, Nabaweesi R, Whiteside-Mansell L.
Background Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and suffocation are leading causes of infant mortality. Supine sleep position and use of appropriate sleep surfaces reduce SIDS risk but are not universally practiced. Mothers' decisions about sleep position a... (Source: SafetyLit)
Source: SafetyLit - March 24, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Tags: Age: Infants and Children Source Type: news
Secondhand Smoke and Allergies in Kids
This study did not include children who were exposed during pregnancy. This made it easy to determine the effects of secondhand smoke. Results from this study clearly showed that secondhand smoke exposure resulted in increased sensitization of children starting at age four. This sensitization to food allergens persisted into adolescence. Food allergies can have a tremendous impact on children's lives, and the health care costs associated with managing this long-term health concern are significant. How can you protect children from the health effects of secondhand smoke? First, do not smoke around your children, where y...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - March 23, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Secondhand Smoke and Allergies in Kids
This study did not include children who were exposed during pregnancy. This made it easy to determine the effects of secondhand smoke. Results from this study clearly showed that secondhand smoke exposure resulted in increased sensitization of children starting at age four. This sensitization to food allergens persisted into adolescence. Food allergies can have a tremendous impact on children's lives, and the health care costs associated with managing this long-term health concern are significant. How can you protect children from the health effects of secondhand smoke? First, do not smoke around your children, where y...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - March 23, 2016 Category: Science Source Type: news
Infants should sleep in their own beds to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome
(University of Gothenburg) The advice given to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, SIDS, has worked well, but the potential to save more lives exists. In addition to sleeping on their backs, infants should sleep in their own beds for the first few months to reduce the risk of sudden infant death. A new doctoral thesis at Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg has explored these issues. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - February 15, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
Where infants sleep may affect how long they are breastfed
A new study indicates that mothers who frequently sleep, or bed-share, with their infants consistently breastfeed for longer than mothers who do not bed-share. Also, pregnant women who expressed a strong motivation to breastfeed were more likely to bed-share frequently once their baby was born. The findings, which come from a study of 678 women in a randomized breastfeeding trial who were recruited at mid-pregnancy, question whether recommendations to avoid bed-sharing due to concerns such as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) may impede some women from achieving their breastfeeding goals and could thereby prevent women a...
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - February 7, 2016 Category: Science Source Type: news
Aiming for Better Medical Education in Africa
Improving healthcare standards in developing countries does not simply mean enhanced access to medicines. Often medical education systems are not fit for purpose, and inherent problems with infrastructure, communication, and facilities in remote areas, in particular, mean that modernization of medicine is next to impossible.
The African Institute for Medical Education (AIM) is a CPA-audited 501 c.3. organization registered in the US in 2014, and its goal is exceptionally admirable – to educate nurses, midwives and other medical professionals by visiting the most remote villages in Uganda by delivering “the most advance...
Source: EyeForPharma - January 28, 2016 Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: Danielle Barron Source Type: news
Sudden infant death syndrome and residential altitude - Katz D, Shore S, Bandle B, Niermeyer S, Bol KA, Khanna A.
BACKGROUND: Theories of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) suggest hypoxia is a common pathway. Infants living at altitude have evidence of hypoxia; however, the association between SIDS incidence and infant residential altitude has not been well studied.... (Source: SafetyLit)
Source: SafetyLit - January 27, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Tags: Age: Infants and Children Source Type: news
Experts Aim to Stop Epilepsy-Related MortalityExperts Aim to Stop Epilepsy-Related Mortality
Doctors and others in the healthcare system should do more to prevent deaths tied to epilepsy, which kills more Americans than sudden infant death syndrome. Medscape Medical News (Source: Medscape Neurology and Neurosurgery Headlines)
Source: Medscape Neurology and Neurosurgery Headlines - December 22, 2015 Category: Neurology Tags: Neurology & Neurosurgery News Source Type: news
Lives could be saved if 'hidden epilepsy deaths' were recorded
Leading epilepsy researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York found disease causes more deaths than Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and should be a public health priority. (Source: the Mail online | Health)
Source: the Mail online | Health - December 17, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Apprentice finalist Charleine Wain reveals she lost one of her twin boys to cot death
Charleine Wain, 31, from Neath, lost her premature twin Caylan when he was just three month old from sudden infant death syndrome. She says that without her husband she might have 'cracked'. (Source: the Mail online | Health)
Source: the Mail online | Health - December 11, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
SIDS Risk Depends on More Than 'Sleeping Environment'
Study finds 'Back to Sleep' messages worked, but so did lower smoking and teen pregnancy rates
Source: HealthDay
Related MedlinePlus Page: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (Source: MedlinePlus Health News)
Source: MedlinePlus Health News - December 2, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
SIDS Incidence Influenced by Multiple Contributing FactorsSIDS Incidence Influenced by Multiple Contributing Factors
More than a decade after widespread efforts began to modify infant sleep environments, the rate of sudden infant death syndrome has plateaued, suggesting factors beyond breathing blockage contribute. Medscape Medical News (Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines)
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines - December 2, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Pediatrics News Source Type: news
Sleep environment 1 of several factors behind reduction in sudden infant death syndrome
(Boston Children's Hospital) While the campaign to improve infant sleep environments has long been associated with declines in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), an analysis of 30 years of data suggests that Back-to-Sleep is one of several trends behind reduced rates of SIDS. Other factors include improved prenatal and neonatal care, reduced maternal smoking during pregnancy, increased breast feeding and declines in teen pregnancy. These factors are linked to the biological underpinnings of infant vulnerability to SIDS. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - December 2, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
