Antiseptic Baths Significantly Reduce Blood Infection Risk In Critically Ill Children

Antiseptic baths with diluted chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) safely reduces risk of bloodstream infection in critically ill children.

A bedside bath or sponge bath is an alternative to regular bathtub bathing or showering. It is usually done to patients where water immersion is challenging or may pose a health risk.

Sponge baths are important for bedridden patients not only for personal hygiene but also because of bedsores. Bedsores form when excess dirt and oil accumulate in the body because of limited mobility.

Bedside baths are done with a sponge, soap, and water. There are products that are specifically made for these kinds of baths. Regular soap tend not to rinse off well during bedside baths and may cause irritation.

Children With Heart Devices May Benefit From Psychotherapy In Coping With Lower Quality of Life

Children with heart conditions and carry an implantable cardiac device (ICD) may benefit from psychotherapy to deal with a lower quality of life based on their self perception, self worth, and athletic ability.

Implantable Cardiac Devices (ICD) are used to treat heart conditions such as arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat). Pacemakers and implanted defibrillators to ensure that the heart is beating normally at all times.

Having an ICD and coping with the change in lifestyle it brings is an ongoing process. It affects the person both physically and psychologically.

Most patients with ICD have frequent anxiety whether the device is working or not. And even in the event that the device such as the implanted defibrillator does work, it doubles the patient's stress levels.

Omega-3 In Fish Could Reduce Risk of Postpartum Depression

Studies suggest that low levels of Omega-3 may be the cause for postpartum depression. Eating fish rich in omega-3 may reduce risk of acquiring this disorder.

Postpartum depression is a type of clinical depression affecting women who have just given birth. It is a mood disorder in which the mother experiences feelings of sadness, loss, anger, or frustration usually directed at her newly born baby.

Postpartum depression usually occurs within the first four weeks of delivery or even up to one year later.

This behavior may affect how the mother cares for her child. Those with postpartum depression have a difficulty in coping and interacting with the child. Care is inconsistent and may post a health risk to the baby. The potential long-term complications are the same as in major depression. Untreated, postpartum depression may put the patient at risk of harming herself or the baby.

Children With Mental Health Disorders More Likely To Be Identified As Bullies

Among school-aged children, bullying is a growing problem and concern for parents and teachers. It is defined as "an unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose..."

Bullying can affect everyone; from the bully to those who are bullied. Even witnessing a bullying incident has a negative effect. Bullying is linked to problems with mental health, learning development, substance use, social interaction and suicide.

Re-Evaluating The Marshmallow Test By Factoring In Reliability of Test Environment

Study reenactment: Evelyn Rose, 4 of Brighton, NY participates in a reenactment of the marshmallow experiment used in a University of Rochester study published in the journal Cognition. The study was conducted at the University of Rochester Baby Lab.
Credit: J. Adam Fenster / University of Rochester

The marshmallow test is regarded as one of the most successful behavioral experiments.

In the test, a marshmallow was offered to a child; for brevity, consider a male child. If the child could control himself from eating the marshmallow, he was told that he would be given two instead of one. The test lies on how long the child can resist from eating the marshmallow.

Study Looks At Importance of Bicycle Helmets For Children In Mitigating Impact and Crush Injuries

A bicycle helmet helps in protecting the head of a cyclist from injuries caused by falls and impacts.

Unlike a motorcycle helmet that encloses the whole head, a bike helmet is lightweight and well ventilated. Riding a bicycle is an aerobic activity which increases body temperature significantly. The head should be properly cooled down and temperature regulated since complications such as fainting spells and dizziness may occur.

Despite the obvious protection that a bike helmet can offer, there are still ongoing debates on whether bike helmet use should be mandatory or optional. Those that are against mandatory helmet use state that riding a bicycle is intrinsically safe and what makes the activity dangerous are the public roads and highways.

One of the most criticized report is the study released by Robert S. Thompson, M.D., Frederick P. Rivara, M.D., M.P.H., and Diane C. Thompson, M.S. in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1989. "A Case-Control Study of the Effectiveness of Bicycle Safety Helmets" or "TRT 89" as it is sometimes called is said to be the most quoted study with regards to bicycle helmets and was crucial to the passage of helmet legislation across the world.

Critics of the report raised issues such as bias among the authors towards helmet use and data manipulation to come up with more favorable results leaning towards a pro-helmet stance. Data such as the often criticized and also cited 85%/88% statistic came solely from this report. It has been quoted and repeated in other reports while some question the validity of the statement.

The 85%/88% states that the use of a bicycle helmet reduces head injuries by 85% and brain injuries by 88%.

Just recently, Olympic Gold medal winner Bradley Wiggins called for legislation making it compulsory for cyclists to wear helmets in the UK. This was announced after a cyclist died in a crash near Olympic Park in London. It is unsure whether or not the cyclist was wearing a helmet.

Children's bicycle helmets shown to be effective in impact and crush tests

A favorite physical activity engaged in by Americans is bicycling, and children are perhaps its most ardent participants; it has been estimated that 70% of children ages 5 to 14 ride bicycles. Bicycling is not without its dangers, however, and one of the worst is the risk of head and brain injury during a crash. According to the US Centers for Disease Control, head injury is the most common cause of death and serious disability from bicycle crashes. The best protection offered to mitigate this injury is the bicycle helmet. However, few cyclists wear helmets regularly, and children are less inclined to wear helmets than adults: national estimates of helmet use among children range from only 15% to 25%. To determine just how effective bike helmets can be, neurosurgeon Tobias Mattei and his research team at the Illinois Neurological Institute and Bradley University tested how well helmets withstood forces of impact and crush tests when covering human cadaver skulls. They found that wearing a helmet can substantially reduce (by up to 87%) the acceleration experienced by the skull during an impact and can aid the skull in resisting forces up to 470 pounds in a crush accident. Full details on the results can be found in "Performance analysis of the protective effects of bicycle helmets during impact and crush tests in pediatric skull models. Laboratory investigation," by Mattei and colleagues, published today online, ahead of print, in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics.

8% of Childhood Asthma Attributed To Traffic and Roadway Related Pollution

Asthma is a chronic and long term medical condition that causes the passageways of to the lungs to swell and narrow affecting breathing. Asthma has no cure but can be self managed.

Patients affected by asthma experience difficulty in breathing, wheezing, shortness of breath, tightening of the chest, and coughing. The passageways called bronchioles are inflammed which restricts the airflow into and out of the lungs. The inflammation is aggravated by mucus production and the tightening of muscles in the bronchial tree. This reduces the airflow and causes a wheezing sound from the patient as he tries to breath in enough air into the lungs.

People with asthma have oversensitive bronchioles. Certain substances called "Asthmatic triggers" irritate these airways which in turn start an asthma attack. These triggers are mostly external in nature such as chemicals, dust, mold and mildew, house dust mites, pollen, animal fur, cigarette smoke. Chest infections such as the common cold also can trigger an asthma attack. In some cases, even taking aspirin can cause an episode.

Although there is no cure for asthma, it is easily managed through the asthma medication. Inhaled steroids prevent the swelling of the airways and also quick acting bronchodilators which are also inhaled, mitigate the symptoms when an attack happens.

Avoiding places where asthma triggers are prevalent greatly helps in controlling the disease.

Near-roadway air pollution a major contributor to asthma in Los Angeles County, USC research finds

Research conducted at the University of Southern California (USC) indicates that at least 8 percent of the more than 300,000 cases of childhood asthma in Los Angeles County can be attributed to traffic-related pollution at homes within 75 meters (a little less than 250 feet) of a busy roadway.

The study also indicates that previous estimates of childhood asthma exacerbation related to air pollution may have underestimated the true burden of exposure on society. The research was published online Sept. 24, 2012, in Environmental Health Perspectives and was conducted in collaboration with the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and Sonoma Technology, Inc. The study focused on the Los Angeles basin.

Asthma Drug Budesonide Stunts Children's Growth

Asthma is a breathing disorder that causes air passages of the lungs, called bronchioles, to swell and narrow. During an asthma attack, the patient has difficulty breathing because the muscles surrounding the airways become tight and the lining of the air passages swells which reduces the amount of air that can pass by.

Because the bronchioles of an asthmatic patient swell up and tighten, this results in wheezing, shortness of breath, tightening of the chest, and coughing. Triggers that can cause asthma are varied, generally asthma can be triggered by chemicals in the air or food, exercise, weather, stress, medicine, and allergens.

Asthma has no cure. The disorder can only be managed and controlled. Inhaled corticosteroids help keep the airways from swelling which help prevent asthma symptoms. There are also long-acting beta-agonist inhalers which prevent the symptoms but these must be used together with another inhaled steroid drug.

Avoiding asthma triggers is also important in maintaining control and preventing attacks. Cigarette smoking and second hand smoke (passive smoke) in regard to people with asthma causes problems in effectiveness of management medications such as steroid/corticosteroid therapies.

Children taking steroids for asthma are slightly shorter than peers

Children who use inhaled steroid drugs for asthma end up slightly shorter at their full adult height than children who don't use the drugs, new results from a comprehensive asthma study show.

The findings will be presented Sept. 3 at the European Respiratory Society meeting in Vienna, Austria, and published online the same day in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study's senior author is Robert C. Strunk, MD, the Donald Strominger Professor of Pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

The study involved more than 1,000 children ages 5-12 who were treated for mild to moderate asthma as part of the Childhood Asthma Management Program (CAMP) clinical trial. The children received treatment for more than four years at eight centers, including Washington University School of Medicine. They were divided into three groups: one received twice-daily budesonide, an inhaled corticosteroid medication; a second group received nedocromil, an inhaled non-steroid medication; and a third group received a placebo. All children received albuterol, a fast-acting drug for relief of acute asthma symptoms, and oral corticosteroids as needed for asthma symptoms.

The researchers followed 943 participants in the trial at regular intervals until they reached adult height. Females were considered to be at adult height at age 18 or older and males at age 20 or older, Strunk says. In the first 4 1/2 years after the end of the trial, researchers took patients' height and weight every six months. Over the next eight years, height and weight were measured once or twice a year.

The mean adult height was about one-half inch, or 1.2 centimeters, shorter in the group that received budesonide than in the patients who received nedocromil or placebo. The patients who experienced the slower growth were primarily between 5-11 years old when they began using budesonide.

Low Public Awareness on Danger of Swallowing Magnets

Parents of small children should be aware of the dangers of the swallowing of magnets.

Most kids accidentally swallow small objects. Most of the time, this is harmless and can pass through the body unimpeded. But magnets pose a danger specially when another magnet or metal is also ingested afterwards. The two objects may stick together inside the body between tissues (usually in the digestive system) and cause a blockage or fistula. This requires general surgery to correct.

Magnets are being used by children (even up to 15 year olds) as a fashion accessory to simulate a tongue piercing by placing magnets on opposite ends of the tongue. This may cause it to be accidentally swallowed.

Warning to parents over magnet danger to children

The first case involved an 18-month-old child who had swallowed 10 small magnetic spheres and the second involved an eight-year-old who had swallowed two 2-cm long magnetic strips. In both cases, the magnets were from small children's toys. Both of the children had mild stomach pain and on further examination and investigation were found to have the magnets lodged in their digestive systems.

Magnets discovered at gastrointestinal surgery in an 18-month-old child (A) and an 8-year-old child (B)
A: Arrow shows attached magnetic beads lying across the fistula. B: Arrow shows magnets between the caecum and terminal ileum.

Single small objects occasionally swallowed by young children can usually pass through their digestive system without causing any illness or internal damage. However, when several magnetic elements are ingested this becomes a totally different scenario. The multiple magnets can become attracted to each other inside the body, trapping internal soft tissues between them and causing fistulas to develop. A fistula is a condition whereby an abnormal connection is formed between soft tissues inside the body (in these cases, between different segments of bowel), and if left untreated, may lead to serious illness. Notably, the children who swallowed magnets would initially have felt no pain or discomfort, making it difficult for parents to know when their children might be at risk.

Extent of Damage for Children With Brain Injury Difficult To Predict and Highly Variable

The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) as "a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain". Not all blows or jolts to the head are considered a TBI.

TBI may range from mild to severe. A mild case of TBI would result in a brief change in mental status or consciousness and a severe case would result in an extended period of unconsciousness or amnesia after the injury. The majority of TBIs that occur each year are concussions or other forms of mild TBI.

While the symptoms of a brain injury in children and adults are the same, the resulting condition may be different. The brain of a child is different, it still is developing. Although it is assumed that because the brain connections (neurons) change and grow (plasticity), children would recover better, this is not true. A brain injury actually has a more devastating impact on a child than an injury of the same severity has on a mature adult.

Results of a brain injury can manifest in months for an adult. But with a child, it may take years after the injury before the extent of the damage can be detected.

Outcomes for children after brain injury difficult to predict and highly variable

Outcomes for children with brain injury acquired during childhood are difficult to predict and vary significantly, states an analysis of evidence on the topic published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

"There is no single best approach to describing outcome after acquired brain injury during childhood, and the one chosen must be appropriate to the purpose at hand (e.g., identifying individual, population, global or domain-specific outcomes)," writes Dr. Rob Forsyth, Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University and Great North Children's Hospital, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK, with coauthors.

Low Public Awareness On Acetaminophen (Paracetamol) Overdose Causing Liver Damage Especially In Children

Acetaminophen is an analgesic (pain reliever) and an antipyretics (fever reducer). It is used to relieve mild to moderate pain from headaches, muscle aches, menstrual periods, colds and sore throats, toothaches, backaches, and reactions to vaccinations (shots), and for fever reduction. It is also known by its International Nonproprietary Name (INN), Paracetamol.

Acetaminophen is the United States Adopted Name (USAN).

Acetaminophen works by changing the way the body senses pain and by cooling the body. It is available as an over-the-counter drug and commonly comes in tablet, capsule and liquid (suspension or solution) form.

Acetaminophen overdoses in children can be life-threatening but are avoidable

Acetaminophen, a widely available over-the-counter medication, can cause liver toxicity in children if doses are exceeded, and more public education is needed to warn of potential adverse effects, states an article published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

"Acetaminophen overdose is a major cause of acute liver failure and is the most common identifiable cause of acute liver failure in children," writes Dr. Rod Lim, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, with coauthors. "Repeated supratherapeutic dosing [above the recommended dose], accidental overdose due to error and intentional ingestion can all result in acute liver failure and even death."

Education and Employment Prime Issues For Children With Juvenile Arthritis

Juvenile arthritis is usually an autoimmune disorder. It causes pain, swelling, stiffness, and loss of motion. Juvenile arthritis is a type of arthritis that affects children.

An autoimmune disease is a disease where the immune system attacks the body's own healthy cells. Autoimmune disease can affect many parts of the body and there are about 80 autoimmune diseases. Reasons for autoimmune diseases are unknown but most are looking at a patient's genetics.

With juvenile arthritis, it may involve two steps; family history and a virus. Something in the child's genes (passed from parents to children) makes the child more likely to get arthritis, and something like a virus then sets off the arthritis. Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) is the most common type of juvenile arthritis to affect children.

Juvenile arthritis patients may have issues maintaining employment as adults

As children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) grow into adulthood, disability due to disease may adversely affect their ability to achieve educational success. Findings published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), suggest that functional disability impacts educational attainment, which is key to successful employment in adulthood.

Arthritis is a joint disorder characterized by painful inflammation, swelling, and stiffness that can damage joints and lead to disability. When chronic arthritis strikes those under 16 years of age it s referred to as JIA and affects 294,000 children in the U.S. according to the ACR. In the past two decades, studies have shown that early, aggressive treatment with disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) like methotrexate, or biological drugs known as tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors such as adalimumab (Humira), can improve long-term outcomes for JIA patients.

Folic Acid Reduces Risk of Kidney Cancer and Brain Tumors in Children

Folic acid is a B vitamin, specifically Vitamin B₉. Folic acid helps the body in manufacturing new cells. It is an essential vitamin. The body also produces folic acid in the form of folate.

For pregnant women, folic acid is especially important as it can prevent major birth defects of the baby's brain or spine.

Foods rich with folic acid are citrus fruits, leafy green vegetables, fruits, dried beans, peas and nuts. Enriched breads, cereals and other grain products also contain folic acid. The vitamin is also available as a dietary supplement.

Folic acid may reduce some childhood cancers

Folic acid fortification of foods may reduce the incidence of the most common type of kidney cancer and a type of brain tumors in children, finds a new study by Kimberly J. Johnson, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, and Amy Linabery, PhD, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Minnesota.

Incidence reductions were found for Wilms' tumor, a type of kidney cancer, and primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNET), a type of brain cancer.

Since 1998, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has mandated fortification of foods with folic acid because earlier studies show that prenatal consumption of folic acid significantly reduces the incidence of neural tube defects in babies.

Studies Show Pediatric Brain Tumors Are Diverse Enough To Require Different Treatments

A brain tumor is a space occupying lesion. It is a mass of unwanted tissue that is occupying space where the brain is supposed to be.

Pediatric brain tumors are one of the most common types of childhood cancers. Some of these tumors are benign which means that these aren't cancerous. Despite this, benign tumors can still be serious depending on the size and location. Malignant tumors are cancerous and are life threatening.

Brain tumors are initially detected through the symptoms being manifested. These symptoms might include:

• Headache
• Vomiting and nausea
• Personality changes
• Depression
• Trouble controlling muscles
• Seizures
• Vision or speech problems

Treatment for pediatric brain tumor sometimes differ from treatment of an adult brain tumor. The long term effect (or side effect) from the treatment and from the result itself is an important factor to consider since the brain can still be in a developing stage. Depending on the situation, surgical removal of the tumor, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy are the considered options.

Children's brain tumors more diverse than previously believed

Paediatric brain tumours preserve specific characteristics of the normal cells from which they originate – a previously unknown circumstance with ramifications for how tumour cells respond to treatment. This has been shown by Uppsala researcher Fredrik Swartling together with colleagues in the U.S., Canada and England in a study that was published today in the distinguished journal Cancer Cell.

Every year, 80-90 children in Sweden are afflicted with brain tumours, a serious form of paediatric cancer. Today, three of four children who receive treatment survive.

Data Shows Restricting Use of Pacifier On Infants Reduces and Interferes With Breastfeeding

A pacifier is an artificial nipple made of rubber, plastic or silicon. It is given to an infant to suck upon as a temporary replacement for the mother's sore nipple, and helps the baby to relax and fall asleep.

A standard pacifier has a teat, mouth shield, and handle. The mouth shield and/or the handle is large enough to avoid the danger choking or accidental swallowing.

Studies show that the use of a pacifier reduces the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) up to children one year old.

Common problems or developmental problems with the use of pacifiers are:

• Interference with breastfeeding
• Ear Infections
• Delayed speech development
• Dental problems

Researchers question pulling plug on pacifiers

Binkies, corks, soothers. Whatever you call pacifiers, conventional wisdom holds that giving them to newborns can interfere with breastfeeding.

New research, however, challenges that assertion. In fact, limiting the use of pacifiers in newborn nurseries may actually increase infants' consumption of formula during the birth hospitalization, according to a study to be presented Monday, April 30, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Boston.

Studies have shown that breastfed infants have fewer illnesses such as ear infections and diarrhea as well as a reduced risk of certain cancers, obesity and asthma. Moms benefit, too, from more rapid loss of pregnancy-associated weight gain, reduced risks of certain cancers and improved cardiovascular health. Based on that evidence, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life.

March of Dimes Awards Prize in Developmental Biology To Two Pioneering Scientists In Skin Biology

The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (NFIP) was created in 1938 by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It's mission was to lead, direct, and unify the fight against polio. At the time, polio was a paralyzing viral disease that affected children. The NFIP's annual event was called The March of Dimes which gradually became synonymous with that of the organization.

In 1958, The March of Dimes changed it's mission from fighting polio to improving the health of babies by preventing birth defects, infant mortality, and premature birth.

Currently, The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide and its premier event, March for Babies®, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.

March of Dimes awards $250,000 prize to 2 scientists who pioneered advances in skin disorders

Honorees revealed workings of skin stem cells and developed skin grafts for burn victims

Two scientists who have revolutionized the understanding of skin biology, creating crucial advances in treating skin cancers and other diseases as well as severe burns, have been chosen to receive the 2012 March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology.

Howard Green, MD, George Higginson Professor of Cell Biology, Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, and Elaine Fuchs, PhD, Rebecca C. Lancefield Professor, Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology & Development, Howard Hughes Medical Investigator, Rockefeller University, will share this year's prize.

Behavioral Problems In Children May Be A Sign Of Mental Health Problems

Mental health problems are conditions that can disrupt a person's thinking, feeling, mood and ability to relate to others.

There are many factors that can affect a child's mental health. Identifying these disorders is complicated when it comes to a child since children naturally experience physical, mental, and emotional changes in their growth and development. And at this stage, they are also in the process of learning how to cope, adapt and relate to others and the world around them.

Diagnosing a mental disorder in a child depends on the age of the child, the symptoms shown and how the child acts at home, within the family, in school, and with other children.

Unruly kids may have a mental disorder

When children behave badly, it's easy to blame their parents. Sometimes, however, such behavior may be due to a mental disorder.

Mental illnesses are the No. 1 cause of medical disability in youths ages 15 and older in the United States and Canada, according to the World Health Organization.

"One reason we haven't made greater progress helping people recover from mental disorders is that we get on the scene too late," said Thomas R. Insel, MD, director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the featured speaker at the American Academy of Pediatrics' Presidential Plenary during the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Boston.

Maternal Stress Puts Newborns At Risk For Iron Deficiency Anemia

When red blood cells fail to bring sufficient amounts of oxygen to the tissues in the body, the person becomes anemic. There are different factors that can cause anemia but iron deficiency is the most common cause.

The body requires iron to make hemoglobin. This is the oxygen carrying red pigment in blood. If there isn't enough iron in the body, the production of hemoglobin becomes limited. This in turn affects the production of red blood cells (RBC). A decreased amount of hemoglobin and RBCs in the bloodstream resulting in less oxygen available to cells and tissues is known as anemia. Without the right amount of oxygen, these cells and tissues does not function well.

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is primarily caused by insufficient iron intake. This is the major factor of childhood anemia. It has become much less common in the United States over the past 30 years, primarily due to iron-fortified infant formulas and cereals but is a concern in third world and developing countries.

Iron-deficiency anemia doesn't develop immediately. Instead, a person progresses through stages of iron deficiency, beginning with iron depletion, in which the amount of iron in the body is reduced while the iron in RBCs remains constant. If iron depletion isn't corrected, it progresses to iron deficiency, eventually leading to IDA.

Mom's stress during pregnancy can affect baby's iron status

Newborns whose mothers are under stress during the first trimester of pregnancy may be at risk for low iron status, which could lead to physical and mental delays down the road, according to a study to be presented Sunday, April 29, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Boston.

Iron plays an important role in the development of organ systems, especially the brain. Well-known risk factors for poor iron status in infants are maternal iron deficiency, maternal diabetes, smoking during pregnancy, preterm birth, low birthweight and multiple pregnancy.

This study, conducted by researchers from Ashkelon Academic College and Barzilai Medical Center in Israel and the University of Michigan, is the first in humans to suggest that maternal stress early in pregnancy is another risk factor for low iron status in newborns.

Background TV Affects Cognitive And Reading Skills Of Children

The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages children before the age of 2 in watching television. The first two years is a critical time for development such as language acquisition. A child's brain triples in size during the first two years of life.

Aside from watching TV, even background TV may be detrimental to a child's mental development.

Background TV is a term used when the television is on without anyone actively watching. For children, background TV may mean that they are present near a television not watching the program being shown but doing something else.

Parents often watch a television show while a child plays nearby. Studies show that background TV affects the child as he or she plays with toys, even if they don't seem to be interested in the program. It reports that having the television on in the background can disrupt toddlers as they play with toys, causing them to lose focus during play which may lead to learning problems as they grow up.

American children exposed to high amounts of harmful background TV.

Children from the age of 8 months to 8 years are exposed to nearly 4 hours of background TV per day, according to a top paper to be presented at the International Communication Association's annual conference (Phoenix, AZ, May 24-28).

The study surveyed 1,454 English-speaking households with children between the ages of 8 months to 8-years-old. Younger children and African-American children were exposed to higher amounts of background TV. Models were included to explore whether demographic variables including child gender, ethnicity, race, age, and/or family income are associated with different levels of background TV. The report states that the rates are higher in minority households.

Previous research has shown that children with high exposure to background TV have been linked to poor performance in cognitive and reading tasks.

New Teaching Technique Provides Higher Reading Skills Among Preschoolers

Before learning to read, preschoolers have to develop skills necessary to engage in the activity.

From learning the alphabet, identifying letters in words, and learning how to pronounce basic words, children aged 3 years old to 4 years old slowly transition from just sounding out words to understanding simple basic sentences. Reading is a skill that is a result of smaller skills that just builds up on top of the other.

Encouraging youngsters to start reading is very helpful. It helps reinforce those skills and helps the child further progress. Once the child enters preschool, he or she is exposed to a more structured form of learning. Although, there is play time scheduled within the classes, the curriculum pushes forwards the necessary skills (such as reading) the child needs to learn to advance to the next level.

Preschoolers' reading skills benefit from one modest change by teachers

A small change in how teachers and parents read aloud to preschoolers may provide a big boost to their reading skills later on, a new study found.

That small change involves making specific references to print in books while reading to children – such as pointing out letters and words on the pages, showing capital letters, and showing how you read from left to right and top to bottom on the page.

Preschool children whose teachers used print references during storybook reading showed more advanced reading skills one and even two years later when compared to children whose teachers did not use such references. This is the first study to show causal links between referencing print and later literacy achievement.