Children's Health News and Research

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Parents of children with health conditions face added worries as school year begins

As the new school year begins, some parents may be feeling more nervous than excited - especially those whose children have different health needs.

16 Sep 2025

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Countdown to government shutdown

Oct. 1 is the start of the next fiscal year, and unless Congress reaches agreement on continued spending, big parts of the government could shut down that day.

11 Sep 2025

He built Michigan’s Medicaid work requirement system. Now he’s warning other states.

It was March 2020, and Robert Gordon was about to kick some 80,000 people off health insurance.

5 Sep 2025

Do pediatricians recommend vaccines to make a profit? There’s not much money in it

It makes sense to approach some marketing efforts with skepticism. Scams, deepfakes, and deceptive social media posts are common, with people you don't know seeking to profit from your behavior.

3 Sep 2025

Brightly colored food and drinks hide synthetic dyes and lots of sugar

Nearly 1 in 5 packaged foods sold in the US in 2020 contained synthetic dyes; products with these dyes had 141% more sugar and were disproportionately marketed to children. The study also revealed wide variability in dye use across companies, highlighting opportunities for reformulation.

26 Aug 2025

Native Americans want to avoid past Medicaid enrollment snafus as work requirements loom

Jonnell Wieder earned too much money at her job to keep her Medicaid coverage when the covid-19 public health emergency ended in 2023 and states resumed checking whether people were eligible for the program.

22 Aug 2025

Early use of risdiplam in newborns with SMA shows improvements in motor development

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a rare genetic condition that causes progressive muscle weakness, which, when untreated, prevents infants with the most severe form from gaining motor development - never gaining the ability to sit - and typically leads to death before 2 years of age.

13 Aug 2025

Adopted children face unequal access to health coverage based on adoption type

People in America adopt hundreds of thousands of children every year, but not all of them receive health insurance once adopted into their second home. A study by University of Maryland (UMD) School of Public Health, out today in Health Affairs, reveals major differences in coverage depending on adoption type (domestic or international) and citizenship status of the adoptive parent.

4 Aug 2025

Efficacy of methylprednisolone doses in severe Mycoplasma Pneumonia

Investigators compare efficacy of low- versus high-dose of methylprednisolone in preventing pulmonary lesions in children with severe Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia

1 Aug 2025

MRI brain scans help identify effective use of self-guided anxiety app

By understanding differences in how people's brains are wired, clinicians may be able to predict who would benefit from a self-guided anxiety care app, according to a new analysis from a clinical trial led by Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian investigators.

31 Jul 2025

California looked to them to close health disparities, then it backpedaled

Fortina Hernández is called "the one who knows it all." For more than two decades, the community health worker has supported hundreds of families throughout southeast Los Angeles by helping them sign up for food assistance, sharing information about affordable health coverage, and managing medications for their chronic illnesses.

28 Jul 2025

Potty training often brings setbacks and surprises for families

Transitioning from diapers to the toilet is a major step for young children - and their parents.

21 Jul 2025

New data confirms efficacy of mitochondrial donation in preventing disease

The UK's pioneering licensed IVF technique to reduce the risk of mitochondrial diseases carried out in Newcastle has seen eight babies born, published research shows.

17 Jul 2025

Children’s health in the United States is declining across multiple measures

A new study led by researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) has found that children's health in the United States is declining across several key measurements ranging from increased chronic illnesses, higher rates of physical and mental health conditions and related symptoms, and increased mortality rates compared with other countries.

9 Jul 2025

Research reveals secret behind scarless healing in the mouth

Your mouth is a magician. Bite the inside of your cheek, and the wound may vanish without a trace in a couple of days.

3 Jul 2025

‘MAHA Report’ calls for fighting chronic disease, but Trump and Kennedy have yanked funding

‘MAHA report’ calls for fighting chronic disease, but Trump and Kennedy have yanked funding

2 Jul 2025

To cut Medicaid, the GOP’s following a path often used to expand health care

President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful" budget reconciliation bill would make some of the most sweeping changes in health policy in years, largely affecting Medicaid and Affordable Care Act plans — with reverberations felt throughout the health care system.