Child Health News

RSS

Early egg introduction reduces childhood allergy rates in Australia

Australian guidelines recommending egg be introduced into a child's diet in the first year of life has seen the number of children with egg allergy drop by 17 per cent, researchers have found.

8 Jun 2026

Father's alcohol use before conception impacts offspring development

A growing body of research suggests that a father's health before conception may play a larger role in child development than previously understood - and researchers are working to understand how a father's drinking before conception may affect offspring health and development.

8 Jun 2026

Early outdoor play reduces future mental health risks in children

Children who spend more time playing outdoors between the ages of two and four may be less likely to develop emotional and behavioural difficulties later in childhood.

8 Jun 2026

Infant receives world's first gene therapy for WOREE syndrome

An eight-month-old infant with a severe genetic epilepsy has become the first patient in the world to receive an experimental gene replacement therapy designed to restore the function of the WWOX gene directly in the brain.

8 Jun 2026

Children facing food insecurity show distinct gut microbiomes

Food insecurity may leave a measurable biological signature in the gut microbiome of children, according to new research presented at ASM Microbe 2026.

7 Jun 2026

Maternal vaccination provides protection against RSV-associated hospitalization in early infancy

A study led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC published today in JAMA Network Open, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Medical Association, found that vaccination against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) during pregnancy reduced the risk of hospitalization in young infants by nearly 70%.

5 Jun 2026

Noninvasive technology detects early intestinal disease in premature infants

A new noninvasive technology, called broadband optical spectroscopy (BOS), has promise to reliably detect necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in premature infants at earlier stages, before this devastating intestinal disease progresses enough to be visible on x-ray, according to a first-in-human study from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery.

5 Jun 2026

Large clinical trial shows both common septic shock fluids are equal

A randomized clinical trial conducted across five countries in 47 pediatric emergency departments, including Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago, established that both commonly used IV fluids for treating septic shock – balanced crystalloid fluid and 0.9% saline – are equally safe and effective. Results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

5 Jun 2026

Study shows no safe limit for drinking around children

Typical Norwegian drinking patterns can increase the risk of parents’ behavior negatively impacting their children.

5 Jun 2026

How tobacco-style product design shaped a kids’ lunchbox staple

A historical case study shows how tobacco-style research, consumer testing, and product reformulation strategies helped shape and expand a child-focused ultra-processed meal brand. The paper argues that tobacco and ultra-processed food regulation should be studied together, as both sectors used similar product-design strategies to boost appeal and maintain consumer loyalty.

5 Jun 2026

Tobacco giants helped push ultra-processed foods into global markets

New research reveals how major tobacco companies used cigarette-era business tactics to expand packaged food empires, raising fresh questions about the global spread of ultra-processed and hyper-palatable foods.

4 Jun 2026

Fathers' health may shape children's future obesity ris

As obesity rates rise across the U.S., new research from Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health at the University of California, Irvine scientists draws attention to an often-overlooked factor in children's long-term health: fathers.

4 Jun 2026

Fast food is crowding out grocery access across the U.S.

A 20-year analysis of US neighborhood foodscapes found that food swamps became more common from 2003 to 2023, while food deserts showed little improvement. Rural communities and people relying on public transport faced the greatest barriers to reaching healthy food retailers.

4 Jun 2026

Global decline in child mortality slowed down significantly since 2015

Global progress in reducing preventable deaths among newborn babies, children, and adolescents has slowed substantially since 2015, and many countries risk missing international child survival targets by 2030, find a series of papers published by The BMJ today.

4 Jun 2026

Irregular sleep patterns reduce cognitive performance in preschool children

A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2026 annual meeting found that irregular sleep - including variability in sleep timing and duration - was associated with lower receptive vocabulary and visuospatial memory scores in preschool-age children, even after accounting for total sleep duration.

4 Jun 2026

Teen insomnia symptoms linked to hospitalizations in young adulthood

A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2026 annual meeting found that poorer sleep health according to wrist actigraphy and insomnia symptoms during adolescence predicted a higher likelihood of an overnight hospital stay during young adulthood around seven years later, even after accounting for adolescent hospitalizations and sleep health.

4 Jun 2026