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New Canadian legislation bans sale of flavoured cigarillos, cigarettes, blunt wraps

Canada's tough new anti-tobacco law, Bill C-32, comes into effect at stores near you on July 5. Retailers will no longer be allowed to sell fruit- and candy-flavoured cigarillos (little cigars), cigarettes, and blunt wraps (rolling papers made of tobacco).

29 Jun 2010

Simple blood test may help detect chromosomal abnormalities in developing foetus

Researchers in The Netherlands believe they are on the verge of developing a simple, prenatal blood test that would be able to detect accurately chromosomal abnormalities in the developing foetus.

29 Jun 2010

Nearly 7% of sixth-graders in U.S. are severely obese

Nearly 7 percent of sixth-graders across the U.S. are severely obese, reveals a new study appearing online in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

29 Jun 2010

School-based program lowers obesity and risk factors for type 2 diabetes in high risk youth

An intervention in middle schools lowered the obesity rate in students at highest risk for type 2 diabetes, those who started out overweight or obese in sixth grade, an NIH-funded study has found. However, schools that implemented the program did not differ from comparison schools in the study's primary outcome-the prevalence of overweight and obesity combined-which had declined 4 percent in both groups of schools by the end of the three-year study.

29 Jun 2010

Health Canada recommends new pneumococcal vaccine for young children

In December, 2009, Health Canada approved a new vaccine for children aged six weeks through five years to prevent infections caused by the bacteria called pneumococcus or Streptococcus.

29 Jun 2010

Non-Invasive prenatal blood test to detect chromosomal abnormalities in foetus

Researchers in The Netherlands believe they are on the verge of developing a simple, prenatal blood test that would be able to detect accurately chromosomal abnormalities in the developing foetus. At present, the only reliable way to do this is through amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling, both of which are invasive and carry the risk of triggering a miscarriage.

29 Jun 2010

Study finds high sugar content in toddler and baby food products

Fifty three percent of food products specifically targeted to babies and toddlers in Canadian grocery stores have an excessive proportion-more than 20 per cent-of calories coming from sugar, according to a new study by University of Calgary professor Charlene Elliott.

29 Jun 2010

G8 nations commit $5B for maternal, child health; Additional $2.3B committed from other countries, foundations

G8 nations, plus other countries and private organizations, have committed at total of $7.3 billion to improve maternal and child health in the developing world, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Friday at the group's summit in Canada's Muskoka region, All Headline News reports (6/26).

29 Jun 2010

Opinions: G8 commitments to maternal, child health

A Toronto Star editorial reflects on the pledges of G8 countries to the Muskoka Initiative to improve maternal and child health care, noting, while Canada's $1.1 billion over five years "fell noticeably short of the $1.2 billion the G8 and G20 summits cost to stage, it will lend welcome impetus to a lifeline for Africa and help save lives." However, as the editorial notes, "the recession-battered G8 as a group responded feebly, mustering only $5 billion over five years.

29 Jun 2010

States struggle with physician shortages, health care workforce issues

Worcester (Mass.) Telegram & Gazette, reports on a national shortage of pediatric subspecialists. "While Massachusetts has more pediatric sub-specialists per capita than many other states, the doctors are in short supply, even at big institutions like UMass. … Pediatric sub-specialists go through several years of training: four years of medical school, three years of training in pediatrics, then another three years of training in a specialty," yet their salaries are not much higher than regular pediatricians.

28 Jun 2010

In-school education programs can reduce obesity, other risk factors for type 2 diabetes: HEALTHY

Healthier cafeteria choices, longer and more intense periods of physical activity and robust in-school education programs can lower rates of obesity and other risk factors for type 2 diabetes, according to a national study called HEALTHY.

28 Jun 2010

Combination MMRV vaccine associated with increased risk of febrile seizures

The combination vaccine for measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox (MMRV) is associated with double the risk of febrile seizures for 1- to 2-year-old children compared with same-day administration of the separate vaccine for MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) and the varicella (V) vaccine for chicken pox, according to a Kaiser Permanente Division of Research study appearing online in the journal Pediatrics. A febrile seizure is a brief, fever-related convulsion but it does not lead to epilepsy or seizure disorders, researchers explained.

28 Jun 2010

International child health experts to converge for Excellence in Paediatrics

International child health experts to converge on London for Excellence in Paediatrics. Experts from all over the world will be converging on the Park Plaza Hotel in Westminster, London, from 2 - 4 December 2010 for Excellence in Paediatrics, which promises cutting edge topics by outstanding speakers.

28 Jun 2010

OPQC Scheduled Birth Initiative reduces unnecessary planned late pre-term, near-term deliveries in Ohio

A statewide Ohio program significantly reduced the monthly rate of inappropriately scheduled births before 39 weeks gestation, helping to avoid expensive neonatal intensive care unit admissions and decrease the risk of infant deaths, according to two studies by the Ohio Perinatal Quality Collaborative recently published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

28 Jun 2010

World Vision calls upon emerging economies within G20 to prioritize child and maternal health progress

With the G20 summit opening today in Toronto, World Vision is calling upon emerging economies within the G20 to be accountable for prioritizing their own child and maternal health progress -- and for all G20 nations to provide their fair share of funding and leadership within their respective regions.

28 Jun 2010

G8 leaders to discuss economic policy, developing world, maternal and child health, Haitian rebuilding

Ahead of the G8 summit, which begins Friday in Canada, "leaders engaged in a series of dueling letters and interviews that exposed their conflicts" in how to foster global economic recovery, the Associated Press reports.

28 Jun 2010

Breast feeding a “little creepy”, says a Mum and Baby magazine

In an article with a headline “I formula fed. So what?” that appeared in Mother and Baby magazine a casual comment from deputy editor Kathryn Blundell has shocked mothers worldwide.

28 Jun 2010

Psychotropic medications associated with adverse drug reactions in Danish children: Researchers

Between 1998 and 2007, psychotropic medications were associated with 429 adverse drug reactions in Danish children under the age of 17. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen's Faculty of Pharmaceutical Studies have published an article in the open access journal BMC Research Notes concluding that more than half of the 429 cases were serious and several involved birth defects, such as birth deformities and severe withdrawal syndromes.

25 Jun 2010

U.N. Secretary-General to ask G20 for additional $60B over 5 years for maternal, child health

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he plans to ask the G20 to follow through on aid promises and to commit an additional $60 billion over five years for lowering maternal and child mortality rates worldwide, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.

25 Jun 2010

Researchers say ear tubes are safe for children with cochlear implants

Children who are being treated for hearing loss with cochlear implants can safely have ear tubes installed to help clear up infections, say researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

25 Jun 2010

Child Health News

New Canadian legislation bans sale of flavoured cigarillos, cigarettes, blunt wraps

Simple blood test may help detect chromosomal abnormalities in developing foetus

Nearly 7% of sixth-graders in U.S. are severely obese

School-based program lowers obesity and risk factors for type 2 diabetes in high risk youth

Health Canada recommends new pneumococcal vaccine for young children

Non-Invasive prenatal blood test to detect chromosomal abnormalities in foetus

Study finds high sugar content in toddler and baby food products

G8 nations commit $5B for maternal, child health; Additional $2.3B committed from other countries, foundations

Opinions: G8 commitments to maternal, child health

States struggle with physician shortages, health care workforce issues

In-school education programs can reduce obesity, other risk factors for type 2 diabetes: HEALTHY

Combination MMRV vaccine associated with increased risk of febrile seizures

International child health experts to converge for Excellence in Paediatrics

OPQC Scheduled Birth Initiative reduces unnecessary planned late pre-term, near-term deliveries in Ohio

World Vision calls upon emerging economies within G20 to prioritize child and maternal health progress

G8 leaders to discuss economic policy, developing world, maternal and child health, Haitian rebuilding

Breast feeding a “little creepy”, says a Mum and Baby magazine

Psychotropic medications associated with adverse drug reactions in Danish children: Researchers

U.N. Secretary-General to ask G20 for additional $60B over 5 years for maternal, child health

Researchers say ear tubes are safe for children with cochlear implants

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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