Pediatrics

Pediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. The age limit of such patients ranges from birth to 18. In countries where the age of majority is 18, this age limit may be from birth to age 17 (such as in Canada). A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician.

What is Pediatrics?

Pediatrics is the branch of medicine dealing with the health and medical care of infants, children, and adolescents from birth up to the age of 18. The word “paediatrics” means “healer of children”; they are derived from two Greek words: (pais = child) and (iatros = doctor or healer). Paediatrics is a relatively new medical specialty, developing only in the mid-19th century. Abraham Jacobi (1830–1919) is known as the father of paediatrics.

Infections in Childhood

Child and Adolescent Sports Injuries

Mental Health Disorders and Children

Pediatrician: Role, Education, Training, Subspecialties

A Brief History of Pediatrics

Effects of Passive Smoking on Children's Health

How Fast Food Affects Children's Health

Subspecialties of Pediatrics

Pediatric Skin Conditions

Importance of Sensory Stimulation for Babies

Pediatrics Training

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Supporting Children with Mental Health Disorders

Latest Pediatrics News and Research

Early peanut introduction can prevent allergy but parents need clearer guidance

Feeding babies peanut-containing foods as early as possible can help prevent peanut allergy, but a new study published in JAMA Network Open found that parents need more support to get it right.

18 Dec 2025

AI-assisted evaluations can speed autism diagnosis

Access to autism evaluations through specialty health care is notorious for long wait times across the United States.

18 Dec 2025

Advances in hemophilia gene therapy bring hope for pediatric patients

In the past three years, gene therapy has reshaped what's possible in hemophilia treatment for patients 18 and older. But a key question remains: How soon will these advances reach children?

18 Dec 2025

Research reveals how the gut microbiome supports successful pregnancy

Gut microbes may play a key role in training a mother's immune system to adapt to the developing fetus during pregnancy, according to a preclinical study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

17 Dec 2025

Combination therapy shows promise to treat a rare, catastrophic pediatric brain cancer

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists identified a promising combination approach to treat a rare, but catastrophic pediatric brain cancer called atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor (ATRT).

16 Dec 2025

First multimodal medical dataset launched to capture patient-clinician interactions

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have launched Observer, the first multimodal medical dataset to capture anonymized, real-time interactions between patients and clinicians.

16 Dec 2025

Study reveals significant financial strain on families seeking mental healthcare

Behavioral health care has surged to represent 40 % of all medical expenditures for U.S. children in 2022, nearly doubling from 22 % in 2011, according to a new study published in JAMA Pediatrics. Researchers found that pediatric behavioral health expenditures totaled $41.8 billion in 2022, with families paying $2.9 billion out-of-pocket.

16 Dec 2025

Inclusive swimming lessons boost safety and confidence for Black youth

Black youth in the United States disproportionately experience fatal drowning at rates up to five times higher than their White peers.

15 Dec 2025

Genetic differences in surfactant proteins influence retinopathy of prematurity risk

A new study from the University of Oklahoma suggests that small genetic differences in two proteins – previously known for their role in premature infants' lungs – may also influence how their eyes develop, potentially affecting the risk of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

12 Dec 2025

Smoke from Canadian wildfires linked to worse asthma symptoms in children

New research from the University of Vermont reveals exposure to smoke from Canadian wildfires in the summer of 2023 led to worsening asthma symptoms in children in Vermont and upstate New York.

11 Dec 2025

Screen time and ADHD: why social media stands out from gaming and TV

Over four years in a large US cohort, greater social media use was associated with small but consistent increases in inattention symptoms in children, while video games and television were not. Genetic risk for ADHD did not modify this inattention association, and analyses supported a directional link from social media use to later attention difficulties.

10 Dec 2025

Study offers a unified biological model to explain the causes of autism

A new University of California San Diego School of Medicine study offers a unified biological model to explain how genetic predispositions and environmental exposures converge to cause autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

10 Dec 2025

Online reference library provides a more accurate picture of drug exposure

Doctors and researchers try to understand what medications a person has taken by asking patients directly or by looking at medical records. But this information is often incomplete.

9 Dec 2025

Timing of genetic mutation dictates childhood leukemia aggressiveness

A team of researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has uncovered why children with the same leukemia-causing gene mutation can have dramatically different outcomes: it depends on when in development the mutation first occurs.

8 Dec 2025

Social media affects children's ability to concentrate, study reveals

Children who spend a significant amount of time on social media tend to experience a gradual decline in their ability to concentrate.

8 Dec 2025

Chemotherapy-based conditioning matches outcomes of total body irradiation for MRD-negative B-ALL

In a new trial, patients with B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) who had no evidence of remaining cancer cells after prior treatment, experienced comparable outcomes whether they received chemotherapy-based conditioning or total body irradiation (TBI), the standard conditioning regimen used before hematopoietic cell transplantation.

7 Dec 2025

New evidence shows hematopoietic cell transplantation offers durable relief for sickle cell disease

Patients who underwent hematopoietic cell transplantation for sickle cell disease saw high rates of survival without disease symptoms and low rates of severe side effects or complications years after their procedure, according to a new study.

7 Dec 2025

In RFK Jr.’s upside-down world of vaccines, panel votes to end hepatitis B shot at birth

Recent weeks have brought good news about vaccines, with studies indicating that flu vaccination reduces heart disease, shingles vaccines can prevent or slow dementia, and a single human papilloma virus shot protects a girl from cervical cancer for the rest of her life.

5 Dec 2025

Genetic variant linked to higher heart failure risk in children with myocarditis

A genetic variant is likely putting some children suffering with myocarditis - inflammation of the heart muscle - at higher risk of developing heart failure, which can be fatal, according to a study published today in Circulation Heart Failure.

5 Dec 2025

Early reversal of unhealthy weight can protect the heart from higher childhood BMI

Overweight as a child is not necessarily a risk factor for heart attack later in life. If weight is normalized before adulthood, the heart seems unaffected by the higher childhood BMI, according to a study conducted at the University of Gothenburg.

5 Dec 2025