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.

Mental Health Disorders and Children

Infections in Childhood

Pediatrics Training

Pediatrician: Role, Education, Training, Subspecialties

Child and Adolescent Sports Injuries

Effects of Passive Smoking on Children's Health

A Brief History of Pediatrics

Supporting Children with Mental Health Disorders

Importance of Sensory Stimulation for Babies

Pediatric Skin Conditions

Subspecialties of Pediatrics

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How Fast Food Affects Children's Health

Latest Pediatrics News and Research

Giving families interpreter access doubles communication time in PICU

Language barriers may be particularly harmful in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), where families encounter challenging, often life-changing medical decisions. In many hospitals, a member of the healthcare team, and not the family, decides when to use interpretation services.

3 Apr 2026

New study highlights rising cleaning product injuries in young children

Researchers from the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital have found more than an estimated 240,800 visits to U.S. emergency departments (EDs) associated with household cleaning product-related injuries from 2007 through 2022 for children aged five years and younger.

2 Apr 2026

US scientists sequence 1,000 genomes from measles, a disease long eliminated with vaccines

This week, the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention posted online its first large tranche of advanced genetic data from measles viruses spreading last year.

2 Apr 2026

Gene-edited treatment shows promising outcomes for severe sickle cell disease

New results from a clinical trial show promising outcomes for a gene-edited treatment for severe sickle cell disease, a genetic blood disorder with few curative options.

1 Apr 2026

Advocate Health embraces drone technology for faster patient service

Advocate Health announced Thursday it will launch the nation's largest hospital-based drone delivery network, transforming how many of its patients receive prescriptions and home health supplies, while also reducing turnaround time for lab results, which are vital to timely diagnosis and treatment.

31 Mar 2026

Novel compound clears harmful protein, protects neurons in frontotemporal dementia models

New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis adds to growing evidence that helping brain cells break down and eliminate their own cellular waste is a promising treatment strategy for a variety of neurodegenerative diseases.

31 Mar 2026

Plastic chemicals linked to nearly two million premature births

Exposure to a chemical commonly used to make plastic more flexible may have contributed to about 1.97 million preterm births in 2018 alone, or more than 8 percent of the world's total, a new analysis of population surveys shows.

31 Mar 2026

Inside the high-stakes corporate fight over feeding preterm babies

In 2013, a scientist at Abbott Laboratories saw study results with potentially big implications for the company's profits and the lives of some of the world's most fragile people: preterm infants.

30 Mar 2026

Experts establish standardized protocols for pediatric recurrent wheezing diagnosis

Recurrent wheezing, a respiratory disorder, is caused by the narrowing of the airways, mainly affecting children aged less than 5 years.

26 Mar 2026

Study links androgens to aggressive childhood brain tumor growth

An international team led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital, McGill University and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine has discovered what drives the growth of a lethal pediatric brain tumor called Posterior Fossa Type A (PFA) ependymoma.

25 Mar 2026

Pediatric mental health triage often inaccurate in emergency departments

In emergency medicine, triage differentiates patients who require immediate attention from those who can safely wait for care. When it comes to children's mental or behavioral health, however, triage scores were found to be inaccurate in two-thirds of the cases when compared to the level of care the child actually received during their emergency visit, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open.

24 Mar 2026

Early obesity treatment reduces long-term health risks for all children

Children living with obesity but showing no signs of metabolic complications still have a significantly increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and abnormal blood lipid levels later in life.

23 Mar 2026

Weaning reshapes gut microbes to strengthen lifelong immune defenses

According to a team of researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Tongji University and collaborating institutions, weaning or switching from milk to solid food in early life doesn't just change what babies eat, it helps reprogram the gut's immune defenses to mount faster and stronger responses that can last into adulthood.

19 Mar 2026

New microbiome therapy improves autism symptoms in children

This study evaluates a new fecal microbiota transplant method, revealing significant symptom improvements in children with autism without invasive procedures.

18 Mar 2026

Automated system boosts maternal smoking cessation in pediatric care

Researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) found that a new automated tobacco treatment system integrated into routine pediatric care helped drive a 3.9% absolute increase in smoking cessation among mothers – a population-level impact that could translate to tens of thousands of parents quitting each year and protect hundreds of thousands of children from harmful secondhand smoke exposure.

17 Mar 2026

New insight into origins of rare liver tumors in children

Liver cancer in children is rare, but when it occurs the two main types are hepatoblastoma (HB) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

16 Mar 2026

Childhood stress may lead to digestive issues later in life

Early life stress may lead to digestive issues later in life, driven by changes in the gut and sympathetic nervous systems, according to a new study published in the journal Gastroenterology.

16 Mar 2026

Early high-dose therapy improves hand and arm function in infants with cerebral palsy

Infants and toddlers with unilateral cerebral palsy, which affects the brain's control of muscles on one side of the body, show lasting improvements in hand and arm function when they receive early, high-dose therapy, according to a new multisite clinical trial led by Virginia Tech researchers at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC.

16 Mar 2026

New method creates longer lasting CAR T cells for cancer therapy

A research team led by Albert Einstein College of Medicine scientists has developed a new strategy to engineer immune cells that dramatically prolongs their effectiveness after being infused into patients to fight cancer and HIV, addressing a major limitation of current treatments.

13 Mar 2026