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

Pediatrician: Role, Education, Training, Subspecialties

Pediatric Skin Conditions

A Brief History of Pediatrics

How Fast Food Affects Children's Health

Mental Health Disorders and Children

Child and Adolescent Sports Injuries

Importance of Sensory Stimulation for Babies

Pediatrics Training

Subspecialties of Pediatrics

Supporting Children with Mental Health Disorders

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Effects of Passive Smoking on Children's Health

Latest Pediatrics News and Research

AAP issues guidance for safe and equitable pediatric use of generative AI

The American Academy of Pediatrics has published guidance for pediatricians on the safe, equitable, and effective use of generative artificial intelligence (AI), acknowledging that the rapidly emerging tools offer both promise and risk.

5 Oct 2026

Updated AAP guidance warns raw dairy poses severe health risks

Unpasteurized milk, cheese and other "raw" dairy products are unsafe to drink or eat, especially for young children and those who are pregnant or breastfeeding, according to updated guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

5 Oct 2026

Many youth with opioid use disorder miss out on treatment

One in 100 adolescents and young adults in the United States has an opioid use disorder (OUD) and, with the rise of fentanyl in the drug supply, overdoses in this age group have risen sharply since 2019.

5 Oct 2026

Youth e-bike and e-scooter injuries rise nearly four-fold, study finds

Electronic bikes and electronic scooter injuries among children and teens increased nearly four-fold at one California hospital between 2019 and 2025, according to research presented during the American Academy of Pediatrics 2026 National Conference & Exhibition in San Diego.

5 Oct 2026

Study finds delayed response to active controversy linking autism to acetaminophen use during pregnancy

Most public health institutions failed to respond in a timely way to misinformation on social media that falsely claimed that acetaminophen during pregnancy is linked to autism, according to research presented during the American Academy of Pediatrics 2026 National Conference & Exhibition.

5 Oct 2026

Tracking health misinformation helps pediatricians provide targeted patient education

Pediatric clinicians can learn useful information by tracking the health misinformation that their patients encounter, according to research presented during the American Academy of Pediatrics 2026 National Conference & Exhibition Oct. 2-6, 2026, at the San Diego Convention Center.

5 Oct 2026

Osteopathic treatment safely improves head shape in infants with plagiocephaly

Physicians used osteopathic manipulative treatment to effectively improve the head shape of babies who developed a flattened spot on the back or side of their head, a condition called positional plagiocephaly (PP), according to research presented during the American Academy of Pediatrics 2026 National Conference & Exhibition in San Diego Oct. 2-6.

5 Oct 2026

Electric- or gas-powered bikes pose higher trauma risk for children than pedal bicycles

Children and teens who ride electric- or gas-powered bikes are at higher risk of trauma or death when involved in collisions as compared to those riding pedal-assisted bicycles, according to research presented during the American Academy of Pediatrics 2026 National Conference & Exhibition in San Diego Oct. 2-6.

5 Oct 2026

NCCN introduces first-ever evidence-based guidelines for pediatric bone sarcoma

Today, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) published the first-ever edition of NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) for Pediatric Bone Sarcoma.

1 Oct 2026

Common gene variant reduces effectiveness of pediatric asthma drug

Children with a variant in the SERPINE1 gene – which is found in 60% of the population – may be less responsive to mepolizumab, a drug used to treat asthma flares, according to a study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

1 Oct 2026

NIH awards $7.6 million grant to advance polyaminopathy research

A first-of-its-kind NIH grant was awarded to Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and Corewell Health. Co-investigators André Bachmann, PhD, MS, professor and associate chair for research in the MSU Department of Pediatrics and Human Development, and Caleb Bupp, MD, FACMG, division chief of Medical Genetics and Genomics at Corewell Health Helen DeVos Children's Hospital, will advance understanding of how polyaminopathies work.

29 Sep 2026

Annenberg poll reveals confusion over RFK Jr. vaccine recommendations

The number of measles cases in the United States is at the highest level in decades, attributed to a decrease in vaccination against measles.

29 Sep 2026

Banning ultra-processed foods brings major hurdles for public schools

Starting in July 2029, public schools are required to start phasing out ultra-processed foods under a new California law that prohibits schools from serving foods high in sugar, fat, salt and certain artificial food additives.

28 Sep 2026

Intentional substance exposures at school rise sharply among younger children

A new study found that rates of intentional substance exposures at school reported to U.S. poison centers increased substantially among elementary- and middle-school-aged children from 2000 through 2024, while high-school-aged adolescents continued to experience the highest rates of serious medical outcomes and hospital admissions.

28 Sep 2026

UC researcher receives funding to study bone complications in people with sickle cell disease

September is National Sickle Cell Awareness Month, and a University of Cincinnati College of Medicine hematology researcher has received new grant funding to study one of the disease's painful, under-recognized complications: bone damage.

25 Sep 2026

Study explains how stroke promotes aggressive glioma tumor growth

Researchers at Texas Children's Duncan Neurological Research Institute (Duncan NRI), Baylor College of Medicine and collaborating institutions show in Nature Cancer that stroke promotes glioma growth and uncovered cellular and molecular mediators involved in the process, linking brain injury to malignant brain tumors.

25 Sep 2026

GLP-1s linked to nutritional deficiencies in children

Children prescribed GLP-1 medications for weight loss, prediabetes, or type 2 diabetes are at risk for nutritional deficiencies – diagnosed in nearly one in six patients (16.8%) within the first year – according to a new study published in the journal Childhood Obesity.

24 Sep 2026

Screening approved medicines reveals potential treatments for preterm labor

Shajila Siricilla, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, and Jennifer Herington, PhD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, led a team that systematically screened 1,191 FDA-approved drugs and found that several candidates met criteria supporting further evaluation as potential treatments for preterm labor.

23 Sep 2026

Early childhood BMI trajectories predict later cardiometabolic health risks

Childhood obesity predicts later cardiometabolic disease, but single-time weight measures may miss dynamic growth information.

23 Sep 2026

C-Path awards $1.7 million to advance five drug development projects

Critical Path Institute (C-Path) today announced that its Translational Therapeutics Accelerator has awarded $1,699,500 through five Bridging Research and Innovation in Drug Development Grants (BRIDGe).

22 Sep 2026