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Mothers who take codeine as a painkiller after giving birth can expose their babies to it through their breast milk with harmful or even deadly consequences, according to a new study that concludes using the drug while breastfeeding may not be safe for all mothers.The research, published Wednesday in the journal Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and led by Dr. Gideon Koren at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, began after a baby in that city died because of an overdose acquired through breast milk.Codeine is commonly used by .... More »

Category: Baby and Pregnancy  Tools: Email Story to a Friend

VANCOUVER - A Vancouver mother says a $7,000 insulin pump helped bring back her 11 year-old daughter's childhood.Cheryl Simpson says diabetes was ruling little Ellery's life until an insulin pump paid for by the family allowed her to better control her Type 1 diabetes.Before that, Simpson says her daughter endured the burden of needles five times a day and constantly had to manage her diet to control blood sugar levels.Simpson is joining Opposition health critic Adrian Dix's call on the B.C. government to fund the expensive pump so di .... More »

Category: Kids Health  Tools: Email Story to a Friend

There is new information on the number of children in Kentucky that don't have health insurance.Research from the Kentucky Voices for Health shows more than 60,000 children qualify for health insurance programs, but are not enrolled.It's family practitioners like Dr. Dirk Curry of Pikeville Medical Family Practice that understand the frustrations of applying for child health programs."It does make it difficult for families, and they say 'why bother?'," says Dr. Curry.A study by the Kentucky Voices for Health shows out of 93,000 childr .... More »

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DENVER - Hugging an elephant mascot was about as close as they'd get to having a peanut. That's because many of the children who hugged that "elephant," Sunday morning, had food allergies."Not fun," is how seven-year-old Colton Leitzinger describes his allergies to tree nuts, mangos and penicillin.Colton was diagnosed with food allergies when he was three. His four-year-old sister Paetyn was diagnosed when she was two years old. She is allergic to peanuts, milk and eggs."It's difficult for us," said Paetyn and Colton's mom, Tami, "bec .... More »

Category: Kids Food  Tools: Email Story to a Friend

"The New Father, A Dad's Guide to the First Year" is written by Armin A. Brott, and published by Abbeville Press. The Second Edition, reviewed in this piece, chronicles the first year of Baby's life from the father's perspective.At times hilarious, but always accurate, the book encourages Dad's active participation in child rearing. Brott, a father of three, stresses the importance of both parents' participation and guidance during the first year.Beginning with the chapter, Congratulations, You're a Dad! "The New Father" teaches fathe .... More »

Category: Family Relations  Tools: Email Story to a Friend

Grossly overweight children may be taken from their families and put into care if Britain's obesity epidemic continues to escalate, council chiefs have said.The Local Government Association argued that parents who allowed their children to eat too much could be as guilty of neglect as those who did not feed their children at all.Last year Cumbria County Council put an eight-year old girl into care as she was dangerously overweight.{tags} Obese Children{/tags} .... More »

Category: Kids Weight Loss  Tools: Email Story to a Friend

'M*A*S*H,' 'Church Basement Ladies' actor, wife devote themselves to sonActor William Christopher, who will appear in a play in Aberdeen next month, has been researching the Hub City on the Internet.He and his wife, Barbara, who is also coming, have looked at pictures of the Capitol Theatre and the Johnson Fine Arts Center.They know that the Hub City used to be called a "frog pond."Christopher knows that during the early days of the railroad, Aberdeen "was sort of a center, a hub."They've learned quite a bit."One of the things that su .... More »

Category: Autism  Tools: Email Story to a Friend

Tanzanian parents who smoke can and should play a big role in blocking the young generation from picking up the killer habit.Public education and sensitization, strict enforcement of anti-smoking regulations and sharpening legislation against tobacco are also key facilitators of the campaign against a crop whose effects are medically and environmentally disastrous.So says Professor Robert Machang`u, the National Professional Officer at the WHO Regional Office in Dar es Salaam and Chairman of the Tanzania Public Health Association.He w .... More »

Category: Family Problems  Tools: Email Story to a Friend

The third annual breast-feeding open house will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today near the farmer's market at Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center. The event is open to the public.The event, held in conjunction with International Breast-Feeding Week, gives new mothers the chance to share lactation experiences, learn about the importance of breast feeding to an infant's health and see the equipment and resources available, Kaiser said. On hand will be representatives of A More Excellent Way Breast-Feeding Promotion Project, a pr .... More »

Category: Baby and Pregnancy  Tools: Email Story to a Friend

Washington, Aug 15 : A new study has suggested that kids with a history of severe ear infections are at an increased risk of becoming overweight later in life.The study found that the damage caused by chronic ear infections could be linked to people's preference for fatty foods, which increases their risk of being overweight as they age."Middle ear infection is a common childhood disease and obesity is a growing problem worldwide. Any potential association between these two public health issues is of considerable interest," said Linda .... More »

Category: Kids Weight Loss  Tools: Email Story to a Friend

As school starts, South Florida is lagging in vaccinations that protect students against serious diseases.More than 10,000 students sought exemptions from required vaccinations last year in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe county schools, giving South Florida some of the highest noncompliance rates in the state.And the percentage of South Florida children not having their shots when school starts is growing, according to Florida Department of Health records. Those records count only kindergartners and seventh graders, meaning the overal .... More »

Category: Kids Health  Tools: Email Story to a Friend

Summaries of recent news about children's health coverage in Iowa and Texas appear below.Iowa: Implementing a plan to provide coverage to all children in the state could take up to four years, the AP/Chicago Tribune reports. Earlier this year, the state Legislature approved a measure that will put in place a two-phased process for establishing universal coverage for children. In the first phase, which begins in July 2009, the state will expand health coverage for low-income children. That phase is expected to reduce the number of unin .... More »

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WASHINGTON (AP) - Reversing itself, the Bush administration said Thursday that states for now won't be penalized for failing to install restrictions making it harder for middle-income children to participate in a federal-state health insurance program.States had been directed to make the changes in their State Children's Health Insurance Program by Monday or face financial penalties.Among the required changes:-Children must be uninsured for one year before they could enroll; and-At least 95 percent of poor children eligible for Medica .... More »

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THURSDAY, Aug. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Insured children in the United States are much more likely than uninsured children (91 percent vs. 69 percent) to visit a doctor's office and to have a regular annual check-up (77 percent vs. 45 percent), according to new data released Thursday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.The study, conducted by University of Minnesota researchers who analyzed U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from 2005-07, also found that:About 10 million American children have chronic illnesses and 3 .... More »

Category: Kids Health  Tools: Email Story to a Friend

The language of music transcends every obstacle, and a new program in Richmond will reach out to children with autism in grades K-5 so they can benefit from music's transformational and soul-soothing power.Vivo classes were developed locally by Da Capo Institute and completed a successful pilot debut in the spring of 2008. This fall, Da Capo will offer weekly Vivo classes at three local churches (Bon Air Presbyterian, River Road Presbyterian and Huguenot Road Baptist) beginning the week of Sept. 22. The 10-week sessions and concluding .... More »

Category: Autism  Tools: Email Story to a Friend