If you have ever browsed my About Us page, you will know that I earned a BA in English studies with a minor in creative writing in May 2007 from Illinois State University, an MS in library and information science in May 2009 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an MS in English […] More
Reading and conversation are crucial for language development in children. Technology has also become a near-ubiquitous part of modern life. Unfortunately, a recent poll released by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and Read Aloud 15 MINUTES shows that more than one-third of parents report that popular technology use by their children routinely takes away from […] More
Clinical Trials Announced for New Lyme Disease Vaccine Valneva, a French company focused on developing innovative life-saving vaccines, announced in mid-December that its vaccine candidate VLA15 against Lyme disease has received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Union Clinical Trial Application (CTA) approval to conduct a Phase I trial in 180 adults in […] More
Finally some good news about the Zika virus. Infection during the third trimester of pregnancy appears to not cause serious harm to the developing baby. The Zika virus has previously been shown to attack fetal brain cells, causing severe birth defects. A new report published in the New English Journal of Medicine finds that maternal […] More
After careful review of current evidence, scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have concluded that the Zika virus causes microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects. As published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the report describes a rigorous weighing of evidence using established scientific criteria. Explains Tom Frieden, M.D., […] More
Prompted by concerns about the potential health risks from arsenic in infant rice cereal, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a proposed limit on inorganic arsenic in the baby food on Friday. The proposed limit is 100 parts per billion, a limit that is similar to the level set by the European Commission […] More
The Zika virus made news in the United States two weeks ago when the first case of brain damage linked to the virus was reported in Hawaii. The Hawaii State Department of Health reported that a baby born in an Oahu hospital with microcephaly had been infected with the Zika virus. The Centers for Disease […] More
Approximately 10 percent of pregnant women in the United States develop the yeast infection vaginal candidiasis. Health care providers most often recommend intravaginal formulations of topical azole antifungals as the first-line treatment for pregnant women but also often prescribe oral fluconazole. Now a study published in the journal JAMA suggests that the use of the […] More
Pregnant women can and should receive the influenza and Tdap vaccines to protect both mother and baby from the respiratory flu and whooping cough. A new six-year study published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology confirms the safety of both vaccines during pregnancy and reveals that pregnancy women can receive both at the same time […] More
Previous studies have linked advancing paternal and maternal age with an increased risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Now a new multinational study of parental age and autism risk published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry finds that the children of teen mothers, older parents, and parents with an age gap of 10 years or more […] More
Breastfeeding offers myriad benefits to mothers and babies. Now a new review of 18 previous studies published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics finds that breastfeeding may lower the risk of childhood leukemia. Childhood cancer is a leading cause of death among children and adolescents in developed countries, with leukemia accounting for 30 percent of childhood […] More
Adding to the growing body of evidence of the benefits of delayed cord clamping, a follow-up study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics reveals an associated between delayed cord clamping (DCC) and fine motor skills at age 4, especially among boys. The original study led by Dr. Ola Andersson, a researcher at Uppsala University and […] More