·         Spike in Kids' Health Issues Foretells Problems : The number of U.S. children with chronic health problems such as obesity has soared in the past four decades, foreshadowing increases in adult disability and public health-care spending, researchers said. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19441193/from/ET/

·         Low Birth-Weight and Obesity Rates Both on the Rise in U.S. Kids:  Bethesda, Md. -- More low birthweight infants are being born, but older kids are heavier than ever, according to the federal government's latest snapshot of child health.            http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/GeneralPediatrics/tb2/6148

·         Child Abuse Increases When Soldier Parent is Deployed:  Research Triangle Park, N.C. --   Things may not be all quiet on the home front. When soldiers deploy for combat, child abuse and neglect increase as does stress for the spouses left behind, researchers here said. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/GeneralPediatrics/tb2/6305

·         Rapid Improvement Seen in State-Mandated Newborn Screening Programs:  White Plains, N.Y. -- Nearly nine out of 10 infants are screened at birth for at least 21 life-threatening disorders, more than twice as many as in 2005,  thanks to an expansion of state-required testing programs.  http://www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealthPolicy/HealthPolicy/tb2/6129

·         CDC Cites Progress on Childhood Immunization Goals:  Atlanta -- Most states met national vaccination objectives for children in kindergarten during the 2006-2007 school year, according to a study by the CDC.      http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/PublicHealth/tb2/6440

·         Underinsured Children Shut Out From Recommended Vaccines:  Boston -- Children by the millions may not be protected against meningococcal or pneumococcal infections because private insurance plans and state and federal governments have gaps in their coverage of the vaccines.          http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/Vaccines/tb2/6359

·         HPV Vaccine May Stem Incidence of Throat Cancer:  Houston -- Human papilloma virus infections are likely buoying up oropharyngeal cancer rates while other head and neck cancers decline, researchers said.       http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/STDs/tb2/6508

·         Inadequate Vitamin D Levels Common Among Children (CME/CE):  Philadelphia -- Half of otherwise healthy children and adolescents in the northeastern United States do not get enough vitamin D, researchers found. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/GeneralPediatrics/dh/6105

·         Exercise and Nutrition Outweigh Diet in Childhood Obesity:  New Haven, Conn. --  Childhood obesity can be overcome by an intensive family-based program that includes supervised exercise and nutrition education, found researchers here. But dieting wasn't the answer.http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/Obesity/tb2/6032

·         Picky Eaters Less Picky if Carrots Come in a McDonald’s Wrapper:  Stanford, Calif. -- Among the 3- to 5-year-old crowd, the happiest  and tastiest  meals are likely to be those that come in a  McDonald’s wrapper, even if the food is not from McDonald’s. http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/DietNutrition/tb2/6351

·         Neural Tube Defects Decline After Folic Acid Fortification:  Quebec City, Quebec -- Folic acid supplementation of white flour and cereal products in Canada reduced neural tube defects by 46 percent, researchers reported.             http://www.medpagetoday.com/Neurology/GeneralNeurology/tb2/6136

·         Hospitals May Overfeed Newly Born Babies With Formula:  Winnipeg, Manitoba -- Physiologically appropriate infant weight loss is less for babies fed formula in the hospital than for those who are breastfed, suggesting that hospitals feed too much, researchers said. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/GeneralPediatrics/tb2/6474

·         Breastfeeding Rates Only Half-Way to 2010 Goals:  Atlanta -- About 30 percent of  babies born in the United States in 2004 were exclusively breastfed for the first three months, and by six months only 11.3 percent of babies were exclusively breastfed, CDC investigators found.         http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/Parenting/tb2/6342

·         Pregnancy Not a Grace Period for Junk Food:  London -- An eating for two approach to junk food during pregnancy and breastfeeding may boost baby's appetite for the same and lead to obesity, researchers said.  http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/DietNutrition/tb2/6424

·         Pre-pregnancy Obesity a Risk for Structural Birth Defects:  Houston -- If Mom is obese before pregnancy, her newborn is at greater risk for spina bifida or one of six other structural malformations, researchers reported. http://www.medpagetoday.com/OBGYN/Pregnancy/tb2/6352

·         Assisted Reproduction May Increase Umbilical Abnormality Risks:  Lyon, France -- As the complexity of assisted reproduction techniques increases, so does the frequency of umbilical cord abnormalities, Belgian investigators reported here.          http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/ESHREMeeting/tb2/6096

·         Preventive Induced Labor Slows Caesarean Section Rate:  Philadelphia -- The rising rate of Caesarean deliveries might be slowed by preventive labor induction, researchers here said.  http://www.medpagetoday.com/OBGYN/Pregnancy/tb2/6301

·         More U.S. Women Dying in Childbirth:  U.S. women are dying from childbirth at the highest rate in decades, new government figures show. Though the risk of death is very small, experts believe increasing maternal obesity and a jump in Caesarean sections are partly to blame.  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20427256/from/ET/

·         Cervical Cancer Screening Goes Do-It-Yourself:  Vancouver, BC -- Asking patients to collect their own vaginal specimens for HPV testing proved an effective initial screening method among high risk women, researchers here found.  http://www.medpagetoday.com/HematologyOncology/OtherCancers/tb2/6513

·         Gestational Diabetes Findings Show No Risk Cut-off:  Chicago, IL -- Elevated glucose levels during pregnancy appear to increase risks to mother and baby even at levels below current criteria for gestational diabetes, researchers reported here.  http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/ADAMeeting/tb2/6003

·         Mothers’ Gestational Diabetes Foretells Obesity for Kids:  Oakland, Calif. -- Untreated gestational diabetes nearly doubles the risk that offspring will be obese by kindergarten age, but treatment of maternal hyperglycemia can prevent it, said investigators here.  http://www.medpagetoday.com/Endocrinology/Diabetes/tb2/6520 

·         Type 2 Diabetes Reaches More Into Childhood:  Denver -- Type 2 diabetes is no longer the adult onset disease it once was. More and more children with diabetes are type 2 these days, researchers found.      http://www.medpagetoday.com/Endocrinology/Diabetes/tb2/6031

·         New Asthma Guidelines Emphasize Disease Control and Patient Empowerment: Bethesda, Md. -- Emphasizing that asthma affects different patients in different ways, the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program has issued new evidence-based guidelines on the disease.                   http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pulmonary/Asthma/tb2/6540 

·         Antibiotic Use in Infants Boosts Asthma Risk:  Winnipeg, Manitoba -- Children who are given antibiotics during the first year of life may be at significantly greater risk of developing asthma, researchers here found.             http://www.medpagetoday.com/AllergyImmunology/Asthma/tb2/5905

·         Large Trial Shows Corticosteroids Do Not Help Against Infant Wheeze:  Salt Lake City, Utah -- Corticosteroids appear to be ineffective against first episode bronchiolitis in infants, despite frequent emergency room use, researchers said.                http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/GeneralPediatrics/tb2/6259

·         Adolescent Wheeze Could Be Vocal Cord Dysfunction:  Columbus, Ohio -- Spirometry can help emergency departments distinguish between the wheezing of acute asthma in adolescents and vocal cord dysfunction, found investigators here.  http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pulmonary/Asthma/tb2/6514

·         Poor Lung Function at Birth a Risk for Adult COPD:  Tucson, Ariz. -- For many adults with poor airway function or COPD, the genesis of the problem may have been in the womb, researchers reported. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pulmonary/SmokingCOPD/tb2/6552 

·         Video Baby Brain Boosters May Not Create Einsteins:  Seattle -- A child's language development may actually suffer from early exposure to DVDs and videos, investigators here have found.         http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/GeneralPediatrics/tb2/6361

·         Hearing Difference May be SIDS Marker:  Seattle -- Newborn hearing tests may provide a marker for infants at risk for sudden infant death syndrome, researchers found.  http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/GeneralPediatrics/tb2/6313

·         Childhood Hypertension Usually Goes Undiagnosed:  Boston -- Childhood hypertension is there, if only pediatricians would look for it.  But most of the time, they do not, investigators here reported.         http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/GeneralPediatrics/tb2/6466

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