Children's Health

The proportion of elective early deliveries under Medicaid has declined but remains a problem.

Health & Safety

Despite Decline, Elective Early Births Remain A Medicaid Problem

1:00pm December 10, 2014

by Phil Galewitz

The rate for early elective delivery for women covered by Medicaid has fallen since 2007. Still, the early births remain common and are a potential source of health trouble for mothers and babies.

According to a national poll on children's health, over 80 percent of parents believe all children in day care should be required to be up to date on their vaccines.

When It Comes To Day Care, Parents Want All Children Vaccinated

10:07am December 09, 2014

by Alison Bruzek

Parents have strong opinions about vaccination, a poll of parents done by the University of Michigan finds. Most want day care centers to require that children are up to date on their shots.

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Chart: Toy-Related Injuries Among Children Treated in U.S. Emergency Rooms

Health & Safety

Unhappy Toy Story: Foot-Powered Scooters Drive ER Visits

9:06am December 08, 2014

by Scott Hensley

A look at injuries that sent kids to the emergency room shows an Everest-like mountain of problems with scooters. After falling slightly from a 2001 peak, the scooter injuries started to rise again.

Samples of carrots cooked three ways are placed on a table for the kids at Walker-Jones Educational Campus, in Washington, D.C., to sample after they have finished lunch. The crowd favorite will later end up on the school lunch menu.

Of Carrots And Kids: Healthy School Lunches That Don't Get Tossed

10:50am December 05, 2014

by Dan Charles

You can lead children to vegetables, but can you make them eat? In one school lunch program, kids will tell you upfront what they think of your veggies — and what you should do with them.

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Makutu Jabateh hugs her daughter, Mabana Konneh, 5, as the little girl returns home to her neighborhood in Jacobstown, Monrovia.

For Ebola Orphans In Liberia, It's A Bittersweet New Beginning

3:57pm December 04, 2014

by Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

After being quarantined for weeks, 18 children in Monrovia are ready to go to new homes or reunite with extended family. But it's not all smiles as the children remember the family they lost.

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Blind From Birth, But Able To Use Sound To 'See' Faces

2:04pm December 04, 2014

by Jon Hamilton

The area of the brain that recognizes faces can use sound instead of sight. That recent discovery suggests facial recognition is so important to humans that it's part of our most basic wiring.

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CDC Considers Counseling Males Of All Ages On Circumcision

8:18am December 04, 2014

by Nancy Shute

Citing reduced risk of HIV and other sexually acquired diseases, the federal agency says health care providers should discuss circumcision with men as well as parents of infants and teen boys.

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Julianna Deardorff (left) is a clinical psychologist and is on the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health. Louise Greenspan is a clinical pediatric endocrinologist at Kaiser Permanente and is on the faculty at University

Books
Arts

How Girls Are Developing Earlier In An Age Of 'New Puberty'

8:32am December 03, 2014

Two doctors wrote a book that probes the environmental, biological and socioeconomic factors contributing to early puberty. These girls face risks like anxiety and depression, one author says.

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The use of infant bedding by mother's age, between 1993 and 2010. Data provided by the National Infant Sleep Position Study.

Health & Safety

Doctors Warn That Soft Bedding Puts Babies At Risk

3:15pm December 02, 2014

by Alison Bruzek

Pediatricians have been telling parents for years that soft bedding, such as pillows and blankets, raises the risk of suffocation for babies. But many parents don't seem to be paying attention.

In the 1983 movie A Christmas Story, all Ralphie wanted was a BB gun.

Eyeing That BB Gun For Christmas? Don't Go There, Doctors Say

7:59am December 01, 2014

by Nancy Shute

Sure as the season, some toys that turn up on the most-popular lists are also considered a safety hazard. So best to skip the LED crossbow, eye doctors say.