Children's Health

Map of ozone changes across the country.

Traffic Is Way Down Because Of Lockdown, But Air Pollution? Not So Much

10:27am May 19, 2020

Car traffic took a big dip beginning in late March, and headlines celebrated clean air around the U.S. But an NPR analysis of EPA data tells a more troubling story.

Casa de Salud clinicians, staff and health apprentices socially distance outside their New Mexico clinic. The facility is one of many social safety net clinics that haven't yet received pandemic-related funding and are now on the brink financially.

Health & Safety

Medicaid Clinics And Doctors Have Been Last In Line For COVID-19 Relief Funding

5:00am May 18, 2020

by Julie Rovner

Congress authorized $100 billion to reimburse health care providers for losses linked to the pandemic, but much of that money has gone for Medicare patients, with low-income families left behind.

A newborn baby girl receives treatment for the gun wound in her right leg received during the attack on a maternity clinic in Kabul this week. The gunmen killed her mother.

OPINION: We Shouldn't Have To Ask That Babies And Mothers Not Be Killed. Yet We Must

8:21am May 16, 2020

After a brutal attack in Kabul, activists in Afghanistan write: "Our people are targeted and killed on a daily basis. Afghan women are calling for an end to it."

Nurses and newborns in Hotel Venice, a facility owned by BioTexCom clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday. Dozens of babies born to surrogate mothers are stranded in Ukraine as the coronavirus restrictions prevent foreign parents from collecting them.

Surrogate-Born Babies Wait In Ukraine Amid Coronavirus Travel Restrictions

2:55pm May 15, 2020

by Charles Maynes

The pandemic has hit the global business of surrogate birthing, leaving many infants and their new parents thousands of miles apart.

Research indicates that smokers and vapers are at increased risk of more serious illness if they get infected with the novel coronavirus.

Health & Safety

Fear Of Contracting Coronavirus Propels Some Smokers To Quit

11:00pm May 14, 2020

by April Dembosky

Increasing evidence suggests people who smoke are more likely to become severely ill and die from COVID-19 than nonsmokers. Some people are using that as inspiration to quit.

Health & Safety

Pediatric Nurse Gives Advice On How To Deal With Changes In Child Care System

8:42am May 14, 2020

Pediatric nurse practitioner Suzannah Stivison answers listener questions about how families can cope with child care changes and stay busy during the coronavirus pandemic.

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Sesame Street's Grover Helps Kids Adapt To Life During COVID-19 Pandemic

5:14am May 14, 2020

In this time of fear and uncertainty, NPR's Life Kit team partners with Sesame Street's lovable monster, Grover, to answer some of kids' tough questions.

A patient with suspected COVID-19 arrives at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn in early April. Even as the risk of big medical bills climbs, many Americans are losing their jobs and health insurance right now.

Coronavirus Reset: How To Get Health Insurance Now

5:47pm May 13, 2020

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

At least 27 million Americans who lost their jobs in recent weeks also lost their health insurance, a new report finds. Others lacked a health plan even before COVID-19 hit. Here's how to find help.

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Child Care Providers Face Challenges Looking After The Children Of Essential Workers

4:11pm May 13, 2020

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Bryce Covert, a contributor at The Nation, about the toll child care providers are taking during the coronavirus pandemic.

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A person sprays disinfectant at a high school amid the coronavirus outbreak on Monday, in Seoul, South Korea.

South Korea Delays Reopening Schools As Coronavirus Cases Resurge

7:11pm May 12, 2020

by Se Eun Gong

The country had prepared to welcome students back to classrooms on Wednesday, but dozens of new virus cases linked to nightclubs in Seoul have emerged.