Health

When Jenna Sauter's youngest son, Axel, tested positive for THC — marijuana's active ingredient — after he was born, she got a home visit from local social services. Sauter says she and her friends don't smoke near their children.

Is Smoking Pot While Pregnant Safe For The Baby?

2:31pm January 29, 2018

by Sarah Varney

Adults in a growing number of states can now legally use marijuana without a doctor's prescription. But obstetricians worry pregnant women don't realize the drug could hurt their kids.

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A review of the evidence suggests that alerting people — by text, phone call or other method — when they're due or overdue to get a particular vaccination can boost immunization rates.

Got Your Flu Shot Yet? Consider This A Reminder

7:11am January 29, 2018

by Patti Neighmond

A research review suggests reminding people when their vaccinations are due or overdue increases the number of people who get immunized.

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Philadelphia Plans Supervised Drug Injection Sites

7:56am January 28, 2018

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with Philadelphia health commissioner Thomas Farley and Vancouver doctor Mark Lysyshyn about Philadelphia's decision to allow supervised drug injection sites.

Sara's nephew and Wendy's son Benny painted this image of a heart that hangs in the author's home.

Children Who Survive Congenital Heart Defects Can Face New Problems As Adults

6:00am January 28, 2018

by Wendy Wolfson

It was a medical miracle: Surgery that made it possible for babies born with heart defects to live to adulthood. But for some, those mended hearts start to falter decades later.

By mid-January, there had been nearly 5,000 reported cases of diphtheria in the camps and 33 deaths.

Health & Safety

Rare Disease Finds Fertile Ground In Rohingya Refugee Camps

9:42pm January 27, 2018

by Jason Beaubien

Diphtheria is not seen in the West because almost everyone is vaccinated against it. But it's been infecting thousands of the refugees in Bangladesh.

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Health & Safety

Flu Season Is Hitting Hard

8:21am January 27, 2018

by Rob Stein

This year's nasty flu season is showing few signs of slowing down. In fact, it's getting worse in lots of places, with baby boomers being hit unusually hard.

Dunn carefully loads Holt into the van as her mom, Meagan Holt, looks on.

No Car, No Care? Medicaid Transport Program Faces Cuts In Some States

6:00am January 27, 2018

by JoNel Aleccia

For more than 50 years, the health program for the poor and sick has been required to ferry some clients to and from medical appointments. But a few states say transport is currently too expensive.

A computer-enhanced scan of a brain shows a hemorrhage due to hypertension.

Africa Is Suffering A Silent Crisis Of Stroke

6:04pm January 26, 2018

by Tim McDonnell

The largest-ever study of stroke patients in Africa reveals a high rate of a particularly risky type of brain incident. What's the problem? And what's the solution?

The revelation that a favorite uncle had died from a long-hidden drug habit shook Dr. Andrey Ostrovsky to his core. Last month Ostrovksy quit his job as Medicaid's chief medical officer and joined a group that's working to dispel the shame of addiction.

An Uncle's Overdose Spurs Medicaid Official To Change Course

3:44pm January 26, 2018

by Emmarie Huetteman

Dr. Andrey Ostrovsky, until recently chief medical officer for Medicaid, quit his job to more directly fight the stigma of addiction — a stigma that made his beloved uncle afraid to ask for help.

Flu Season Rages On, Hitting Baby Boomers Unusually Hard

2:52pm January 26, 2018

Flu is widespread throughout the country, according to latest federal numbers. Those 65 and older are the most affected, but baby boomers are ending up in the hospital at an unusually high rate.