Babies May Benefit from Co-Sleeping
In most of the world, it is common practice for parents and babies to sleep together. In the United States and several other countries, including Britain, Germany, and parts of western Europe, parents tend to put babies in their own beds and usually in a separate room. This custom is largely due to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) warnings about…
EpiPen’s Notorious Marketing Model
It’s a great business model: Start (or find) a life-threatening trend, develop (or acquire) a product absolutely necessary to counteract that trend, then gradually raise the cost until you find the highest price the market will bear. No wonder Mylan, the company that owns the EpiPen, is being compared—and unfavorably yet—to Turing Pharmaceuticals and its former chief executive Marti Shkreli, the man…
The Question of Vitamin K for Newborns
Essentially all human infants are born with very low blood levels of vitamin K and, since low amounts of vitamin K crosses into breast milk, levels remain low for several weeks after birth in breastfed babies. The purpose of this natural, universal experience of low vitamin K levels in newborns is not known. Has Mother Nature really made a mistake? Or is there a perfectly good reason…
Leptospirosis Vaccine May Be Killing Dogs
Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease spread through the urine of infected rats, wildlife, and canines. Although it is treatable with antibiotics if it is caught early, the disease can be fatal to dogs—particularly puppies and young animals. Symptoms can range from mild lethargy and depression, to more serious symptoms like abdominal pain, jaundice, and liver damage. Leptospirosis illness leads…
The Cost of America’s Childhood Asthma Epidemic
Chronic diseases are the leading cause of death and disability in the United States. The prevalence of chronic diseases among children continue to rise1 with asthma being one of the most common chronic disorders in childhood affecting an estimated 7.1 million children under 18 years of age, of which 4.1 million suffered from an asthma attack or an episode in 2011. Asthma is a chronic…
Unraveling the Mystery of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death
There are five main causes for infant mortality: birth defects, maternal health complications, unintentional injuries, preterm-related causes of death, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). It is particularly with SIDS, however, that many questions persist and remain unanswered. SIDS is defined as “infant deaths that cannot be explained after a thorough case investigation, including a…