by Children's Hospital Boston staff on August 31, 2009
Recent reports indicate that some infants have lower blood oxygen levels when placed in car seats. Parents hearing this information might worry about the safety of car seats. However, all medical experts agree that car seats are essential for preventing death or injury to newborns and infants during motor vehicle travel. We strongly believe that the risk of injury from motor vehicle accidents outweighs the risk from brief episodes of lower blood oxygen levels.
The following are some steps parents can take to minimize their infant’s risks while using their car seats:
Car seats should only be used to transport children, not as a replacement for a crib or bassinet.
Remove the infant from the car seat if he/she becomes pale, blue or has trouble breathing and call for medical assistance.
Stop intermittently during long trips to remove the infant from the car seat.
Try to limit the time a newborn infant spends in the car seat to one hour.
Have a second adult in the car observe the newborn infant during travel.
Michele DeGrazia, PhD, NNP-BC, is a neonatal nurse practitioner and nurse scientist. Lawrence Rhein, MD, is the director of the Center for Healthy Infant Lung Development.
Do you spend your whole life on Facebook? Do you as a parent limit your child’s screen time? Just how much is too much…or is there even such a thing as too much when it comes to staying in touch with friends and family? Let us know below.
Chilean authorities announced that they have detected the H1N1 flu virus in turkeys, marking the first time the virus has been found outside of humans and pigs.
In a new set of guidelines, the WHO stated otherwise healthy people infected with H1N1 do not need antivirals like Tamiflu. This decision should increase availability of the drugs to those who may need them most, as the Northern Hemisphere prepares for a second wave of H1N1 infections. [click to continue…]
And now, here’s this week’s Ask the Mediatrician query:
Q:We feel “webbed out” of our teenage son’s electronic social life. Are you aware of studies tracking the psychological impact that technologies like Facebook and Twitter have on developing “normal” social skills? Shut out by Social Networking in Manchester, MA [click to continue…]
The following videos were filmed at the June 14, 2006 Family Advocacy Day, an annual event held in Washington, DC by the National Association of Children’s Hospitals where families from around the country come together to speak with Congressional lawmakers in support of children’s hospitals. For the past several years, families from around New England have traveled to DC to participate in the event and advocate on behalf of Children’s Hospital Boston.
Words cannot begin to express the loss that all of us at Children’s Hospital Boston feel at the passing of Senator Edward Kennedy yesterday. As many of you know, Senator Kennedy had a deep personal connection with this hospital as two of his children received care here. He was a regular visitor to the hospital and a warm, welcoming presence for our staff and families when we traveled to Washington. [click to continue…]
This is the first in a series of videos about Brett Nasuti, an 11-year-old Children’s Hospital Boston patient who was born allergic to 15 foods. Brett is the very first Children’s patient to go through a milk exposure desensitizationtrial—the first of its kind in the country—which could cure him of his severe milk allergy. In this video, you can watch Brett and his mom, Robyn, talk about what it’s been like for their family to live with his life-threatening condition and their hopes for the trial’s outcome.
Stay tuned each week to follow Brett as he goes through the study, during which he drinks more and more milk after getting injections to ward off allergic reactions. You can see him take his first-ever sip of milk and hear him talk about what it’s like to live with a life-threatening allergy. You can also watch Robyn shop for her two kids with food allergies (she cooks three different dinners each day for her family) and hear Brett’s classmates talk about what they’ve learned from him. Plus, check back to see Lynda Schneider, MD, the director of Children’s Allergy Program, discuss the shocking rise in food allergies and how this trial represents a path to a potential cure.
Also, in October, we’ll publish a story about Brett and the study in Dream, Children’s magazine for patients and families.
Do you have food allergies or have a child with them? How have they impacted your life?
Have thoughts about why there’s been such a dramatic increase in food allergies in recent years? Share them here.
Recent reports indicate that some infants have lower blood oxygen levels when placed in car seats. Parents hearing this information might worry about the safety of car seats. However, all medical experts agree that car seats are essential for preventing death or injury to newborns and infants during motor vehicle travel. We strongly believe that the risk of injury from motor vehicle accidents outweighs the risk from brief episodes of lower blood oxygen levels.
Here are this week’s H1N1 updates from the 
Media expert Michael Rich, MD, MPH, director of the 
Words cannot begin to express the loss that all of us at Children’s Hospital Boston feel at the passing of Senator Edward Kennedy yesterday. As many of you know, Senator Kennedy had a deep personal connection with this hospital as two of his children received care here. He was a regular visitor to the hospital and a warm, welcoming presence for our staff and families when we traveled to Washington. 
