Research on the health and development of babies. Covers motor development, maternal-infant health, cochlear implants, and infant nutrition.
Researchers at the University of Alberta and University of Manitoba identified a link between infant gut bacteria and future food sensitization. The study found that infants with fewer diverse gut bacteria at three months old were more likely to develop food allergies by one year old.
A study published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery found that conservative treatment effectively corrected skull flattening in over 77% of infants. Helmet therapy was also highly effective, especially for those who didn't respond to initial conservative treatment.
A new simplified feeding approach improves growth and reduces hospital stays in NICU babies. The program results in earlier oral feeds and exclusive oral feeding, leading to shorter stays and lower costs.
A study of European children found that spending over two hours daily watching TV increases the risk of high blood pressure by 30%. Not engaging in physical activity or doing less than an hour of exercise daily also raises this risk by 50%
A Dartmouth College study found that formula-fed infants have higher arsenic levels in their urine compared to breast-fed infants. Breast milk contains very low arsenic concentrations, highlighting the importance of breastfeeding as a way to reduce arsenic exposure.
A new study found that consuming peanut-containing snacks from infancy can prevent peanut allergy in high-risk infants. In contrast, avoiding peanuts led to a higher risk of developing the allergy by age 5. The findings suggest a shift in advice for parents and healthcare providers to promote early consumption of allergenic foods.
A clinical trial found that introducing peanut products to the diets of infants at high risk of developing peanut allergy led to an 81% reduction in subsequent allergy development. The study, supported by NIH/NIAID, suggests a new approach to preventing peanut allergy.
The LEAP study shows that frequent consumption of peanut starting within the first 11 months of life protects high-risk infants from developing peanut allergy by age 5. The study found a greater than 80% reduction in the prevalence of peanut allergy among participants who consumed peanut.
A new study reveals that securely attached infants and young children are less likely to develop social anxiety in their teens. The researchers found that a strong parent-child bond is crucial in preventing potential teen anxiety, particularly for boys.
Research at Cardiology 2015 Conference highlights key findings on brain injury in infants with critical congenital heart disease, reduced radiation exposure in pediatric cardiac cath procedures, improved survival rates with goal-directed CPR, and no link found between pre-operative enteral feeding and NEC in newborn cardiac surgery.
Research shows that 13-month-old babies can comprehend complex social interactions by using their understanding of others' perspectives and social evaluation skills. They exhibit reactions to different scenarios, including friendly and hit-witnessed characters, indicating the beginnings of assigning meaning to social situations.
Researchers report a breakthrough in treating hypophosphatasia, a fatal genetic bone disease, by combining bone marrow transplants with mesenchymal stem cell transplants. The treatment has shown promising results in improving bone mineralization and survival rates for infants with severe hypophosphatasia.
A study reveals that infants with a mature gut bacteria profile at an early age tend to have normal levels of body fat by 18 months, while those with less mature profiles are more likely to have lower body fat. The research found that gestational duration and delivery method influenced the rate of bacterial colonization in the infant gut.
Researchers found that vaginally delivered infants with longer gestations tended to develop more mature gut microbiota faster, while those born via Caesarean section took longer to acquire a healthy gut microbiota, leading to differences in body fat at 18 months.
Infants as young as 13 months old can comprehend complex social scenarios, taking into account who knows what about whom. They are able to make inferences about others' behavior based on the information they have learned, indicating that they are developing essential skills for assessing social situations and making relevant judgments.
The EPIPAGE 2 study found a significant improvement in the survival of premature infants in France, with survival rates increasing by 14% for infants born between 25-29 weeks. However, results for extremely premature infants show little progress, highlighting the need for better care and monitoring.
Research found that infant brain activity changes during sleep, forming categories and transferring learned names to similar objects. Infants who slept showed better categorization skills than those who stayed awake, suggesting a significant impact of sleep on memory consolidation.
A new study found that Dutch babies laugh, smile, and cuddle more than their US counterparts. US infants were typically more active and vocal, while Dutch babies demonstrated greater expressions of happiness during routine activities and were easier to calm when upset.
A study published in the Journal of Pediatrics identified salivary biomarkers that can accurately predict oral feeding readiness in preterm newborns. The researchers found that a combination of gene amplification techniques and advanced computational analysis tools can identify specific genes associated with oral feeding success.
A recent study published in PLOS Genetics reveals that lysosomal dysfunction may be the underlying cause of infant failure to thrive. This condition occurs when infants are unable to absorb essential nutrients, leading to delayed growth and weight gain issues.
A new study found that infants show specific brain activity patterns when receiving vaccinations, which may help develop improved vaccination techniques and pain-relieving treatments. The researchers used EEG measurements to identify these patterns, which appeared earlier in younger infants and were more consistent in older children.
New research published in Psychological Science suggests that mothers may speak less clearly to their infants than they do to adults. The study found that mothers tend to use cutesy words and a sing-song voice when talking to babies, but still pronounce sounds slightly less distinctly than when addressing adults.
A new project at the University of Washington is working to ensure that children with autism are identified and helped early enough to prevent problems later on. The initiative uses a Web-based screening system and simple play-based interventions to identify and treat toddlers at risk for autism.
Babies as young as 15 months can learn communicative skills from commercial videos, recognizing and producing signs with similar accuracy to parents' instructions. The study contradicts previous research on limited learning potential in this age group.
A Stanford study found that nearly 20% of very-low-birth-weight babies in California were not referred to the state's high-risk infant follow-up program. Larger neonatal intensive care units and referrals were more common among premature or medically fragile infants.
New research published in The Lancet Psychiatry suggests that video-based therapy can modify the emergence of autism-related behaviors and symptoms in infants at risk of autism. The therapy showed improvements in infant engagement, attention, and social behavior, with a moderate effect on reducing some children's risk of autism.
The study found a significant decrease in mortality rates among extremely premature infants between 2000 and 2011, with the largest declines observed in infants born at 23 or 24 weeks of gestation. Deaths attributed to respiratory distress syndrome and immaturity accounted for the majority of the reduction in mortality.
Researchers discovered that trauma-related cues from infancy can lower depressive-like behavior in adults, contrary to previous expectations. The study found that these cues altered the brain's serotonin levels, leading to mood uplift and alleviating depression in grown rats.
A new study from the University of Sheffield found that daytime naps of 30 minutes or more help infants retain and remember new behaviors. Infants who did not nap showed no evidence of remembering the new information and behavior.
Infants who slept for at least half an hour within four hours of learning reproduced significantly more actions than those who did not sleep. Timely sleep facilitates declarative memory consolidation in infants, according to a study by Ruhr-University Bochum researchers.
A CU Denver study reveals that experiencing racial discrimination during pregnancy can significantly impact a woman's physical health and pass these effects on to her infant. The research found an association between maternal ethnic discrimination and increased levels of stress hormones in pregnant women and their infants.
A study by researchers at NYU and McGill University found that monolingual infants expect others to understand only one language, while bilingual infants do not share this assumption. The findings suggest that infants may see a good communication partner as someone who speaks the same language they were raised with.
Researchers find that listening to human speech promotes infants' cognitive, social psychological capacities and has positive developmental consequences. Infants as young as 2-3 months old benefit from tuning in to speech, leading to better understanding of patterns, recognizing partners, and establishing coherent categories.
The journal presents studies on playfulness in dogs, dolphins, frogs, and octopuses, as well as its connection to humor, social bonding, and creativity. Researchers investigate how experiences in infancy shape a person's sense of humor and how playfulness affects adaptability and social success.
A study found that deeper or longer duration cooling did not improve outcomes for full-term infants with moderate or severe hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. Longer cooling and deeper cooling has been shown to be neuroprotective in animal models, but its effectiveness was not observed in this trial.
Researchers highlight four areas of concern for parents and practitioners: normal sleep patterns, nightwakings, parental presence at bedtime, and safe sleep training. The study aims to educate nurse practitioners on sharing current knowledge with parents to promote healthy nighttime care choices.
A longitudinal study found that children with a behaviorally inhibited temperament and insecure parent-infant attachment are more likely to develop social anxiety in adolescence. This association is strongest among youth who reacted angrily to separation from their parents as infants.
A new study reveals that warm vinyl crib mattress covers release higher levels of phthalates, which can increase infant exposure four-fold. The preliminary findings suggest the need for further investigation into the potential risks posed by alternative phthalates.
The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation will receive funding to improve early infant diagnosis of HIV, enabling a ten-fold increase in HIV treatment and universal access. The project aims to reach rural communities with limited access to testing and treatment services.
Research suggests that talking to babies and naming things in their world can help them make connections between what they see and hear. Training with individual-level labels in infancy leads to long lasting learning effects that generalize from the trained images to human faces.
Research shows adding chemotherapy drug carboplatin or blood vessel-targeting drug bevacizumab to standard preoperative chemotherapy increases pathologic complete response rates for women with basal-like triple-negative breast cancer. The drugs also showed benefits in certain gene signatures associated with aggressive disease.
Researchers found that parrots and crows, particularly New Caledonian crows, Goffin cockatoos, Black Palm cockatoos, and Kea, demonstrated complex object-object combinations during play. These species also combined their toys with playground objects at high rates.
A study by Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research found that exposure to volatile organic compounds from new flooring before and after birth can cause breathing problems in early childhood. Renovations during pregnancy significantly increase the risk of wheezing in infants, particularly those with asthma or allergies.
A new study published in the European Respiratory Journal suggests that toddlers who share a bed with their parents are more likely to develop asthma in later childhood. Researchers found an association between bed-sharing at two years old and increased wheezing symptoms in early childhood.
A study published in the American Journal of Perinatology found that severely premature infants (23 weeks gestation) have higher death rates if born male, as multiples or without access to neonatal care. Lower birth weights and lack of steroid exposure before birth also increase disability risk.
New research reveals RSV mortality rates are significantly lower than previously estimated, affecting mostly premature babies and those with preexisting conditions. Most hospitalizations due to RSV can be managed with minimal complications.
Researchers found that on young worlds, the Habitable Zone is located farther away from the star than previously thought. This means that infant planets can be spotted earlier by next-generation telescopes when their star is still young.
A Swedish-US research team analyzed over 1.8 million births to find that maternal overweight and obesity increase infant mortality risk, with grade 2-3 obesity linked to more than doubled infant deaths. The study found modest increased risks for overweight mothers and significant increases for those with severe obesity.
A recent study found that nearly 55 percent of US infants sleep with potentially unsafe bedding, increasing the risk of sudden infant death syndrome. The researchers analyzed data from over 20,000 caregivers and reported a decline in safe sleep practices despite awareness campaigns.
Research on Tanzanian chimpanzees reveals that the mothers of sons are 25% more social than those of daughters. They spend more time with other adults and associate with more kin, which helps their young males develop social skills. This finding suggests a potential link between early social exposure and gender-typical behavior in humans.
Babies as young as five months old can recall positive emotional interactions with caregivers, but struggle to remember negative ones. Researchers used eye-tracking tests to measure infant memory, finding that happy voices and emotions significantly improved shape recognition and recall.
A new study from UNC's Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute reveals that disruptions in child care negatively affect children's social development as early as age 4. However, the effects of child care instability are not unduly large, and some types of instability appear to have no negative impact on children.
Researchers at UTHealth will study the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri to prevent and ease NEC in animal models. The study aims to decipher the optimal dose and mechanism of action of the probiotic and its effects on intestinal inflammation.
Researchers presented findings on the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in infants, which showed promise for improving survival rates. Additionally, studies investigated the long-term cardiac risk in survivors of the Fontan operation for congenital heart disease, revealing a significant risk of late myocardial infarction.
New wearable baby monitors are marketed as a solution to reduce parents' fears of SIDS, but no medical evidence supports their effectiveness. Experts call for prominent disclaimers and caution against relying on these devices for health benefits.
A recent study published in JPEN found that premature infants who received sodium supplementation gained weight faster, had lower rates of hyponatremia, and no increased risk of prematurity-related morbidities. The researchers recommend further studies to determine the optimal dose and duration of sodium therapy.
A study led by NYU Langone Medical Center found that a mother's soothing presence can alter gene activity in an infant's brain, reducing pain and promoting emotional development. This research offers new insights into the short-term effects of maternal caregiving on a developing brain.
A new study found a strong link between environmental exposure to peanut protein during infancy and an allergic response to peanuts in children who have eczema early in life. Exposure to peanut in dust doubled the risk of peanut allergy, particularly in children with a history of eczema.
Researchers have found that premature infants are exposed to unsafe levels of di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP), a chemical used in many plastic devices. The study suggests that this exposure may contribute to illness and long-term health problems.
New research from the University of Leeds shows that adding vegetable puree to milk during weaning can significantly increase infants' vegetable intake. The study found that babies who consumed milk with added puree ate nearly half as many vegetables as those who only had plain milk.