Category: Pediatrics

Breastfeeding is best, but why do some countries struggle?

Breastfeeding provides ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants; it is also an integral part of the reproductive process with important implications for the health of mothers. Breastfeeding has numerous health benefits for both the …

Toy magnets need to be banned for good

Over the course of little more than a month, we removed 54 tiny toy magnets from the digestive systems of four children. They were lucky: Despite invasive procedures and operations to repair holes in their intestines, their injuries were treated in tim…

Someone who is both a recalcitrant skeptic and an ardent proponent of childhood vaccines

Amid the contentious dispute over immunization requirements for children, Kelley Watson Snyder stands out: She has been both a recalcitrant skeptic and an ardent proponent of childhood vaccines. Snyder, a Monterey, Calif., mother of two, was a so-calle…

How a collarbone fracture made this physician remember her past

One of my most vivid early memories is from when I broke my collarbone.  In a first-grade relay race, kids were running at top speeds in opposite directions, so it was no surprise that I collided into a classmate.  I was knocked to the ground and cried…

When doctors are right

As I was scrolling through my Facebook feed one morning, I noticed an article with a title starting with: “When Doctors are Wrong” with a picture of a newborn baby with a breathing tube in the NICU. I immediately opened the article and star…

When doctors are right

As I was scrolling through my Facebook feed one morning, I noticed an article with a title starting with: “When Doctors are Wrong” with a picture of a newborn baby with a breathing tube in the NICU. I immediately opened the article and star…

How to raise a resilient child

An excerpt from the Mayo Clinic Guide to Raising a Healthy Child. If you look it up in the dictionary, you might see the term resilience explained as having the ability to bounce or spring back into shape after being compressed, stretched or bent. Tree…

The scourge of the pediatric urgent care fellowship

I am one of those lucky souls who actually likes their job. Since I completed my pediatrics residency two years ago, I have been working in urgent care settings. What’s not to like? I get to see a wide variety of patients, I’m always learning something…

Why an asthma action plan is so important for children

Asthma is a common childhood condition. Estimates are that around 8 percent of all children have it. The incidence had been steadily increasing for many years, but some recent data suggest the burden of the disease in children may have leveled off over…

Do after-hours call centers send too many children to the ER?

A large number of pediatric practices these days use after-hours call centers for parents who have questions about a sick child. I’ve been looking around to find some data about how common this is, but my sense is that the majority of pediatricians use…