Should you bank your baby’s cord blood?

Should you bank your baby's cord blood? Image of feet of newborn, with baby wrapped up in pink blanket

Expectant parents (including my own children) often ask me about banking their newborn’s cord blood. They see a lot of information about “cord blood banking” in their obstetricians offices, on the internet and via comments on their social media sites. The American Academy of Pediatrics released updated guidelines on “cord blood banking for potential future […]

Every new parent should take CPR classes

CPR classes: infant dummy first aid demonstration series - First aid instructor showing how to position infant head before proceeding to mouth-to-mouth resuscitation - view from above

I was seeing a newborn the other day, and the parents had a great idea. Their baby had spit up, and they were concerned about how to clear his airway. When we discussed how to hold the baby to clear the airway they had the great idea of having a CPR “teaching party” for a […]

The Kid’s Doctor: How to calm a fussy infant

Mother with long red hair standing by window with her crying infant

So you are home from the hospital with your newborn baby and suddenly realize that the babies you see on TV never cry, but your newborn is not reading the same script. All babies have some fussy times, and this is especially true of a newborn in the first few months of life. While a […]

Breast milk can protect preemies

Sleeping newborn baby

Source: John Hopkins Medicine The immune-boosting properties of breast milk have long been known. Now a team of scientists led by Johns Hopkins pediatric surgeon-in-chief David Hackam, M.D., Ph.D., says experiments in mice reveal how breast milk works to ward off the development of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a devastating intestinal disorder that affects 12 percent […]