Category Archives: News

With a heavy heart we share some very sad news. Ron Lally, Co-Director of WestEd’s Center for Child and Family Studies and creator of the For Our Babies campaign, passed away January 22, 2020. His passing was unexpected and peaceful. The enormity of this devastating loss is overwhelming. We have lost an extraordinary person, a […]

Study of Advertisements in Parenting Magazines Don’t Always Show Safe Practices A new study found a surprisingly high number of advertisements in the top U.S. parenting magazines show images or products that contradict health and safety recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Researchers found nearly 1 in 6 ads had at least one offense […]

More Hospitals Following Breastfeeding Standards According to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, the percentage of US hospitals that follow international guidelines to promote breastfeeding (designating them “baby-friendly”) has grown from 29 percent in 2007 to 54 percent in 2013. The steps include 10 practices endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics.  […]

Infants are Capable of Sleeping for Long Periods by 3 Months of Age Using infrared video cameras to make overnight recordings of 101 London infants, researchers at the University of London found that “Infants are capable of resettling themselves back to sleep by three months of age.” Three-month olds fed solely breast milk were as […]

Study Shows Significant Decline in Free Formula Packs Given To New Moms Breastfeeding has a multitude of health benefits for both baby and mom which is why the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that mothers exclusively breastfeed their babies for the first six months of life. Advocates have long complained that the practice of giving […]

Research Shows Pregnant Women Not Consuming Sufficient Quantity of Omega-3  A source of Omega 3 fatty acids is required during pregnancy for fetal and placental development and during lactation. Omega 3 is critical for the development of the infant and in particular, for brain development. Implications of the Canadian study also suggest that a supplement […]

Many of California’s Smallest Babies Are Not Being Referred For Necessary Follow-up Care A new study by researchers at the Stanford School of Medicine, the California Prenatal Quality Care Collaborative, and the California Department of Health Care Services has found that 20% of very-low-birth-weight babies born in California during 2010 and 2011, were not referred […]

Folic Acid Supplementation Prevents Serious Neural Tube Birth Defects Each Year Neural tube defects (NTDs) are birth defects of the brain and spine. About 3,000 pregnancies in the U.S. still are affected by NTDs annually, but the number of babies born in the United States with these conditions has declined by 35 percent since 1998, […]