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 such as images of infants shown sleeping on their stomachs or promotion of unsafe toys such as infant walkers. “On an individual per-ad basis, there were relatively few egregious contradictions. But our concern is that repeatedly seeing images with unsafe practices–especially in a place where new and seasoned parents look for advice–can lead parents to assume these activities are endorsed by the experts at the magazines and lead to unsafe practices at the home,” said lead author Michael B. Pitt, MD, FAAP, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital. Read more here.
New Study About Infant Visual Development Researchers from the IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation and the University of Pisa used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to record brain activity in 7-week-olds while they were visually engaged and then again while they were asleep. The results showed a surprisingly mature visual brain. Understanding the precise location of different visual areas in the infant brain and the extent of their maturation, will ultimately guide clinicians in the effort to chose appropriate rehabilitation strategies during the right time-windows. Read about the study here.
Staff Infections that Respond to Antibiotics are More Common and Similarly Deadly as Antibiotic-Resistant Strains Staff infections are a frequent cause of infection in hospitalized infants. Research by experts at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and the Duke Clinical Research Institute shows that strains of staph infections that respond to antibiotic treatment have just as high a mortality rate and affect more than twice as many babies as antibiotic-resistant strains. The findings suggest doctors should pay as much attention to staff infections that respond to antibiotics and include appropriate screening protocols at hospital newborn intensive care units as they do for resistant strains. Read the article here.
This News Roundup was compiled and co-authored by Jean Kurnik, M.A.
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