by Mindy Calandro | May 13, 2016 | In The News, Kid's Health
Achieving the perfect swaddle, or baby burrito as I often call it, can certainly take some practice! It is amazing how wiggly 8 pounds of baby can be! Check out the video above for quick demonstration of how to swaddle your baby in both swaddle blankets as well as swaddle “pods” with velcro. If you missed my last post regarding the recent study about swaddling and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), you can check it out...
by Mindy Calandro | May 11, 2016 | Favorite Products, In The News, Kid's Health
I don’t know if I would have made it out of the newborn period with any of my three children without swaddling. It was like magic for my kiddos…as soon as the last piece of velcro was fastened and they were picked up for a gentle swinging and shushing session, they were asleep. Swaddling is something that I often discuss at newborn visits as a great way to calm down a fussy baby, so you can imagine my surprise to see the headlines this week stating “Swaddling may increase the risks of SIDS.” Should parents run to immediately get rid of those swaddle blankets? Not so fast. The greatest increase SIDS risk was in those infants who were swaddled and placed to sleep on their side or stomach or in older swaddled infants. The headline came after a study which will be published in the June edition of Pediatrics looked into the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and swaddling (click here to see the full article). This present study evaluated data from 4 previous studies that were conducted between 1998-2006 in 3 areas of the world: England in the UK, Tasmania in Australia, and Chicago, Illinois here in the US. The outcome of this analysis showed that the risk of SIDS was much higher in infants who were swaddled and placed on their side or on their stomach to sleep, and the risk of SIDS in swaddled infants increased with the age of the infant. Swaddling, while not clearly defined in this article, generally means wrapping of a baby from the shoulders down with a blanket of...
by Mindy Calandro | Apr 29, 2016 | In The News, Kid Nutrition, Kid's Health
When you hear the word “arsenic,” your mind probably thinks about secret poisonings and the stuff that a good plot line of a murder mystery saga would be made of. However, in the past few weeks, “arsenic” and “infant baby cereals” have been in the same breath in news headlines. How is it possible that these two things could even be related, and do you need to throw your infant rice cereal into a hazmat bag? Read on to find out. Arsenic is naturally occurring in the Earth’s crust and can be found in water, soil and air. It is also, surprisingly to some, found in our food and water supply. Arsenic can be found in two forms- organic and inorganic- and it is the inorganic form that is more worrisome as it has been linked with various cancers and decreased performance on developmental tests. You may be wondering how a harmful substance such as arsenic could make it into our food supply, but the answer is quite simple…irrigation and rain! Drinking water is considered safe as long as the arsenic level is less than 10 parts per billion. Rain water run off and even water through irrigation systems can lead to arsenic getting into our crops. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been monitoring the level of arsenic in our water and food supply for decades, and with recent technology that can differentiate the types of arsenic in foods (i.e the testing can pick out the inorganic form), there has been some concerned raised about the level of arsenic in several common staple foods, most importantly, rice....
by Mindy Calandro | Jul 30, 2015 | In The News, Kid's Health
“Brain-eating amoeba found in water supply.” WHOA! What may sound like the plot line to an upcoming horror flick has actually been the news headlines across some areas of south Louisiana over the past few weeks after several parishes around Baton Rouge and New Orleans were found to have public water systems that tested positive for an ameba. Before you start stocking up on bottled water or heading North, here is what you need to know about this ameba and the rare illness it can cause. Just what is the organism causing all the concern? Naegleria fowleri is an ameba, which means it is a single-cell living organism, that is microscopic in size and was originally discovered in 1965 in Australia. This ameba loves warm water and is therefore commonly found in Southern climates in warm, freshwater environments such as lakes, rivers, and hot springs. Although less common, Naegleria can also be found in improperly treated swimming pools during hot summer months and in public drinking water that does not have the appropriate chlorine levels. Naegleria cannot live in salt water which is why the ocean is not one of their habitats. What type of infection does this ameba cause? Well, here is where the “brain-eating” headline comes into play. Naegleria causes primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) which is a severe and often deadly brain infection. The ameba can only cause this infection though by entering the brain through the nose. When contaminated water enters the nose, often forcefully as in diving, Naegleria follows along the nerves of the nose and enters the brain through the bones and cartilage...
by Mindy Calandro | Jun 17, 2015 | In The News, Kid's Health
After reading my post from last week, you know what to look for on the front of that bottle of sunscreen (click here in case you missed it). As you head out to the store to stock up on your broad spectrum, SPF 30, water resistant sunscreen before your weekend trip to the pool/beach/T-ball tournament, you happen to stumble across a headline on your Facebook news feed that reads something like “Sunscreens can be dangerous for your children.” Geeze! As a parent who is just trying to protect their child from those harmful UV rays from the sun, now you read a story proclaiming that the exact thing recommended to keep them safe, can in fact, cause them harm. What is a parent to do? Well, first let’s try to understand what these headlines are really about, and this time, we will go to the back of the sunscreen bottle. There are two main classes of ingredients used in sunscreens- mineral and chemical filters. Mineral based sunscreens contain either zinc oxide or titanium dioxide which provide a physical barrier on the skin to protect it from the sun’s rays…they literally make the UV rays bounce off the skin. These provide protection from both UV A and B rays. However, the downside to mineral based sunscreens is that they can be difficult to rub in which can leave not only a white film covering the skin (or hot pink or blue if you remember those zinc noses that lifeguards had in the 90’s) but also makes it difficult to get uniform coverage to all of the skin. Chemical filters,...
by Mindy Calandro | Apr 16, 2015 | In The News, Kid's Health
For those of us in the South, summertime is just around the corner (or let’s face it…the humidity that hits you in the face when you walk outside pretty much says it is already here), and what says summer more than sweet, scrumptious Louisiana strawberries, strawberry cheesecake snowballs (with condensed milk, of course), and, the All American, favorite summer dessert of all summer desserts - ice cream. But if ice cream is on your shopping list, make sure you are aware of a recent and expanding recall by Blue Bell Creameries. This recall comes after 8 cases, which include 3 deaths, of Listeria monocytogenes that have contaminated ice cream and several other Blue Bell products. To help you and your family avoid this issue until Blue Bell can get this all sorted out, here are some facts about this situation and the disease behind it. What is Listeriosis? Listeria monocytogenes is a bacteria that can cause contamination of food and can lead to rare, but serious, medical problems in certain people. The symptoms of listeriosis include fever, headache, malaise, and gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea after ingesting a contaminated food product. The most common foods associated with listeriosis include unpasteurized milk and soft cheese, deli meats, hot dogs, and unwashed vegetables. If you have ingested a food contaminated with Listeria, the window for becoming ill is variable and ranges from 1 day up to 3 weeks. Who is at greatest risk for Listeriosis? The highest risk populations are those with low or non-functioning immune systems, those over 65 years of age, and pregnant women. There is a substantial...
