©iStockphoto.com/Mike_Kiev

For parents concerned about vaccine safety, the news just got worse. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have announced a temporary suspension of the rotavirus vaccine, Rotarix. Manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, Rotarix prevents rotavirus infection, the most common cause of severe diarrhea and dehydration in children. The FDA recently learned that fragments of an unrelated virus were found in Rotarix. According to the FDA, “there is no evidence at this time that this finding poses a safety risk.” However, as a precautionary measure, the FDA and the CDC have suspended use of the vaccine…

read more

©iStockphoto.com/3bugsmom

Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a report citing most U.S. infants are not consuming enough vitamin D (essential for healthy bones!). According to the 2008 recommendation, infants and children should receive 400IU/day (double the amount recommended in 2003). Today, they acknowledge a simple fact: it’s not happening. Babies and young children aren’t getting what they need. And the reason? Infants would have to consume upwards of 1 liter per day of breast milk or formula (that’s about 33 ounces by the way!) to maintain their daily vitamin D intake. It should come as no surprise then that…

read more

The business license application was nearly complete. The only thing missing was the company name. The clerk was growing impatient, so I quickly chose Daddy, Mommy and Me , mainly because it described my target audience—moms, dads, babies. Amy’s Baby Company was chosen in desperation after I was forced to abandon Daddy, Mommy and Me. Legally I knew it was mine. Financially I couldn’t afford to defend it. Lesson learned—register any future name. At the time, I thought Amy’s Babies was an obvious choice; until I was asked on more than one occasion if we sold babies. However, I think…

read more

©iStockphoto.com/BlackJack3D

As you’re planning your activities for this weekend, you might want to add Earth Hour to your Saturday schedule. Beginning at 8:30 p.m. local time (wherever you are) on March 27th, participants will turn off their lights to raise awareness for energy conservation and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Earth Hour began in 2007 as a cooperative effort between World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the city of Sydney, Australia.  In 2008, the event went global, and videos on the event that year and the event in 2009 impress with displays of candlelight celebrations and renowned landmarks going dark worldwide.

We can’t think of a better excuse to…

read more

Tip: Choose toys with parts larger than one-and-three-quarters inches in size, about the diameter of a toilet paper roll. ©iStockphoto.com/jaroon

Two-and-a-half-year-old Sam wants to do everything his older siblings do. He wants to play with the toys they play with. He wants to eat the foods they eat. He wants to handle the coins they do. As a parent, I know that is not always the best (or safest) decision. After all, choking caused by food, coins or toys is a common form of injury and death among children. It is the fourth most common cause of accidental death in children…

read more

©iStockphoto.com/RBFried

President Obama signed a Presidential Memo on February 9, 2010, establishing a Task Force on Childhood Obesity. One out of three U.S. children is overweight or obese—a rate that has tripled in the last 30 years.

According to a recent editorial published in the New England Journal of Medicine, one out of three individuals will develop type 2 diabetes during their lifetime—a condition directly linked to obesity that was previously seen only in adults, but is now occurring in 1 in 2,400 adolescents.

In order to give parents the information and tools they need to make the healthiest choices for their children,…

read more

©iStockphoto.com/ARTPUPPY

Today, the March 22 issue of Newsweek reached homes across America. On the cover, a very important person with an even more important message: First Lady Michelle Obama and her fight against childhood obesity. Through a program called “Let’s Move,” she is sending a very clear message: America, we must educate ourselves on eating healthy and keeping fit. And everyone—from the food manufacturers to each city mayor—has a role to play. “Let’s Move” is intended to help parents make healthier choices for their families. I’ll start by trading Cheese Sticks for carrot sticks. What will you do?

read more

©iStockphoto.com/GelatoPlus

Breastfeeding doesn’t always come easy—just ask one out of three moms. Unless you’re among the lucky few whose baby automatically latches on like he’s ‘been there done that,’ you may find yourself scheduling a meet-and-greet with a lactation consultant and buying (or renting) a breast pump. Suddenly, what appeared to be free and easy is costly and hard. If babies could talk, they would tell you breastfeeding is worth every effort and every penny. And the best part? Your insurance company may actually reimburse the cost of your pump. Breast pump manufacturer Medela has teamed up with insurance experts to…

read more

©iStockphoto.com/btrenkel

Company WEU has 20 employees. Ten or more are women. BWEU provides no maternity benefits, no flexible work schedules, no onsite childcare, and no lactation rooms. Despite women supplying more than 50% of the U.S. workforce, gaining accommodation in the workplace for those things uniquely woman such as pregnancy and breastfeeding is difficult at best, impossible at worst.

Many employers recognize that breast milk is the best source of infant nutrition. It promotes optimal growth and development, protects babies against diarrhea, respiratory infections, allergies and diabetes, and reduces mothers’ risk for ovarian cancer and premenopausal breast cancer, yet few employers  have a…

read more

©iStockphoto.com/Mishella

The real life stories of the many women suffering with undiagnosed and/or untreated depression go unreported, until one day a desperate mother drowns her five young children in a bathtub. While this is a rare event, it underscores the seriousness of the disease known simply as postpartum depression.

It is estimated that one out of 10 women in the United States take antidepressants, many of them while pregnant or breastfeeding. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), between 1995 and 2002 the use of antidepressants rose 48%. Antidepressants are among the most prescribed drugs in the U.S. For…

read more

©iStockphoto.com/MightyIsland

On January 12, Earth’s Best celebrated its 25^th anniversary by ringing the NASDAQ Stock Market Opening Bell. Hours later, I was at the grocery store, standing at the register, watching the clerk slide each pretty little glass jar over the scanner. $1, $2, $3… $9… $18. I left the store with $30 less in my pocket and a (reusable) bag full of organic baby food. $30? I didn’t get more than a week’s worth, I thought to myself. But $30 is what it takes to feed my 8-month-old boy three square meals a day. Three square pesticide-free meals a day.

There’s…

read more

©iStockphoto.com/monkeybusinessimages

A carrot-filled spoon zooms overhead as a mother mimics the sound of an airplane. “Just two more bites,” she cajoles. Her two-month-old baby, positioned upright in an infant seat, clamps his lips shut. He doesn’t want the vegetable. But she persists until the last of the carrots are consumed. To even the casual observer, it’s obvious the baby doesn’t share his mother’s enthusiasm for carrots. At least—not yet.

Many moms across America will recognize this ritual—one that is repeated three times a day in their homes. It is the transition from breast or bottle to solid foods—one that all babies will…

read more