babygooroo » Infectious Disease

Measles Outbreak Highlights Importance of Immunizations

May 12, 2008 by Amy Spangler | 1 question or comment

If you thought childhood diseases had been eradicated by the discovery of disease specific vaccines, think again. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), from January 1 through April 25, 2008 there were 64 confirmed cases of ... (read more)

Friendly Skies?

April 17, 2008 by Carol Adams Rivera | 1 question or comment

A recent baby gooroo article (FDA Approves New Rotavirus Vaccine—But Do You Want It?) by Mary Jessica Hammes has sparked some good discussion about not just the safety of vaccines but also the safety and advisability of air travel for infants and young ... (read more)

FDA Approves New Rotavirus Vaccine—But Do You Want It?

April 7, 2008 by Mary Jessica Hammes | 7 questions or comments

My friend Allison had a rough week not long ago, to put it mildly. First, she and her 19-month old son, Asher, flew across country (to attend a funeral, no less). Traveling alone with a toddler would be trying enough, but then, the ... (read more)

“Opt In” For Safety

March 30, 2008 by Pauline Lupercio | 1 question or comment

I know I am not the only mother who feels like the most evil being in the world when I help the nurses hold my baby still for the vaccinations that come with her well baby checkup appointments.“I’m sorry, sweetie,” I say, as I ... (read more)

Does Breastfeeding Protect Against Less Common Infections?

February 11, 2008 by Amy Spangler | 3 questions or comments

The benefits of breastfeeding are well-documented — especially the protection it provides against gastrointestinal and upper and lower respiratory tract infections. Whether breastfeeding provides protection against less common infections was the subject of a recent study involving 127 infants ... (read more)

Adolescent Girls Target of HPV Vaccine

January 10, 2008 by Amy Spangler | No questions or comments

If you are the parent of a girl between the ages of 9 and 26, you may want to read the January 9, 2008 article on the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine by Target.com writer David ... (read more)

Global Breastfeeding

January 7, 2008 by Amy Spangler | No questions or comments

The words protect, promote, and support are found in numerous breastfeeding documents. The phrase was first introduced in 1981 in Sweden by Dr. Ted Greiner, a husband, father, educator, nutritionist, consultant, and breastfeeding advocate extraordinaire. The language was quickly adopted by the United Nations ... (read more)

Should HIV-positive Mothers Breastfeed?

November 29, 2007 by Heidi Green | No questions or comments

I remember when HIV first hit the media more than two decades ago. The sense was that people afflicted with HIV would not survive for very long. The intervening years have proven that not to be the case (Hello, Magic Johnson!). According to ... (read more)

Vaccination: A National Success Story?

November 28, 2007 by Barbara Behrmann | No questions or comments

All parents want to protect their children from illness, disease and poor health, but what do you do when the advice you receive is full of contradiction and controversy? Unfortunately, this is precisely the case when it comes to childhood vaccinations. A ... (read more)

The Circumcision Decision

November 12, 2007 by Amy Spangler | 1 question or comment

To cut or not to cut…that is the question. Australian researcher Brian Morris in a recent article published in Bioessays, attempts to make a strong case for circumcision. Morris claims that circumcision can be a surgical “vaccine” against a wide ... (read more)

Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?

October 19, 2007 by Amy Spangler | No questions or comments

Despite overall declines in infant mortality, the rate for black infants is more than double that of white infants—13.5 deaths per 1,000 births for blacks compared to 5.7 deaths per 1,000 births for whites. Moreover, black women are twice as likely to give birth ... (read more)

Prevention of HIV Transmission Through Breastfeeding

October 18, 2007 by Amy Spangler | No questions or comments

The first case of AIDS was reported 25 years ago. Today, nearly 40 million people are living with HIV—half of them women. It is estimated that breastfeeding accounts for up to half of all human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections ... (read more)