Employed by the Red Cross after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, text messaging contributed to record donations. In less dire circumstances but indicative of the popularity of text messaging, millions text their vote for their favorite American Idol. But what can text messaging do for you?

With text4baby, the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition (HMHB) is flipping the text message and using it to help expectant and new moms.

The familiar ping, ding, or ringtone sounds out from your handset:

“Give your baby a good start by not drinking alcohol, smoking or using drugs. For help call 800-784-8669 (smoking); 800-662-4357 (drugs & alcohol).”

“Feeling…

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A toddler stands next to a young mother as she puts a fresh diaper on her newborn baby. “Too bad you had to get a bald-headed one,” says the toddler. And just like that Johnson & Johnson had a hit commercial on its hands and pop culture had another buzz line.

While bald-headed babies are still common today, it is the growing number of flat-headed babies that is causing a stir. Flat heads may indeed be used to describe this generation of babes, but results from a recent study suggest that more than appearances are at stake.

Researchers in Washington State reported…

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Both you and your baby are going to sleep terribly, possibly for months, so you might as well get used to the idea.

But don’t freak out—this is totally normal. All you have to do is make sure everyone lives through this tumultuous time. Pretend there’s a zombie war going on outside and your priority is basic survival. Do whatever it takes to stay alive. Believe that this too shall pass.

For those of you in the midst of intense sleep deprivation, you would probably like to take your computer and throw it at my head right now. No one wants to…

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For the first time seven years ago investigators compared the effectiveness of belt-positioning booster seats (BPBSs) with the use of seat belts alone in children 4-7 years of age. They found that children restrained with only a standard issue seat belt were 59% more likely to be injured in a crash compared to those restrained in a child booster seat.

Fast forward to today. Motor vehicle accidents are still the leading cause of death in children 1 to 14 years of age, accounting for nearly 1400 deaths and 185,000 injuries a year. Fifty-two states have enacted laws that require the use of…

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Although the incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) decreased significantly after the launch of the Back to Sleep campaign in 1994, SIDS is still the leading cause of death in children 1 month to 1 year of age. While the cause of SIDS remains a mystery, researchers recently identified a defect in the brain of infants who died of SIDS that may eventually lead to early detection of babies at risk for SIDS.

Published in the February 3, 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), researchers compared the brainstems of 41 infants who died of SIDS with 7 infants who died…

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Perhaps Andrew Wakefield, MD didn’t realize that his 1998 study erroneously linking vaccinations to autism would ignite a decade long controversy. But he should have. If not for the media frenzy fomented by high profile celebrities, the scientific method might have triumphed long ago. Journalists should know better. Yet given the scope of the damage, any claim of vindication would ring hollow. In the end, science prevailed, but at what cost?

After the United Kingdom General Medical Council (GMC) described the actions of Andrew Wakefield, MD, and two of his colleagues as dishonest and irresponsible, The Lancet, a respected medical journal,…

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Breastfeeding keeps babies healthy, but breastfeeding can also make babies sick. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in 2008 estimated that 430,000 children under the age of 15 were newly infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Most infections were transmitted from mother-to-child during pregnancy, labor, birth, or while breastfeeding. It is estimated that breastfeeding may account for one-third to one-half of all cases of mother-to-child-transmission.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that HIV-infected women in the United States not breastfeed. However, in countries where safe alternatives to human milk are scarce and the risk of infant death from…

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Stephanie Sanders and Alex Bligh both had trouble with their milk supply in their early weeks of breastfeeding. After trying everything else, both turned to a drug called domperidone and found their supply quickly increased. Both were able to continue breastfeeding their children.

The difference? Alex lives in Dunedin, New Zealand, where she got a prescription from her doctor and had it filled at the pharmacy. Stephanie lives in northeast Georgia and had to sneak around, ordering her supply from the internet—from a company in New Zealand. The pills subtly arrived in an unmarked box.

FDA: Not okay
Stephanie and other American women…

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Cadmium is the new lead. As covered earlier in babygooroo, both the federal government and some U.S. retailers (most notably Toys R Us and Wal-Mart) set restrictions on the amount of lead allowed in children’s products. According to a recent Associated Press (AP) investigation, Chinese manufacturers are now substituting cadmium for lead. Unfortunately, cadmium is no less dangerous.

What is cadmium?
Like lead, cadmium is a heavy metal. Since it occurs naturally in soil, most people are exposed to microscopic amounts of cadmium. Without direct exposure, most adults will suffer no ill effects.

Children, however, are particularly vulnerable to the toxic metal. Their bodies…

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Mother Nature often knows best, but she can also be deadly. Herbs, natural remedies, and dietary supplements have become increasingly popular as treatments for a wide range of conditions. Many consider these natural, non-traditional therapies harmless, but natural doesn’t mean safe, especially for pregnant women.

While expectant moms know that smoking or drinking alcohol during pregnancy can be risky, few realize that herbal medicines, natural remedies, and alternative therapies can actually harm pregnant women or their unborn babies.

Unlike traditional medicines, herbs and other natural supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, so there are no set standards for…

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A team of Brazilian researchers recently explored the use of skin-to-skin contact and/or concentrated sugar water (dextrose) for pain relief in newborns during procedures such as a heel stick or an injection.

The effects of skin-to-skin contact were previously summarized by Moore and colleagues in 2006. Previous evidence exists for Sucrose alone as an effective measure for alleviating pain, but whether a combination of the two measures is more effective than either by itself has not been investigated .

Methods
A total of 640 healthy, term babies 12-to-72-hours of age participated in the study. Babies scheduled to receive an injection of hepatitis B vaccine…

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The American Academy of Pediatrics’ new immunization website offers information about vaccine-preventable diseases, the safeness of vaccines, and the schedule for receiving those vaccines. The site’s most interesting feature, surprisingly, is not stats, figures, and data, but the inclusion of personal stories from those who experienced the devastation of vaccine-preventable disease—parents who watched their children suffer and the pediatricians who treat these children.

Started in 1999 and funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Childhood Immunization Support Program, aims to get more children immunized by offering education and resources to both parents and pediatricians.…

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