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Should Mom Share Her Bed With Baby?

I’ve watched the pendulum swing back and forth on the wisdom of mom sharing her bed with a baby. The American Pediatric Society has come out against the practice, because of a higher incidence of sudden infant death. But nearly half of all British moms sleep with their baby at times, and one-fifth share a bed regularly during the first year.

According to a British study published in [the October 2010 issue of] Pediatrics, the value of breastfeeding should be considered before advising mothers not to share  beds with their infants. The results showed that mothers who shared a bed with their newborns were better educated and of a higher socioeconomic status, and that those whose children routinely slept in their beds during the first 15 months of life reported a significantly greater incidence of breastfeeding.

“Both cross-sectional epidemiological and sleep laboratory studies showed close links between the frequency and duration of breastfeeding and the practice of bed sharing,” writes Peter Blair, PhD, Community-Based Medicine and Social Medicine, University of Bristol, United Kingdom, the author of the study. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*

Who Should Get A Flu Shot? You Should

It’s that time of year again. Children back at school. Football season is underway and baseball playoffs to start soon. The television networks are rolling out their new shows.

And it’s also time to think about getting flu shots. I just got mine today as I have done annually since going to medical school.

Compared to last year, there isn’t as much news about the flu or the flu vaccine. This year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gives clear guidelines that everyone aged 6 months and older should get the influenza vaccine. 

This month the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all healthcare providers should be required to get the influenza vaccine.

And one fact that hasn’t gotten much attention is whether the 2009 H1N1 virus is included in the 2010-2011 vaccine: Is it? Yes, it is. This year’s vaccine will be as safe as vaccines in past years as the production process is unchanged. Inclusion of the 2009 H1N1 virus will not be a problem. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Saving Money and Surviving the Healthcare Crisis*

Concussions In Younger Athletes Are On The Rise

Young athlete holding headA study published earlier this week by the American Academy of Pediatrics states that “the number of sport-related concussions is highest in high school-aged athletes, but the number in younger athletes is significant and on the rise.” Why is this? Many believe this is from better recognition of the symptoms and the need to be medically evaluated.

I did a couple of interviews with local TV news to talk about the subject (Video 1 and Video 2). In my research on this subject, I found an article from the Dayton Daily News stating that the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) passed a policy in May 2010:

Any athlete who exhibits signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a concussion (such as loss of consciousness, headache, dizziness, confusion or balance problems) shall be immediately removed from the contest and shall not return to play until cleared with written authorization by an appropriate health care professional.

In addition, on the OHSAA website there’s an entire section devoted to concussions and head injuries. I have also read that other states have taken similar steps, especially with high school and younger athletes.

If you find the videos in this post helpful, I encourage you to see my other interviews on health-related topics at MikeSevilla.TV

*This blog post was originally published at Doctor Anonymous*

Water Safety: A Drowning Child Doesn’t Scream

This summer I learned a couple of very important lessons. Drowning kids don’t scream. Mothers have a sixth sense even when it’s not their own child.

On a beautiful warm sunny day in San Diego, my family and our good friends were enjoying a well-deserved vacation. My five-year-old daughter was splashing around with her friends as their father and I observed them from the pool. Though he had to watch three kids, one was already on a swim team and the two younger children had followed their big sister in swim class. He also had some help. His wife was watching the kids from her chair.  The scene was certainly picturesque, serene, and unassuming. Children playing happily in the pool. Adults relaxing and talking. It was a great day to be away from home and work.

Who would realize that nearby a little boy would be in serious trouble? Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Saving Money and Surviving the Healthcare Crisis*

Sports Physicals For Kids: Why So “Ducky?”

Dear American Academy of Pediatrics,

I think there is a mistake. Kids have recently started coming into the office with forms for sports physicals, and the form is different. See below:

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Someone added stuff to the form! Not only do we have to continue the inexplicable obsession with the hernia check (for maximum humiliation of boys, we try to use only female examiners for this), there’s a bunch of new stuff. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*

Latest Interviews

IDEA Labs: Medical Students Take The Lead In Healthcare Innovation

It’s no secret that doctors are disappointed with the way that the U.S. healthcare system is evolving. Most feel helpless about improving their work conditions or solving technical problems in patient care. Fortunately one young medical student was undeterred by the mountain of disappointment carried by his senior clinician mentors…

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How To Be A Successful Patient: Young Doctors Offer Some Advice

I am proud to be a part of the American Resident Project an initiative that promotes the writing of medical students residents and new physicians as they explore ideas for transforming American health care delivery. I recently had the opportunity to interview three of the writing fellows about how to…

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Latest Book Reviews

Book Review: Is Empathy Learned By Faking It Till It’s Real?

I m often asked to do book reviews on my blog and I rarely agree to them. This is because it takes me a long time to read a book and then if I don t enjoy it I figure the author would rather me remain silent than publish my…

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The Spirit Of The Place: Samuel Shem’s New Book May Depress You

When I was in medical school I read Samuel Shem s House Of God as a right of passage. At the time I found it to be a cynical yet eerily accurate portrayal of the underbelly of academic medicine. I gained comfort from its gallows humor and it made me…

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Eat To Save Your Life: Another Half-True Diet Book

I am hesitant to review diet books because they are so often a tangled mess of fact and fiction. Teasing out their truth from falsehood is about as exhausting as delousing a long-haired elementary school student. However after being approached by the authors’ PR agency with the promise of a…

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