Today’s health section in the New York Times features a column by primary care pediatrician Perri Klass, M.D.
Klass notes that pediatricians need to be reminded again and again to take a parent’s concern about possible speech and language delays seriously.
She mentions instances in her practice where 1) she herself fell short of alerting parents to her own concerns about a young patient, and 2) she was unable to clearly communicate her concerns about a patient to parents herself, resulting in delayed therapy for the young patient.
Early assessment for a delay is crucial. Delays in making the milestones for speech and language may be an indicator for other neurodevelopmental disorders, says Klass, including autism. But, she adds, sometimes a delay can be the result of a chaotic household, or that for some reason, no one is actually taking time to talk to the baby.
Jill Stamm, Ph.D., an Arizona State University psychology professor and director of New Directions Institute notes that when a caregiver avoids engaging in a two way interaction with a baby because of cell phone use or other distractions, opportunities for interaction and vital two-way communication are missed. Listen to Jill’s tips on brain development on RAK Radio.
Diane R. Paul, director of clinical issues in speech-language pathology for the American Speech-Language-Hearing association recommends these tips in Klass’s column for parents who wish to enhance a child’s speech and language skills:
Talk to your child about what they’re focused on.
Read to your child often.
If they’re in a bilingual home, speak to the child and read to the child in the language that you’re most comfortable with.
Speak clearly and naturally and use real words- not baby talk.
The cause of cleft lip and cleft palate has been linked to dozens of genes, and researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis were recently surprised to find that cleft palate occurs both when one gene is more active — and also when it is less active than normal.
Children with cleft lip and palate can have difficulty feeding as infants. They also can have speech, dental and hearing problems as they get older. Clefts of the lip and palate affect about one in 700 newborns worldwide, and surgical repair in the United States can require several operations over many years with costs estimated to be as much as $100,000 per patient by the Washington University team.
Recently, Rolando and Khonnie Gumler told their story through words and pictures- what it was like to learn that their son, Noah, would be born with a cleft palate, and how they sought treatment for him.
Watch their journey unfold in the RAK video below:
If you’re pregnant, if you have been pregnant, if you hope to be pregnant someday- or even if you are curious about how your great great grandmother made it through labor and delivery- take some time to listen to this interview.
Hutter Epstein writes about what our ancestors had to endure to deliver their babies- from do-it-yourself forceps to death from child-bed fever, which was probably the result of the complete lack of handwashing among doctors who might arrive for a delivery fresh from performing an autopsy in the days before anyone understood what bacteria was.
It’s fascinating to hear Hutter Epstein talk of the women of Victorian times – when they began to use drugs that brought relief from the pain of labor and delivery- and why they celebrated being spared from, and oblivious to- the birth experience.
Hutter Epstein contrasts that with the feminist movement of the past few decades which inspired women to insist on choosing whether or not to experience a natural birth.
“Get me Out” serves as a great reminder of how far we’ve come.
St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, St. Luke’s Health Initiative, and the United Phoenix Firefighters Association are joining together to decrease water-related accidents and increase water safety.
They’ll offer water safety education and swimming lessons to kids this summer.
The program will include:
• Parent/infant/toddler classes
• Beginning classes for children 4 to 7 years of age
• Intermediate classes for children ages 6 to 8 years of age
• Swimmer-level classes for children ages 7 and older
Lessons will begin on Monday, May 3 and will conclude on Thursday, Aug. 5. Classes will run Monday through Thursday and are approximately 60 minutes in length. The registration cost is $65. Call 877-602-4111 for more information.
Find out more about this and other community programs at St. Joe’s here.
Pre-existing medical conditions place women at greater risk for death during or just after pregnancy, according to today’s Joint Commission Alert.
And the commission reports that current trends and evidence suggest that maternal mortality rates, or deaths that occur within 42 days of birth or termination of pregnancy – though rare -may be on the rise in the U.S.
Current statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that for every 100,000 live births, 13.3 maternal deaths occur. That’s well over the target of 3.3 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births– which is one goal of the U.S. Government’s Healthy People 2010 initiative.
Read about the initiative’s “do’s and don’ts” of pregnancy here.
Common preventable causes that lead to maternal deaths include uncontrolled high blood pressure, undiagnosed fluid build-up in the lungs of women with pre-eclampsia, failure to pay attention to vital signs after a Cesarean section, and hemorrhage following a Cesarean section.
Today’s Alert calls for doctors to refer their at-risk patients to experienced prenatal care providers who can provide specialized services.
The Joint Commission is a non-profit, independent organization and the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Read more about the alert here.
Because of the growing number of studies associating skin cancer with use of tanning lamps and beds, the FDA will hold hearings in March to discuss the relationship between UV rays and skin cancer, both melanoma and non-melanoma.
Read what the FDA says about tanning, children and teens here.
Glendale Fire tells the story of Mike Mertz, 59, who suffered a cardiac arrest while driving. He crashed into a tree and stucco wall.
Corey Ash, a United Parcel Service (UPS) driver saw what happened, called 9-1-1, then pulled Mr. Mertz from his car and began performing Continuous Chest Compression (CCC) – CPR.
Mr. Mertz was then treated by Glendale Fire Fighter Paramedics who successfully resuscitated him.
The old way of doing CPR has changed dramatically in Glendale and throughout Arizona, thanks to the new concept of “Continuous Chest Compressions” pioneered at the University of Arizona.
The shift over to this new method, also known as “hands only CPR,” began in 2004, when an alliance of scientists, medical providers and public health officials across Arizona initiated a bold program termed the Save Hearts in Arizona Registry and Education (SHARE) Program.
The aim of SHARE was to save as many lives as possible from cardiac arrest.
SHARE is the only statewide program of its kind in the country that tracks both cardiac arrest and bystander CPR across an entire state as a public health initiative. The Glendale Fire Department was one of the very initial SHARE partners in Arizona.
What would you do if a loved one suddenly collapsed? What would your children do if YOU suddenly collapsed? Raising Arizona Kids publisher and editor Karen Barr shared her wake-up call story last fall.
Here’s a Mayo Clinic video on how to do hands on CPR:
Because of this concentrated public health effort, bystander CPR rates are on the upswing (from 25% in 2004 to 34% in 2009), and survival rates have doubled.
The American Heart Association along with the Glendale Fire Department and the SHARE Program urges everyone- even kids- to learn hands only CPR.
It’s easy to learn, easy to remember, and easy to do. Most importantly, it saves lives.
CNN reports that McNeil PPC, a division of Johnson and Johnson, is recalling some batches of junior strength Motrin, Children’s Tylenol grape meltaway tablets, and other versions of the drugs because of a mold-mildew type odor.
The company says the smell was caused by a chemical called “2,4,6-tribromoanisole (TBA),” which is applied to wooden pallets that are used to transport and store packaging materials.
McNeil says they’ve received some complaints from consumers about “non-serious” stomach problems, nausea and diarrhea. Read more about the recall here.
It’s always a pleasure to find writing that you love.
For me, a medical professional writes with skill and beauty is a treat. Abraham Vergese, Jerome Groupman, Theresa Brown, and Atul Gawande are three writer/physicians whose work I follow – they are messengers from the medical world, skillfully bringing their ideas and experiences to the rest of us.
The patient stories from these gifted individuals are compelling; the insights they share on our system of medicine should not be ignored.
The Checklist Manifesto, Gawande’s latest work, explores the importance of paying attention to the details. As the work of surgeons becomes technically more complex, the likelihood that surgical teams will make simple errors increases.
These are not errors due to ignorance, or lack of skill. Instead, these are errors made because a simple detail is overlooked or false assumptions are made.
Gawande, a surgeon himself with an interest in the problem, talked to experts in other professionals, such as pilots and builders of skyscrapers. He found that they manage details with a simple tool that medical teams might use, too: the checklist.
Gawande takes this idea to his research team and develops a safe surgery checklist, puts it into use and writes about the results, which sound impressive.
Simply running down the list before a surgery enables members of a team to share information that may have been overlooked otherwise. Sometimes, this information saves lives.
Gawande, and these other writer/medical providers messengers allow the rest of us to sharpen our knowledge of how things work in the healthcare system. It’s beautiful prose, too.
You can also hear Gawande talk about what he found from his research in an interview with WAMU’s Diane Rehm, one of the first stops on his book tour.
The news that a three year old Chandler girl lost her life recently – because the lid of a toy box fell on her head – is a sad reminder of how everyday household items can turn deadly.
No one wants to live in fear when raising children, but when tragic events happen, it’s best to take stock, look around, and inspect items to make sure they are safe.
Make sure to take a look at any toy box your child might play with over the holidays while visiting relatives; especially those that were made without the safety features on those today.
Look for toy boxes with light weight lids. If children fall in or somehow get in the toy box they should be able to easily open the lid.
Check to make sure that there are no latches or locks on the toy box, so a child cannot become trapped. Consider removing the lid entirely, if necessary.
Look for a toy box that is well ventilated from the inside, without sharp edges or corners, and cut-outs on the sides and front of toy box to prevent children from pinching their fingers.
Use toy boxes with safety hinges can keep the toy box lid open to avoid injury.
If you have any specific questions on safety, contact the Injury Prevention Center at Phoenix Children’s Hospital at 602-546-0960. Check out toy recall information at the Consumer Product Safety Commission site.
Schools, etc. is a complete guide to Maricopa County public, private and charter schools. Plus: special needs schools, tutoring programs, online/virtual schools, Arizona boarding schools, education resources and (new this year!) preschools and postsecondary schools.
also from the staff of raising arizona kids magazine
