Health and Safety

A new study from the National Institutes of Health, reported in the Economist, claims that the amount of Omega-3 fatty acids a woman eats while pregnant can determine her child’s intelligence, fine motor skills, and sociability. (Omega-3’s are oils found primarily in seafood.) The results are not conclusive, however, although some strong correlations were made […]

The CDC released a report yesterday stating that children under four are more likely to be hospitalized for unintentionally swallowing medications than for other causes of unintentional injury. Almost three-fourths of the children studied for the report were between one and two years old. Seventy-five percent of the incidents occurred in the home, and about

Have a toddler whose head is rapidly approaching the height of your tables and counters? You can spend $20-30 buying corner guards and bumpers at your local babyplex, or simply get some foam pipe insulation at the hardware store for only a few bucks. (Amazon also sells it, for $1.49 per six-foot length.) These foam

A new study from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm Insurance Companies (as reported by Physorg.com) concludes that children riding in SUVs have similar injury risks to children who ride in passenger cars. In fact, one of the co-authors of the study warns that appropriate child restraints and rear seating for children under

With children in the house, most of us want to be extra-extra careful about household safety (without veering into overprotective paranoia, of course). With that in mind, it’s worth checking out these tips on Christmas tree safety from the National Safety Council. It should go without saying (but I’ll say it just in case) that

A new study by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, concludes that drinking two or more cups of tea per day may reduce the risk of ovarian cancer. The researchers caution that more study is needed, and that tea drinkers as a group may make healthier lifestyle choices, which may account for the results. I’ve

Spanish scientists last week reported research findings that indicate a risk of bacterial contamination during the common in-vitro fertilization procedure of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), where the doctor injects sperm directly into the egg. The research was conducted on mice, not humans, however, and other scientists are saying they don’t believe there is any health

It’s World AIDS Day, and this year’s theme is “Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise.” Yes, the odds of living with AIDS are improving, but the war hasn’t been won yet. According to UNAIDS/WHO: More than 25 million people have died of AIDS since 1981. Africa has 12 million AIDS orphans. By December 2005 women accounted

The American Heart Association has just updated its guidelines for CPR, making the process easier to learn and do, even for those with minimal training. It’s my opinion that anyone with kids, or anyone with childcare responsibilities, should be certified in CPR. If you took a course in preparation for your child’s birth, and your