Health News

Checking for Newborns' Healthy Hearts
While your newborn baby likely steals your heart from the moment you see him, you also want to be sure his heart is in tip-top working order. A simple screening may tell you. A recent study from England has provided evidence supporting the practice of screening newborn babies for heart defects at birth using a method called pulse oximetry . Screening for heart defects is recommended for newborns. Dr. Shakila Thangaratinam , a clinical senior lecturer at Queen Mary, University of London, led the research project that pulled together the results of 13 individual studies looking a...
Fish Oil Helps Teensy Hearts
Babies unable to grow to the size they're genetically supposed to reach suffer from intrauterine growth restriction, a risk factor for future cardiovascular problems.
ED Drug Shrinks Abnormal Growths in Kids
Viagra is known to boost men’s sexual vigor, but it can also treat a totally different type of condition in children: One small study says that the drug can diminish the size of a birth defect in kids.
The Dark Side of Sweet
Try to find a packaged food that doesn't contain some form of sugar. Pretty tough to do. In fact, it's nearly impossible. The bitter truth is - we are drowning in sweetness. Food and beverage manufacturers add sweeteners to most processed foods because it's a cheap way to make just about anything tastier.
This Mama's Smokin'
Maternal cigarette smoking in the first trimester was associated with a 20 to 70 percent greater likelihood that a baby would be born with certain types of congenital heart defects, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Little Broken Hearts
As Valentine's day approaches, thoughts turn to matters of the heart. And while the day may be a painful reminder of a broken heart for some, there are children every day who are born with a literal broken heart.
Kids Need Z's
Insufficient and disorganized sleep puts kids at higher risk of developing obesity and other health conditions, which may be able to be mitigated by "catch up" sleep on weekends and holidays.
The Worst Kind of Hand-Me-Down
A new study has found that the children of parents who smoke face an increased risk of hypertension in childhood, which can lead to cardiovascular problems as adults.