New parents and expectant parents often ask me about the risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). SIDS is still the leading cause of death for infants between the ages of 1 month and 1 year, but education and control of environmental factors have helped reduce SIDS deaths in the US steadily for decades (the risk is now approximately 1 in 2000 according to the National Institutes of Health). But we still want to do all we can to protect…
Recent data from the US Centers for Disease Control shows that Pennsylvania is behind the national average in terms of breastfeeding, but the numbers are increasing. According to the data, 71% of infants born in PA in 2012 were ever breastfed; 48.9% are still breastfed (whether exclusively or not) at 6 months (national averages were 81% and 52%, respectively). What’s interesting is that while there was a 4% increase in Pennsylvania infants who’d ever breastfed since 2000, there was a 12%…
Ever wonder why some kids will only eat grilled cheese and chicken nuggets while others will happily munch specialty foods from all over the world? Studies show that the foods a pregnant and nursing mother eats can broaden a child’s diet down the road. Eating a diverse diet while pregnant and breastfeeding may impact the foods your baby will like once he or she is eating solids. So get those future gastronomes off to a good start and let’s break…