Pediatrics

The Melatonin-ification of Childhood Bedtimes

By Michael Schulson, Contributing Writer

(This article was originally published on April 8, 2025 by www.undark.org) Two years ago, at a Stop & Shop in Rhode Island, the Danish neuroscientist and physician Henriette Edemann-Callesen visited an aisle stocked with sleep aids containing melatonin. She looked around in amazement. Then she took out her phone and snapped a photo to send […]

The Uncertain Multigenerational Implications of PFAS

By Nicole Williams

(This article was originally published on January 27, 2025 by www.undark.org) My son was born in late 2019. A few months later, early one morning, I found myself looking into his eyes as he nursed and I wondered if I was doing the right thing. Trying to ignore my nagging worry, I continued nursing him, […]

Maternal Aspartame Consumption Linked to Autism Risk in Children

By Erik Goldman

Women who drink diet soda or consume other aspartame-containing products during pregnancy may be unwittingly putting their male children at risk for autism spectrum disorders. That’s the troubling signal from a new study of more than 350 maternal-child pairs, by Sharon Fowler, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio. […]

Applying Holistic Principles to Optimize Children’s Health

By Madiha Saeed, MD, Contributing Writer

The COVID pandemic is having a huge effect on our children. We need to take it seriously. The Children’s Hospital Association and the American Association of Pediatrics have reported a nearly 20% spike in the number of young people attempting suicide, and more than a 40% increase in behavioral issues in children since the pandemic […]

Antibiotic Overuse Remains A Worldwide Problem

By Erik Goldman, Editor

Globally, there are striking regional variations in per capita antibiotic consumption. A 2018 study of prescription patterns in 31 European countries showed that Greece tops the list in Europe, at roughly 40 doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day (Klein E, et al. PNAS 2018). That’s a 4-fold difference from the Netherlands, where use is lowest. […]

Confronting the “Antibiotic Iceberg”

By Erik Goldman

Antimicrobial resistance is just the tip of the iceberg of adverse health consequences caused by antibiotic overuse, according to Martin J. Blaser, MD, director of the Rutgers University Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine. The less obvious—and therefore more dangerous—part of the iceberg, he says, is the epidemic of chronic inflammatory diseases driven in large […]

Antibiotics at the Crossroads

By Erik Goldman

Antibiotics can sometimes be almost miraculous in their clinical impact. Over the last 70 years, since their introduction into routine medical practice, they’ve saved countless lives. But in many cases the benefits are much less dramatic or apparent. Further, there is increasing evidence that routine use of antibiotics can have long-term detrimental effects on human […]

The Role of Micronutrients & Probiotics in Immune Health for Children

By Erik Goldman

The immune system is an elegant and complex set of cells, proteins, and tissues designed to protect our bodies from infections, both minor and life-threatening. Both the innate and acquired immune systems are dependent upon healthy nutrition, a healthy gut microbiome, adequate rest, and management of stress. The transfer of maternal microbiota is very closely linked to a […]

Wireless Devices Support Home-Schooling, But Not Without Risks

By Kristen Schepker

With most of the nation’s schools closed through summer due to the coronavirus pandemic, children are spending more time looking at digital screens than ever before. Wireless technology is vital for distance learning. But staying constantly connected has consequences, especially for children’s health and wellbeing.