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Top 10 Baby Names of 2009
May 10th
Just what you've been looking for - the top 10 baby names of 2009! Check out which names were added this year and if your favorites from 2008 held on or were dropped off the list.
Need some fresh name ideas for your baby? Be sure to check out our Baby Naming Tips or our lists of Shakespearean Baby Names and Celebrity Baby Names. Or do a quick search of our interactive Baby Name Finder to find the perfect baby name!
Top Girls' Names of 2009:
- Isabella
- Emma
- Olivia...
Top Boys' Names of 2009:
- Jacob
- Ethan
- Michael...
Recalls of children’s medicines spark worries
May 4th
Parents may be worried by this weekend's recall of dozens of versions of Children's Tylenol and several other infants' and children's medications made by Johnson & Johnson's McNeil Consumer Healthcare division.
Parents voiced fears to pediatricians and pharmacists, and asked questions about the affected products - two dozen formulations of Tylenol, known generically as acetaminophen, along with liquid formulations of Motrin (ibuprofen), Benadryl (diphenhydramine), and Zyrtec (cetirizine).
So far, the advice for parents, at least, is clear: McNeil says they should stop using any of the affected products - essentially, any liquid formulation of those medications made by McNeil, which is based in Fort Washington.
Doctors and pharmacists recommend that parents replace the medications with generics of the same drugs or other brand-name versions, none of which are affected by the recall. Consumers can obtain refunds directly from McNeil or from at least some pharmacies.
What went wrong? Little is known. McNeil, in announcing the voluntary recall late Friday "in consultation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration," says some of the products "may not meet required quality standards."
McNeil says the children's products may have "a higher concentration of active ingredients than is specified." They may also have contaminants that spokesman Marc Boston describes as "solidified product ingredients or manufacturing residue, such as tiny metal specks." He declined to say what metal or metals had been found.
Nor is it clear if McNeil is responding with an abundance of caution or faces greater concerns.
"They've had a lot of problems," says Don Mays, senior director of product safety for Consumer Reports. "It seems like they need better quality control and process control in the manufacture of these products."
This is the second major recall of children's Tylenol products in the last year. In September, more than 20 versions were recalled because of possible bacterial contamination.
Was there a danger to my child? It's impossible to say for sure, but McNeil is suggesting not.
"We have received consumer inquiries," Boston says. "But I can confirm that the recall is not being undertaken on the basis of adverse medical events" reported to the company.
Nor has the FDA so far suggested otherwise.
"While the potential for serious health problems is remote, Americans deserve medications that are safe, effective, and of the highest quality," FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg said in a statement Saturday. "We are investigating the products and facilities associated with this recall and will provide updates as we learn more."
By contrast, when McNeil voluntarily recalled some related products in January because of a contaminant it said caused "an unusual moldy, musty, or mildew-like odor," the company acknowledged "a small number of cases" of reactions such as nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, or diarrhea.
What if I'm worried? David Pollack, a Children's Hospital pediatrician and senior physician at the hospital's Care Network in Delaware County, says parents should report any concerns to their pediatrician, who will then notify the FDA and McNeil.
Based on the information available, Pollack said, "I could certainly believe that there's been no adverse effects on kids."
Can you substitute an adult version? Pollack and McNeil both warn against doing this, even with older children who can swallow pills, because of the danger of incorrect dosages.
"Every day we're faced with a misdosage when a mother is trying to convert an adult dosage to her kids," Pollack says. "If it's not really designed for children, we would tell them not to use it."
So what are the alternatives? Doctors and pharmacists say generic versions are widely available and considerably less expensive.
For more information on the recall or how to obtain a refund, go to www.mcneilproductrecall.com. You can also call 1-888-222-6036, but the company says it has been overwhelmed with calls and may not be able to answer.
Source
Newborn testing faces challenges in using leftover blood spots for research
Feb 9th
A critical safety net for babies - that heelprick of blood taken from every newborn in the U.S. - is facing an ethics attack.
After those tiny blood spots are tested for a list of devastating diseases, some states are storing them for years. Scientists consider the leftover samples a treasure, both to improve newborn screening and to study bigger questions, like which environmental toxins can harm a fetus's developing heart or which genes trigger childhood cancers.
But seldom are parents asked to consent to such research - most probably do not know it occurs - raising privacy concerns that are shaking up one of public health's most successful programs. Texas is poised to throw away blood samples from more than five million babies to settle a lawsuit from parents angry at what they call secret DNA warehousing. A judge recently dismissed a similar lawsuit in Minnesota.
Michigan just moved four million leftover blood spots into a new "BioTrust for Health," planning a public education campaign about the research potential and how families can opt out.
Advisers to the U.S. government hope to have national recommendations in two months on how to assure all babies still get their newborn tests while allowing parents more say in what happens next.
"It's a critical thing that we take action," says advisory board member Sharon Terry of the non-profit Genetic Alliance. She says distrust over the leftover blood spots threatens public confidence in newborn screening itself.
"The sunshine on the information - educating parents - is the way lesser threat. Done well and done right, there will be an enormous benefit overall to the system," she says.
Newborn screening is not new. It began in the 1960s, and today every baby is supposed to be tested for at least 29 rare genetic diseases in hopes of catching the fraction who need early treatment to help avoid brain damage or death. Now being added to the list: Bubble-boy disease, formally known as SCID for severe combined immune deficiency.
The program catches about 5,000 babies a year in need of treatment.
Because newborn screening is mandatory, only a handful of states provide much upfront parent education. Leftover spots mainly are used for double-checking that newborn tests are accurate. Sometimes, families ask geneticists to study them after a child's death from a disease doctors can't immediately diagnose.
But as scientists sought to use the leftovers for broader research, suddenly the informing of parents - especially about long-stored spots - became an issue. While blood spots are stripped of identifying information before being handed over to scientists, people generally need to consent to participate in research.
"My kid is not a lab rat. You have to ask before you can use him in an experiment, before you can use his blood, his tissues, his DNA, whatever," says Andrea Beleno, one of the Texas parents who sued. Among their worries: that genetic information about the children could fall into the wrong hands.
Had she only been asked, Beleno adds, she probably would have let her son's blood spot be stored.
To scientists who pore through dusty warehouses in search of blood samples stored by health department ID codes - not the babies' names - privacy concerns are exaggerated.
"There's a gap between the name and the DNA. ... There's no way one could just put one's hands on these blood spots and know anything about that person," says Dr. Christopher Loffredo of Georgetown University, who needed families' permission to cull about 1,200 blood spots stored in Maryland for a study that linked a pregnant woman's smoking or exposure to certain chemical solvents to fetal heart defects.
Still, Dr. Jennifer Puck of the University of California, San Francisco, who created the new SCID test using leftover blood spots, understands parents' concerns.
"DNA is your personal signature, and it uniquely identifies us," Puck says. "We all have to become more careful and more specific in terms of what we're going to do with the blood spots."
Bioethicist Aaron Goldenberg of Case Western Reserve University studied parent attitudes, and found three-quarters would be willing to have their baby's leftover blood spot used for research if they were asked first. But they generally oppose that research without consent.
The balancing act for states, he says, is separating the two issues - lifesaving newborn screening and other use of the leftover blood - in the little time available to educate parents.
Source
Infantino Sling Rider Deaths
Feb 5th
It's been reported that a third infant has died from the use of the Infantino Sling Rider. Unfortunately, the Infantino Sling Rider and other "bag" slings are not safe. A blog called Babysosmart, has some very good information on the topic:
For the last 4 years+ I've been teaching what I call a "Benefits of Babywearing" class through several local venues. My goal has always been to open parents eyes to all the amazing physical and emotional health benefits that babywearing gives to a baby. It still blows my mind. Not the idea of babywearing, but the science behind it all. An infant's development is measurably physically improved by babywearing...
But not all baby carriers are equal, and not all of them are safe. I'll admit it: I bring a couple of the "bad carriers" to each class that I teach, to demonstrate the potential problems that can arise from using a "bad carrier." One of these "bad carriers" (and I don't usually say bad, except in regards to this one that I'm about to discuss now) is the Infantino Sling Rider. And it's BAD. I've always referred to it "lovingly" as "the Sling of Death."
My overwhelming concern with this particular style of carrier, what we refer to as a "bag sling" or "bag-style sling", is the awkward and unsafe position into which the baby slips when he is placed inside the carrier. There is no feature to keep the baby's body in good alignment, so the baby usually ends up in what we call the "chin-to-chest" position. I'm a nurse, a pediatric nurse, and just hearing those words said in relation to an infant under three months old is akin to hearing someone say they gave their newborn a razor blade to play with. Wouldn't do it, dumb, a no-brainer, and worse, dangerous. The chin-to-chest position is just that-- the infant's chin drops down to rest on their chest, and their little, teeny, floppy airway is occluded-- folded in half, if you will. The infant airway, or trachea or breathing tube, is pretty unremarkable at this stage, at least in regards to it's ability to maintain itself. It's soft, floppy, and extremely narrow; that's why infants are so grossly affected when they're hit with the common cold, for example. Let me just say it bluntly: an infant can cut off their own ability to breathe if they are placed in the chin-to-chest position.
Others have been voicing their concerns for several years as well. In fact, one third-party group reviewed the Infantino Sling Rider (along with several other styles/brands of carriers) back in the fall of 2006 or 2007, documented their findings, and presented it to the manufacturer in the following February, assuming that eyebrows would be raised, red flags would be waved, and that the offending carrier would be pulled from the market, at least until modifications could be made to make it safe for use. I'm willing to bet that they were more shocked to hear the manufacturer say (and not an actual quote, mind you)-- "Have their been any documented deaths in one of our carriers? Until then, we aren't willing to do anything."
I have pushed people to LEARN how to use their carriers correctly over the years, as even a good carrier can be used incorrectly and potentially be the "cause" of a problem (I say "cause" because it's not actually the carrier that causes the problem, it's the wearer not using it correctly). Three biggest instances of this are: a "bigger baby, let's say a 6- or 8-month old, that's just really pitching a fit, and the parent is trying to force the baby into the carrier, and the baby is thrashing, throwing itself around, a recipe for disaster. A baby carrier is just that, a carrier, not a restraining device. Next example, a parent not tightening the carrier up, wearing it very loose and low, baby hanging out, again, looking for a fall, or the potential for the baby to fall into the chin-to-chest position. I've seen this several times, usually a ring sling, and the parent is attempting to carry the baby in the cradle position, but is not adjusting the sling to support the baby, allowing the baby to just kind of curl up inside the body of the sling. And the third instance, wearing a carrier that is too big for you-- usually it is a pouch, or pouch sling, and the baby is sliding into . . . the chin-to-chest position, and we've already been through those dangers. It is critical to make sure not only that the carrier you are using fits you, but that you are also using it correctly.
My heart goes out to the families of these beautiful babies whose lives were needlessly lost. The data was there, several years ago, and the manufacturer KNEW about the dangers their product posed to babies, they just didn't care. They were busy padding their pockets.
Note: Other similar dangerous "bag style slings": the Boppy "sling", the PreMaxx "sling," the JJ Cole "sling", the bag sling by Serena and Lily, to name a few.
Read more here.
New Rules for Baby Product Manufacturers After Several Product Recalls
Dec 29th
A rash of recent baby product recalls may have prompted the Consumer Product Safety Commission to impose new regulations on manufacturers.
The CPSC recently held a unanimous vote for new rules that will require hefty regulations for baby product manufactures. The regulations will require all manufacturers to keep track of product owners. Manufactures will be required to provide consumers with a postage-paid registration form. Once the consumer fills out and returns the form, the manufacturer must keep their information on file.
The CPSC hopes this will help consumers find out about recalls faster. Recalls that may be life threatening to their infant or toddler.
Three major recalls were in issued in 2009 after serious injuries occurred in infants and toddlers. The CPSC issued a recall for nearly 500,000 infant car seats after a defective handle was found to put children at serious risk for injury during car accidents. Another recall involving cribs was issued after the defective product caused injuries and bruising to infants and toddlers. The third recall was issued after several children suffered finger amputations. In that recall over two millions strollers were affected.
Hopefully the new regulations imposed by the CPSC will help parents keep their children safe from dangerous and defective products.
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