Researchers have long struggled to figure out what causes a seemingly healthy baby to die suddenly in the first year of life, with an array of possible genetic and environmental factors to choose from.

Now a large, Danish study has found that in families where one child has succumbed to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), a younger sibling’s risk appears to quadruple.

“I am not...

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration official who has led the agency’s food policy efforts since 2018 announced his resignation on Wednesday.

Frank Yiannas was also among the top officials leading the agency response to last year’s infant formula shortage.

"Today, I informed [FDA] Commissio...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has proposed stricter limits on levels of lead in infant food products.

The agency announced draft guidance for manufacturers that would lower allowable lead levels in processed foods meant for infants and children 2 years and younger.

The change could reduce dietary exposure to lead, which can cause neurological and developmental harm, the FDA ...

MONDAY, Jan. 23, 2023 (HealthDay News) – Trouble continues for Abbott Laboratories, which shut down an infant formula plant last year amid reported illnesses.

The U.S. Department of Justice is now investigating the company, though Abbott did not say specifically what the investigation is covering, NBC News reported.

“DOJ has informed us of its investigation and we’r...

Doctors are seeing an alarming increase in cases of a specific genital malformation in male babies, and new research suggests environmental factors might be at play.

The malformation is known as hypospadias, where the opening of the urethra is not at the tip of the penis, but on the underside of the organ.

In the study, scientists identified a direct link between hypospadias tissue ...

By the time they're teenagers, babies born prematurely may be getting poorer school grades than their non-preemie peers.

Researchers found that babies born before 34 weeks of pregnancy had lower scores on math and language tests during their teen years compared to kids born at 40 weeks.

However, the study did not find a significant difference in later brain function in babies born b...

As colds, flu and COVID continue to circulate this winter, a new U.S. government study finds that young children infected with COVID plus a second virus tend to become sicker.

While severe COVID is rare among children, kids can and do fall ill enough to end up in the hospital.

During the pandemic's first two years, young U.S. children who were hospitalized with COVID tended to be mo...

When birth rates fall in the United States, experts try to figure out what’s happening.

The fertility rate is at its lowest since the 1970s -- 1.71 per woman, according to a new study.

But it's not that young people today don't want children, new research suggests. In fac...

Infants too young to be vaccinated for COVID-19 get some protection from their mothers’ breast milk, researchers say.

The new study follows up on findings published in 2021 that showed the breast milk of vaccinated people contained antibodies against the COVID-19 virus.

For the stu...

Two companies are issuing new recalls on Monday for millions of previously recalled rocking sleepers for infants, with about 115 infant deaths possibly linked to use of the sleepers so far reported.

With both products, the Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleepers and the Kids2 Rocking Sleepers, infants have rolled from their back to their stomach or side while unrestrained, in addition to pos...

Following the deaths of 15 infants, families are advised to immediately stop using all models of Kids2 Rocking Sleepers, according to a second recall notice.

Four of those 15 babies died after the first recall notice, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported.

The company is recalling 694,000 Rocking Sleepers. Parents can contact the Kids2 company for a refund.

Generous parental leave policies at work can do wonders for a new mom's mental health.

This is among the key messages from a new review of 45 studies examining how parental leave policies affect mom and dad’s mental health and well-being.

Mothers working for companies with generous parental leave policies were less likely to experience symptoms of depression, poor mental heal...

Those seemingly random kicks or wiggles a newborn baby makes have a purpose.

With each movement, the baby is developing its sensorimotor system, which it will later use to perform sequential movements. The sensorimotor system lets a person control muscles, movement and coordination.

Researchers studying these “spontaneous” newborn movements and comparing them to babies a few mon...

While 8 of 10 mothers breastfeed their newborns for a short time, the number plummets despite recommendations from experts, in part because milk production falls off.

Researchers investigating why that happens found that in women who are obese, inflammation may be the culprit.

Prior research has shown that when a person is obese, chronic inflammation starts in the fat and spreads to...

When a toddler or an infant accidentally ingests a prescription opioid medication, the immediate results can prove deadly, experts warn.

But another new worrisome dynamic is afoot in the United States, a just-published study reveals: pediatric poisonings from a particularly lethal combo — a ...

Babies born prematurely who are fed formula may need iron supplementation like their breastfed counterparts, new research suggests.

“Just because a baby is on iron-rich formula, we should not assume all of their iron needs are being met, since iron from the formula may not have the same absorption as iron from breast milk,” said researcher Grace Power. She is a third-year medical stu...

Flu, RSV and COVID-19 are creating a perfect storm of respiratory disease that is overwhelming the nation's health care systems.

Vaccination will be key to getting through the winter holidays with your health intact, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a m...

Infants and young children could soon receive an updated COVID-19 vaccine as part of their three-dose series.

Pfizer Inc. on Monday asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to have the vaccine that targets the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 replace the third dose in the series for children aged 6 months through 4 years old. Children in that age group would still receive two doses o...

Young girls tend to babble their way to bigger vocabularies earlier than boys, and researchers now think they might know why.

It has nothing to do with gender, and everything to do with parental interaction, researchers assert.

Parents tend to talk more to young children who have started talking and can respond to them, regardless of gender, according to data derived from more than ...

Moms-to-be can safely take Paxlovid to help keep their COVID infection from turning serious, a new study shows.

Nearly everyone in a group of 47 pregnant women prescribed Paxlovid did well on the drug, which did not appear to interfere with their pregnancy in any significant way, researchers report in the Nov. 29 issue of the journal