News of Interest for Late-in-Life Moms October 26, 2008

News to know:

56-year-old gives birth to triplet grandchildren
Jaci Dalenberg, 56, of Wooster, Ohio, acted as a surrogate for her daughter, Kim Coseno. On Oct. 11, Dalenberg gave birth by Caesarean section to identical twin girls and their sister. The babies were more than two months premature and each weighed less than three pounds.

Many moms risk SIDS by sharing bed with baby
Almost one third of mothers participating in the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program report sharing a bed with their infant, according to new research published in the Journal of Pediatrics. Sharing a bed with an infant is a known risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Rashes prompt warning about baby clothing
After about 400 babies who wore Carter's Inc. baby garments with tag-less labels developed rashes on their backs, the The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning.
The agency said children should stop wearing these garments if they develop a rash; however it did not announce a recall of the product line. Affected clothing includes knit items such as body suits, shirts and pajamas.

Food allergies increasing in children
Food allergies in American children seem to be on the rise, now affecting about 3 million kids, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
About 1 in 26 children had food allergies last year, the agency reported. That’s up from 1 in 29 kids in 1997.

Surprising success for childhood rotavirus vaccine
Rotateq, a vaccine against rotavirus, has led to a dramatic drop in hospitalization and emergency room visits since it came on the market two years ago, doctors reported. Rotavirus is the leading cause of diarrhea in infants. The vaccine also seems to prevent illness even in unvaccinated children by cutting the number of infections in the community that kids can pick up and spread.