News of Interest for Moms September 25, 2009

News to know:

Infants' and Children's Tylenol Products Recalled
Twenty-one children's and infants’ Tylenol liquid products manufactured between April 2008 and June 2008 have been recalled by McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Tylenol's manufacturer.

According to MedPage Today, a medical news service, the recall was prompted by the discovery of possible contamination with a Gram-negative bacteria, Burkholderia cepacia (B. cepacia).

McNeil Consumer Healthcare informed physicians and other providers of the recall earlier this month, MedPage said. The company also said no bacteria has been found in finished products, but bacteria were detected on bulk materials used to make the medicine.

Parents and caregivers who have questions or concerns should contact their child's health care provider or Tylenol’s consumer call center at 1-800-962-5357 (available Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time).


Doctors Warn About Tricky Dosing with Liquid Tamiflu for Kids
Parents could give their children the wrong dose of Tamiflu as treatment for the 2009H1N1 flu, according to a letter published online Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. The dosing instructions don't always coincide with the measurement markings on the syringe that comes with the liquid medication.

The letter encourages doctors and pharmacists to watch for this potential dosing mismatch and to help parents figure out exactly how much Tamiflu to give their child.

Pregnant woman gets pregnant
A pregnant Arkansas womanwent in for a routine ultrasound and was shocked to discover she was pregnant again. She has two growing fetuses in her belly, yet the babies aren't twins. Doctors say she got pregnant twice. One baby was conceived two and a half weeks before the other.

Recession Defers Motherhood
Worries about the economy have led many American women to think twice about having a baby, according to a researchers at the not-for-profit Alan Guttmacher Institute, which studies sexual and reproductive health.

The survey found:

*Nearly half of those surveyed said they want to delay pregnancy or limit the number of children they have.

*Many women said they were skimping on birth control, switching to a cheaper method or even going without as a way of saving money.