News of Interest to Moms September 28, 2009

News to know:


Study: Many kids suffer medication side effects
More than half a million kids a year are treated for medication side effects in American outpatient clinics and emergency rooms, according to a study published in the October issue of the journal Pediatrics.

Researchers analyzed National Center for Health Statistics outpatient data between 1995 and 2005. Among children up to age 18, there were 585,922 visits a year for adverse drug events (ADEs).

Forty-three percent of the visits were by children four years old and younger, followed by youngsters aged 15 to 18 (23 percent). Forty-five percent of the side-effects were skin-related, while 16.5 percent were gastrointestinal.

Are "swine flu parties" safe?
Some parents are considering exposing their children to swine flu via "parties" --parent-sanctioned get-togethers with other children.

Dr. Thomas Sandora, the director of infection control at Children's Hospital in Boston said,"Swine flu parties are a dangerous gamble and a big mistake ...
catching this novel H1N1 flu virus can be extremely dangerous ... intentionally exposing your child to a potentially fatal infection is never a risk worth taking."

Woman in embryo mix-up gives birth, faces heartbreak
Carolyn Savage, 40, gave birth to a healthy boy last Thursday after carrying Shannon Morell's son for nine months.

Last February, the two mothers, both hoping for another child, were surprised when the fertilized embryo from Morrell was implanted in Savage's womb.

Because of her Catholic religious beliefs, Savage, a mother of two from Sylvania, Ohio, agreed not to abort and to give the baby back to its biological mother.


National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month: ongoing need for pediatric cancer research