As parents, we know to keep coins away from children as they could – and do – swallow them. There is another item the size of a coin that could be much more dangerous if swallowed: button batteries. Many of us have them in our car remotes and other small remotes used around the house. …Continue reading this post

Recently, there have been a lot of TV programs and newspaper stories discussing infant safe sleep, especially the debate about co-sleeping. Despite much research, we still aren’t sure why some babies die during co-sleeping and others don’t. Every infant death is tragic and involves a unique set of circumstances.

Here’s what we do know: between 2005 and 2008, 88 babies in the Milwaukee area died from accidental overlay, suffocation or sudden infant death syndrome. These cases involved boys and girls of all …Continue reading this post

While caring for patients in the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Concussion Clinic, I often notice that parents and young athletes don’t realize that a concussion affects injured athletes in all phases of life, not just athletics. While progress has been made in concussion awareness and recognition on the athletic field (although there’s still room for improvement), concussion awareness has …Continue reading this post

This morning, Children’s Service Society of Wisconsin celebrated National Adoption Day at the Vel R. Phillips Juvenile Justice Center in Milwaukee. Families, adoption advocates, policymakers, judges, child welfare agencies and volunteers came together to finalize adoptions and find safe, permanent, loving homes for nineteen children who were in foster care. …Continue reading this post

Thanksgiving. A time to be with family, watch football, relax and eat a lot of salty, rich foods. For many people Thanksgiving is not a time to focus on their health, and especially not a time to focus on their diets, but this can change.

In general, sodium (salt) intake is much too high in the United States. The American Heart Association recommends a limit of 1,500 mg of sodium per day for adults. One teaspoon of salt contains …Continue reading this post