We will be splitting our prize between the NICUs at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin-Fox Valley in Neenah. The babies in our NICUs are among the most fragile in the region and they really benefit from the advantages breast milk offers. This generous prize will go a long way in helping moms breastfeed their babies.

Time and again, studies have shown that breast milk is the best nutrition for babies, boosting their health, growth, development and ability to fight illnesses.

Thank you to all our patient families, friends and employees who voted for us.

~ Barbara Hayes-Dineen, BS, RN, IBCLC, RLC, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin

Some vaccines like chicken pox, influenza (flu), measles and whooping cough are just not effective in young infants. The whooping cough vaccine must be given several times before it triggers the body’s defense. The best way to protect infants is to make sure family members and caregivers are vaccinated. If the infants are not exposed to the germs, they will not get sick.

If you or your children are not up to date, call your health care provider to schedule your vaccinations. It will help protect everyone – even babies who are too young to be immunized.

~ Marylyn Ranta, MD, director of physician affairs, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin

Whooping cough is a highly contagious respiratory infection. Although it first seems like a regular cold, whooping cough can turn more serious. It causes coughing so bad that it’s hard for kids to eat, drink or breathe. The coughing can last for weeks. In some cases, kids also develop pneumonia, seizures, and in severe cases, brain damage and death.
It’s easy to spread whooping cough and there is no treatment. Fortunately, it’s also very easy to prevent it.

The DTaP vaccine works very well, but the key is to get all five doses and a booster. Children should get one dose at each of the following ages:

• 2 months.
• 4 months.
• 6 months.
• 15 to 18 months.
• 4 to 6 years.

Older children, adolescents and adults still need protection from whooping cough. A booster shot called Tdap is recommended when kids are 11 to 12 years of age and then every 10 years. It also is recommended for adults who care for infants. The vaccine is safe and does not cause autism.

Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and Children’s Medical Group track patient immunization data. A recent review shows that for children younger than 25 months, 22 percent of those seen in our specialty clinics and 18 percent of those seen in our primary care practices were not completely immunized for whooping cough. We’re working to improve these numbers.

Be sure to check vaccine records for you and your children. If you’re not sure whether you or your children are fully protected, contact your physician. If you or your kids haven’t been immunized, your doctor or local health department can help.

Looking for a pediatrician? Children’s Medical Group has 16 clinics throughout southeastern Wisconsin. Find a doctor near you.

~ Smriti Khare, MD, president, Children’s Medical Group

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 socioeconomic classes and races – 37 percent were Hispanic, 30 percent white and 18 percent black. The most common risk factor was an unsafe sleep environment including inappropriate bedding (pillows, quilts or bumpers) in about 80 percent of cases and co-sleeping with an adult in 70 percent of cases. Only a minority of cases (less than 20 percent) involved a parent who was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

While we don’t know all the factors that make co-sleeping dangerous, we are sure that it’s safer not to do it.

Here at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, we follow the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics and encourage you to follow the ABCs of safe sleep:

A: Alone. Babies should not share a sleep surface with anyone or anything. No adults or other children should sleep with a baby. The crib should be empty without toys, bumper pads, wipes or extra blankets. This might look cold and empty to you and a lot different from the plush and filled cribs in the stores or magazines, but it’s safest and your baby will be sleeping and won’t even notice.

B: Back. Deaths due to SIDS have been cut in half since we began recommending all babies be put on their backs to sleep. This position keeps the baby’s face clear, allows him or her to breathe freely, helps regulate breathing and prevents choking if he or she spits up during the night. When you’re on your back, your windpipe is higher than your esophagus, so food and fluid run back into your stomach and not down to your lungs. Remember to let your baby get plenty of “tummy time” when you’re playing with him or her. This will help your baby’s arms and neck grow strong and help his or her head keep a round shape.

C: Crib. Babies don’t need a lot of space, but need their space to be their own. Babies should sleep on a firm, flat surface like an infant crib mattress or Pack ’n Play. Adult mattresses and couches are too soft and are a suffocation risk. If you want to be close to your baby throughout the night, put your crib, bassinet or Pack ’n Play in your bedroom so you can share a room, not a bed.

Finally, remember that one of the best ways to take care of your baby is to take care of yourself. Make sure you get plenty of sleep and exercise and don’t use alcohol or drugs when you’re caring for a child. Spend quality time with your baby, including snuggling and breastfeeding while you’re awake. Then put your child into a protected environment.

Practicing safe sleep is a simple, yet highly effective way to keep your baby safe and healthy. Visit www.chw.org/safesleep to learn more.

~ Jason Jarzembowski, MD, PhD, program director of perinatal pathology, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin

Before Ella’s birth, we met with a breastfeeding consultant to help us understand life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and some of the benefits of breastfeeding. Besides being experts in the benefits of breast milk, the lactation nurses at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin are supportive, thoughtful, understanding and above all, never pushy. Not only were they my teachers, they became my confidants and friends.

In between battling medical emergencies, we were trying to be just like any other set of parents enjoying the first moments with our baby: seeing her eyes open, giving her a first bath, first diaper change, first snuggle. I focused on what I was able to do, and I knew providing breast milk for our daughter would provide her with nutrients and make her immune system stronger.

The stress of having a child in the NICU long-term took a toll and my breast milk supply suffered, even after Ella was discharged. The lactation team helped find ways to prevent my supply from dropping. I often looked forward to coming back to the hospital for clinic visits and overnight stays because I knew I would be able to use a Medela Symphony breast pump.

Today, Ella is a vibrant 2 ½-year-old child who balances her curiosity with sweetness and her stubbornness with determination. The breastfeeding team is a key part of the medical team at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. We are certain that providing breast milk to Ella helped give her a strong foundation.

Medela, a leading maker of breastfeeding equipment and supplies, is holding an online contest that will award $5,000 in breastfeeding products to six hospitals with the most online votes in the Medela Virtual Human Milk Collection Campaign. I encourage you to register and vote online for Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Your vote could help other moms and babies at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.

Please watch the following video to hear why you should vote for Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in the Medela Virtual Human Milk Collection Campaign now through November 30.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CLlqVwMIeY

~ Heather Kucharski, mother of a Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin NICU patient

Over the last five years, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) has expanded, the scope of the NICU Family Support Program has grown and NICU graduates also have grown. These are all great accomplishments.

However, there’s one thing we don’t want to grow – the rate of prematurity in Wisconsin, the U.S. and around the world.

November is Prematurity Awareness Month, which was started by the March of Dimes to get the word out that prematurity is a serious problem. It can lead to learning disabilities, hearing and vision loss, cerebral palsy and even death.

Fortunately, the March of Dimes funds research to find causes and treatments for illnesses related to prematurity. In fact, right now half a million dollars is being used for research right here in Wisconsin!

Be sure to keep an eye out around Children’s Hospital during the month of November as we blanket the hospital in purple, the signature color of the March of Dimes. There will be purple lights at the top of Children’s Corporate Center and in the Noel Family Healing Garden. In the NICU, all of the babies will be given purple hats and the windows will be painted with purple baby feet.

Get more information about the March of Dimes and Prematurity Awareness Month by visiting the March of Dimes website.

~ Melissa Hages, March of Dimes NICU Family Support specialist, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin

This theme focuses on the importance of digital communication and social media. Blogging, texting, email and social media outlets like Facebook and YouTube are being used as effective ways to provide accurate health information and social support to breastfeeding families.

Two fun examples of digital media activities planned by WABA this year are a World Breastfeeding Week flash mob, with locations, lyrics and dance steps posted on YouTube, and a worldwide, simultaneous breastfeeding event called the Big Latch On.

For more information on World Breastfeeding Week, visit the World Alliance of Breastfeeding Advocacy World Breastfeeding Week.

Visit Lactation Matters, the official blog of the International Lactation Consultant Association.

You can access research on lactation from The International Lactation Consultant Association and SAGE Publications Patient Access to the Journal of Human Lactation.

Learn more about the breastfeeding support team at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. To speak to a lactation consultant, call us at (414) 266-1757.

~ Barbara Hayes-Dineen, BS, RN, IBCLC, RLC

Active supervision is the most important precaution for drowning. A supervised child is in sight at all times with your undivided attention focused on the child.

Undivided supervision is essential all places, including at home. Approximately 3 out of 4 pool submersion deaths and 3 out of 5 pool submersion injuries occur at a home pool.

Drowning is the second highest cause of unintentional death for children ages 14 and younger. Each year in the United States, about 400 children in this age bracket drown in pools and spas. That’s more than a child a day. Take these steps to protect your child and keep these statistics down.

For more information, check out these tips from Safe Kids Coalition:

• Home drowning prevention tips
• Open water safety tips
• Pool and hot tub tips

Safe Kids Coalition also has water safety videos here:

• Safe Kids Water Safety
• Water Safety for Children with Special Needs

~ Lisa Klindt Simpson, coordinator, Safe Kids Southeast Wisconsin

• When a caregiver feels frustrated with a baby or a child, take a break. Put the baby in a safe place like a crib or bassinet. Close the door to the room and call a friend.
• Talk with your babysitter about how they should handle crying babies or irritating child behaviors. Give him or her permission to call you when they feel frustrated.

April 12, 2005, six years ago, Michelle Maciosek was at work when she received word that her 9-week-old son, Mason, was shaking violently. She immediately went to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin where Mason was being treated for multiple brain hemorrhages and where it was also reported that his retinas were detached. Unfortunately, upon Michelle’s arrival, Mason was already brain dead, blind, deaf and in a comalike state.

Around 10 p.m. that night, Michelle had to make a decision that no parent should ever have to face. She decided to end his suffering after he was baptized in the hospital. It wasn’t until 5 days later, after the autopsy, that the Maciosek family found the cause of death – shaken baby syndrome. The family’s close friend and babysitter had shaken Mason so hard it eventually led to his death. Michelle Maciosek says:

“Children’s hospital was an amazing help and gave him awesome care. He was baptized and they gave him a blanket and a certificate of baptism for me to take home. Also, about a month later I got a package with a mold of his hand and a footprint in a heart along with about 5 sheets of his footprint and handprint painted on a piece of paper. I was amazed. It was such a kind gesture. I want to do a walk in his memory as his 6-year”angel date” is approaching and give back to Children’s Hospital for all of the care and time that they gave my son. I would like all the proceeds to go to help families that are or have been in my shoes. Shaken baby syndrome is a very serious thing, as you may know.”

Michelle stresses the importance of making sure that families choose their babysitters with great caution. She encourages parents to investigate and pay attention to the personalities and attitudes. “Just because they look good on paper and some people say some good things about them doesn’t mean they can’t eventually snap and do something bad.” Talk to everyone that cares for your child about shaken baby syndrome and how to handle a crying baby. If you are getting frustrated and can’t take hearing a baby cry anymore, put the baby in a safe place, such as a crib, go to another room and breathe. Calm yourself. Call for help.

For more information on the effects of shaken baby syndrome and how to handle a crying baby, visit the Child Abuse Prevention Fund.

You can help by making a donation, joining the conversation on our Facebook page and showing your support by wearing blue on Friday, April 15.

~ Jennifer Hammel, director, Child Abuse Prevention Fund

In 2009, over three million children were reported abused and neglected in the United States.  Of that, more than 56,000 reports of child abuse and neglect occurred in Wisconsin.  This means, a child is reported abused and neglected in our state at a shocking rate of every 9 minutes.

You can help us provide hope. You can help us make a difference in the life of a child.

~ Jennifer Hammel, director, Child Abuse Prevention Fund