You may have read and heard a lot about concussions lately. I recently cowrote a clinical report on sports-related concussions in children and adolescents that will be published today in Pediatrics. There have been some positive changes in the NFL and NCAA to improve safety, but you will be glad to know the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletics Association has been following these improved rules for a few years now.

Concussions are brain injuries and need to be taken seriously. They don’t just happen in professional sports, they happen in every sport, at any age, to boys and girls.

Concussions are treated much differently now than they were 10 years ago. While we have learned a lot about concussion, medical professionals continue to learn how to better recognize, treat and prevent short- and long-term consequences.

A concussion is a brain injury that temporarily alters brain functions. It usually happens after a direct blow to the head, but it also can happen from a blow elsewhere on the body where the force gets transmitted up to the head. Most young people are not knocked out, and many kids have no memory loss. Even a child with a normal MRI or CT scan of the brain can have a concussion, because it’s a functional injury, not damage to the brain’s structure. (more…)

For so many Americans who lost their jobs and their insurance, Medicaid is an important safety net. Now imagine you lost both your job and your insurance benefits and your child gets sick, but you have the Medicaid safety net. So, you call your doctor, only to be told that your doctor’s office can’t see your child because he or she cannot see any more Medicaid patients. You are told this is because the state can’t afford to pay the costs for the services. (more…)

Having a baby is one of the most exciting times in any woman’s life. So many fun, new changes happen when we have a baby. There are so many decisions to make, especially about what to feed this new little wonder. Most people have heard that breast milk is best, but often they don’t know why.  Being a nurse and a lactation consultant, I have learned so much about breast milk and why it’s so fantastic. I have a few insights that may help you in making your decision about whether to breastfeed. (more…)