UTMB Pediatrics: In the news

Pediatrics In the News

Poison center marks 50 years

Galveston County Daily News, June 3, 2010
Tucked away above the emergency room on the campus of UTMB, the Southeast Texas Poison Center has been offering calm counsel for 50 years, wrote Maureen Balleza of UTMB’s Office of Public Affairs. “The staff of experts provides assistance 24 hours a day at no charge. ‘Nothing is really routine,’ center director Jon Thompson said. ‘Each phone encounter is a special event.’ From panicked parents to paramedics on the scene, the center handles an average of 250 calls per day. More than half the calls involve children age 5 and younger, and most of those are about toddlers 2 and younger. Calls peak in the evening as parental distractions, such as answering the door or cooking dinner, reduce vigilance. From opening childproof caps and cupboards, to finding a way to scale cabinets, young children can get into poison in an instant.”
Read more here ...

On H1N1 anniversary, a mother lives daily with regret

CNN, April 26, 2010
Conditions were already dire in Galveston, Texas, when word about the swine flu spread in April 2009. Because UTMB’s hospital was still damaged from being hit by Hurricane Ike seven months prior, staff members were using tents and other temporary quarters when people started swarming in because of H1N1. Most of the people on the island were coughing already because of the debris and construction, and determining who had an upper respiratory infection was difficult when everybody was coughing. “You hear from the lay people, ‘we shouldn’t have been so panicked because nothing happened,’” said Dr. Angela Gardner, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians and former UTMB emergency physician. “Well, nothing happened because people took it very seriously. I think it’s an example of a process that worked.” Read more here ...

Swine flu outbreak may peak again

KTRK-TV (Ch. 13, Houston), April 23, 2010
UTMB’s Joan Nichols warns that we may see another cycle of the H1N1virus this summer and advises that parents and children receive the vaccination if they haven’t already. View video interview here ...

Grand Kids Festival, April 10, 2010

Please enjoy the pictures from this year’s Grand Kids Festival-
before we got rained out. Click here to view ....

Obesity in infants can be diagnosed as early as 6 months

RedOrbit, April 6, 2010
Obesity can be detected in infants as young as 6 months, according to a new study by UTMB researchers. “Until very recently, pediatricians really haven’t been focusing on obesity in babies,” said Dr. David McCormick, UTMB clinical professor of pediatrics and senior author of the study, “Infant Obesity: Are We Ready to Make this Diagnosis?” which is now online in the Journal of Pediatrics. “We’re just getting a handle on it descriptively right now. What we’re hoping to do is alert our colleagues and our parents. If we address weight management through nutrition and exercise as early in life as possible, it’s going to work a lot better.” According to McCormick, pediatricians confronting infant obesity can recommend a number of measures that other research has shown are linked to healthy weight, measures that should be particularly effective because babies' mothers have much more control over their diets than mothers of older children do. Read more here ...

Take steps to protect your family from pet diseases

Galveston County Daily News, April 7, 2010
Pets can teach children responsibility, as well as respect for nature and other living things, wrote UTMB Drs. Sally Robinson and Keith Bly in their Keeping Kids Healthy column. However, pets can carry infections that can be passed to humans. “Animals can spread germs just like people can. Diseases passed from animals to people are called zoonoses and children, elderly people, people with compromised immune systems and pregnant women are most likely to get them. Some common diseases pets can have are not transmitted to humans, but pets also can carry bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi that can cause people to become sick. These germs can be transferred to humans through bites, scratches and contact with an animal’s waste, saliva or dander (flakes from hair, feathers, or skin). Pets also carry ticks and fleas in their fur, which can bite people and transfer parasitic eggs or germs to people.” Read more here ...

A laugh and a smile

Galveston County Daily News, March 31, 2010

There are many meetings held across the UTMB campus every day, addressing the serious business of health care, education and research. Then there is one meeting where the sole agenda item is how to make children laugh. In the monthly meeting of the Student Caring Clown Organization, Rick Rack and her fellow officers, Snickers, Freckles, Princess Jingles and Beautiful Britches, tackle issues such as face painting, balloon animals and magic tricks. Topping the agenda at a recent meeting was their annual fundraiser, April Fools for Health Smile Campaign, geared toward supplying UTMB’s clown troupe with all it needs to keep kids smiling. “For a $20 smile contribution, we can purchase 40 red foam clown noses, 300 balloons for sculpting animals, 625 smiley clown face stickers, 1,000 happy face stickers and miles and miles of smiles,” Carolyn Pearce (Rick Rack), president of the group, said. “We will have tables set up in both the John Sealy and student cafeterias every Tuesday in April to accept donations.” Read more here ...

Does your child have strabismus?

Galveston County Daily News, March 24, 2010
Strabismus, also called “lazy eye” and “crossed eyes,” affects 1 to 5 percent of children younger than 6, wrote UTMB Drs. Sally Robinson and Keith Bly in their Healthy Kids column. With normal vision, both eyes are aimed in the same direction and see the same image. The brain blends the two images into one clear 3-D image. Children with strabismus see an object from a slightly different angle in each eye. Gradually the brain begins to ignore the image from the “crooked” eye to avoid a double image. In time, the child looses depth perception and may even lose vision in the “crooked” eye. Parents should talk to their health care provider if they suspect this condition in a child. Read more here ...

A pediatrician’s top 5 list for parents of obese kids

Galveston County Daily News, March 21, 2010
UTMB’s Dr. Patricia Beach lists her top five things parents can do to save obese children from a lifetime of health problems. Among her recommendations: Allow no more than one small sweet (sugary) drink a day, shop the edges of the supermarket and not the aisles, and limit screen time to one hour per day to make room for other healthy activities like walking, running, riding bikes and playing basketball. Read more here ...

Dealing with a child who is a picky eater

Galveston County Daily News, March 17, 2010
Almost every child goes through a stage where he or she is picky about food, wrote UTMB Drs. Sally Robinson and Keith Bly in their Keeping Kids Healthy column. “You can’t force a child to eat, but luckily picky eating usually improves as a child gets older. Children establish a certain amount of independence through mealtime because once they start feeding themselves, they can choose what they are going to eat. Their refusal to eat what you put on their plate may actually have less to do with the food and more to do with the need to show this independence and test your authority. This is why pressuring your child to eat certain foods may backfire,” they wrote. Read more here ...

Center builds poison prevention awareness

Galveston County Daily News, March 14, 2010
Southeast Texas Poison Center is marking National Poison Prevention Week, which begins today. The UTMB-based center is a 24-hour information and emergency treatment facility for the people of 28 counties in southeast Texas, providing physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals with education and training in clinical toxicology and poisoning and publicly promoting a safer environment for Texans. During the week, it will focus attention on the public health problem of 2 million to 3 million poisonings reported annually, more than half of which involve children younger than 6. “Unintentional poisoning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death in Texas and nationwide,” Jon Thompson, director of the center, said. “Poison centers are our nation’s primary defense against injury and deaths from poisoning.” Read more here ...

The dos and don’ts of caring for a baby’s skin

Galveston County Daily News, March 10, 2010
In their Keeping Kids Healthy column, UTMB Drs. Sally Robinson and Keith Bly address how to care for a baby’s skin. The baby has been bathed in amniotic fluid for months — without soap. Water makes up a great part of this fluid, and it follows that moisture, or water, is an important quality of skin. Water is also the most important ingredient in cleaning a baby. Until the umbilical cord falls off, sponge bathing is sufficient. Daily bathing isn’t necessary, but the diaper area must be cleaned with gentle soap and rinsed adequately. Be sure diaper wipes do not contain alcohol. Read more here ...

Clinic helps teen moms juggle life, school

Galveston County Daily News, Feb. 28, 2010
A weekly clinic at Ball High School provides medical and emotional support for pregnant teens stepping into parenthood but opting to keep one foot firmly planted in high school. The program, part of the Teen Health Center there, brings a team of doctors, residents and medical students to provide maternity care. They perform exams, educate and help deliver babies. They also offer strong doses of mothering to expectant mothers. Dr. Julie McKee, assistant professor in the department of family medicine at UTMB, has worked with the prenatal clinic for almost 10 years. She includes lessons on nutrition, exercise and sexually transmitted diseases along with the prenatal checkups. Read more here ...

Taking temperatures and treating fever

Galveston County Daily News, Feb. 24, 2010

In their Keeping Kids Healthy column, UTMB Drs. Sally Robinson and Keith Bly explain “normal” body temperature and provide guidelines for taking temperatures and treating fever in children. With so many diseases incorporating the word “fever” in their names, it is no wonder some parents become upset when a child’s temperature rises. A center in our brains, the hypothalamus, regulates body temperatures. It has a setting for normal running conditions, about 98.6 degrees. It reacts to infections by turning up the heat and to hot environments by turning down the heat. So our normal body temperature might be higher or lower than “normal.” This figure of 98.6 degrees is an average of lots of sample temperatures of healthy adults and older children. But it is an average. Normal temperatures in older children run from 97 degrees to 100 degrees.
Read more here ...

Free Texting Tips for Pregnant Women, New Mothers

UTMB has partnered with National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition to provide a free mobile information service, called “text4baby,” providing timely health information to pregnant women and new mothers from pregnancy through a baby’s first year. Visit the UTMB Newsroom for the full press release.

School-based Telemedicine

The lead story on this news program for teens and pre-teens features UTMB Dr. Fred Thomas and Galveston’s telemedicine program, which provides psychiatric services to students via videoconferencing. Teen Kids News airs on over 200 television stations in the United States and on KNWS-TV (Ch. 51, Houston) on Fridays at 7 a.m. In addition, the program is seen in 8,100 schools by more than 6 million students each week in a special classroom education feed.

Club has kids on move to healthier lifestyle

Houston Chronicle, Feb. 21, 2010
A variety of Galveston- and Houston-area programs teach youngsters about healthy lifestyles and weight management — key goals of first lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” initiative announced this month. One such program, Fit-n-Fun, is free for all Galveston children and is staffed by UTMB students on Saturdays at the McGuire-Dent Recreation Center at Menard Park. The program includes physical activity, nutrition education and gift cards for participants who maintain or lose weight.
Read more here ...

Pediatric Faculty Members Receive Excellence in Clinical Teaching Awards from McGovern Academy

Patricia Rodgers, M.D. Judith Rowan, M.D.

Patricia Rogers, M.D.	Judith Rowan, M.D.
Read more here ...

Oh that chemical feeling

The Huffington Post, Feb. 11, 2010
According to UTMB researchers, mice born to mothers exposed to low doses of bisphenol A were more likely to have an asthmatic response when subjected to a trigger than mice born to mothers not exposed to BPA. The findings appear in the February issue of Environmental Health Perspectives. The research team included lead author Terumi Midoro-Horiuti, Randall Goldblum, Cheryl Watson and Ruby Tiwari. Read more here ...

School-based telemedicine

Teen Kids News (KNWS-TV, Houston), Feb. 5, 2010
The lead story on this news program for teens and pre-teens features UTMB Dr. Fred Thomas and Galveston’s telemedicine program, which provides psychiatric services to students via videoconferencing. Teen Kids News airs on over 200 television stations in the United States and on KNWS-TV (Ch. 51, Houston) on Fridays at 7a.m. In addition, the program is seen in 8,100 schools by more than 6 million students each week in a special classroom education feed. Read more here ...

Tips for moms on storing, preserving breast milk

Galveston County Daily News, Feb. 10, 2010

In their Keeping Kids Healthy column, UTMB Drs. Sally Robinson and Keith Bly provide guidelines on storing and preserving breast milk for a healthy infant. Fresh or pumped milk placed in a refrigerator set at 39 degrees will remain usable for 72 hours. Milk pumped at work and placed in a cooler along with some refreezable ice and kept at 59 degrees will remain usable for 24 hours. At room temperature, which is 77 degrees, the milk will last only about four hours. Do not thaw milk in the microwave. Doing so will destroy much of the immunologic benefit. To thaw a container of breast milk, move it to the refrigerator the day before, leave it at room temperature, place it in lukewarm water, or place it under warm running water. Read more here ...

Years later, trying to break a faulty vaccine connection

MarketWatch, Feb. 4, 2010
Last week, the British medical journal the Lancet retracted an erroneous study connecting the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to autism and bowel disease. Will the medical-journal retraction convince once-skeptical parents to start immunizing their children again? “It’s understandable why parents get confused with the onslaught of both information and misinformation,” said Dr. Martin G. Myers, professor of pediatrics at UTMB and director of the nonprofit National Network for Immunization Information. When immunization levels go down, communities are at risk, he said. “When a parent makes that decision [to forego vaccination] they’re not just making that decision for the child but for the community as well.” Read more here ...

BPA is suspect in infant asthma

Galveston County Daily News, Feb. 5, 2010
A chemical used to make everything from plastic water bottles and food packaging to sunglasses and CDs could cause pregnant women’s unborn children to develop asthma, according to UTMB researchers. The article quotes Terumi Midoro-Horiuti, lead author of a paper titled “Maternal Bisphenol A Exposure Promotes the Development of Experimental Asthma in Mouse Pups” appearing in the February issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, and Randall Goldblum, another author. Also on the research team were co-author Cheryl Watson and postdoctoral fellow Ruby Tiwari. In addition, the Los Angeles Times published a report on the study yesterday. Read more here ...

Mental health court keeps children out of jail

Shreveport Times, Jan. 31, 2010
Juvenile prisons have been the caretaker of last resort for troubled children since the 1980s, but mental health experts say the system is in crisis, facing a soaring number of inmates reliant on multiple psychotropic drugs and a shortage of help. “We are seeing more and more mentally ill kids who couldn’t find community programs that were intensive enough to treat them,” said Dr. Joseph Penn, director of mental health services for UTMB’s Correctional Managed Care. A program was established four years ago in Louisiana to deal with juveniles who have been adjudicated for crimes and diagnosed with serious mental illnesses such as major depression, mental retardation and autism. Read more here ...

UTMB Pediatric Eye Doctor Seeing Patients on Saturdays

Pediatric eye doctor John S. Davis, M.D., will see patients on Saturdays at the UTMB University Eye Center in Friendswood beginning in January.

"We're expanding office hours to two Saturdays a month to make it more convenient for busy families. It should make it easier for working parents and their school-aged children," Davis said. Davis is a specialist with experience in treating all eye problems affecting children, including glaucoma, cataracts and strabismus (eye alignment disorders). He also specializes in complex strabismus problems affecting adults.

Appointments are being scheduled 8:30 a.m.-noon for the following dates:
Jan. 9; Jan. 23; Feb. 6; Feb. 20; and March 6.

To make an appointment during office hours, call the UTMB University Eye Center, Friendswood, at (281) 996-7564. To schedule an appointment after hours call the UTMB Access Center at
(409) 772-2222.

UTMB University Eye Center in Friendswood, the first multi-specialty ophthalmology treatment center to serve the Friendswood area, is located at 400 W. Parkwood, Suite 120. More information is available at www.UTMBeyecenter.com.

Kids come clean about drugs, sex

Galveston County Daily News, Jan. 29, 2010
Galveston’s biannual Children’s Report Card, officially known as the “Youth Risk Behavior Study 2009,” has just been published by UTMB, which conducts the survey on behalf of Galveston Independent School District. The topics included mental health, nutrition and weight issues, sexual activity and the use of seat belts. Dan Freeman, who led the medical branch survey team, said, “This is the eighth Children’s Report Card and, in each one, the responses have been consistent with state and national trends, so they are good indicators of what our children experience on a daily basis.” Read more here ...

Mentoring a child is a resolution you want to keep

Galveston County Daily News, Jan. 27, 2010
UTMB postdoctoral researcher Kyle Timmerman became interested in Big Brothers Big Sisters when his adviser and mentor told him about the program and the impact it has on the lives of the children it serves. Just one month after joining the medical branch, Timmerman applied to be a Big Brother and was matched with Terome in July 2007. Terome’s mother is certain that having Timmerman as a mentor has made all the difference in her son’s outlook on life. “The consistency of their relationship has helped Terome stay focused in school, so one day he, too, can have a career in the medical field.” Read more here ...

Protect children by getting them vaccinated

Galveston County Daily News, Jan. 27, 2010
In their Keeping Kids Healthy column, UTMB Drs. Sally Robinson and Keith Bly wrote about the importance of vaccinating children. “Because antibodies are specific to individual antigens, vaccines are particular to individual diseases. For this reason, our children need a series of shots to protect them against infectious diseases that have killed millions of unprotected children in the past. The single most important thing you can do to protect your child is to make sure he or she has completed the vaccination schedule and has these antibodies in the bloodstream, ready to protect at a moment’s notice.” Read more here ...

Annual Children's Memorial Service

Faculty and Staff are invited to attend the Children’s Memorial Service on Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 3 p.m., Children’s Hospital Auditorium, Children’s Hospital 2. 312

During the Service, we will remember children who have died at UTMB between December, 2007 to December, 2009. Dr. Cara Geary will be our faculty speaker. Light refreshments served following the service for time to offer condolences to our families who attend.

Straight talk on scoliosis

Galveston County Daily News, Jan. 20, 2010
Scoliosis, a condition that causes the spine to curve too much in the wrong direction, affects about 6 million people in the United States. Scoliosis develops gradually and often is not detected until a child is between 10 and 14 years old. In their Keeping Kids Healthy column, UTMB Drs. Sally Robinson and Keith Bly wrote about the signs and symptoms of scoliosis, which include uneven shoulders, one shoulder blade that sticks out further than the other, uneven waist, one hip higher than the other and leaning to one side. Several risk factors can affect the chance that a scoliosis curve will get worse. Read more here ...

Alcohol, cigarettes hurting the unborn

KHOU-TV (Ch. 11, Houston), Jan. 7, 2010
Birth defects from drinking and from smoking while pregnant are among the most preventable, yet they are among the most devastating and costly. While it’s one thing to tell women to stop, it’s quite another for some to do it. According to Mahmoud Ahmed, director of UTMB’s laboratory of maternal and fetal pharmacology,once you become a nicotine addict or an alcoholic, “it’s a whole different story.” He says addicted smokers are particularly hard cases. UTMB researcher Tatiana Nanovskaya is trying to find out if drugs like Zyban that help people stop smoking might harm the fetus. At a laboratory located down the hall from the delivery room at UTMB’s John Sealy Hospital, researchers receive a mother’s placenta just moments after birth. The researchers then attach tubes to the placenta, mimicking the flow of blood, and inject the drugs to see how much passes through the placenta, which provides food and oxygen to the fetus. Depending on what they find, doctors might eventually start prescribing the stop-smoking drugs to pregnant women. The video begins at the 3:27 mark. Click here...

Reliving school traumas may not promote healing

MedPage Today, Jan. 6, 2010
After a traumatic event, schools are often inclined to offer students psychological treatments, from single-session intervention to group therapy. But a psychological “debriefing” that involves reliving or remembering the trauma may do more harm than good. UTMB Dr. Christopher Thomas weighs in: “It’s an alarming concern that in some cases, [debriefing] has been found to increase the risk of PTSD.” He said that having a patient relive a trauma may “work against natural processes of handling trauma and grieving,” and “forcing someone to recall painful information before they are emotionally able to handle it” can be damaging. Read more here...

Protect your children from scald burns

Galveston County Daily News, Jan. 6, 2010
Scald burns occur from accidental spills of hot liquids or from hot tap water
and happen most often in children younger than 5 and the elderly.
UTMB Drs. Sally Robinson and Keith Bly offer tips on how to prevent
and treat these types of burns in their Keeping Kids Healthy column.
Read more here...

Cognitive-behavioral therapy for childhood anxiety
and depression

Psychiatric Times, Dec. 28, 2009

Eat candies, ward off deadly infections

For both depression and anxiety disorders in youths, there is increasing evidence of clinical benefit from cognitive-behavioral therapy, according to UTMB Dr. Karen Dineen Wagner. “It is important that residency training programs — particularly in child and adolescent psychiatry — include CBT as an essential component,” she wrote. “Ideally, child psychiatry residents should develop equal expertise in pharmacotherapy and in CBT. It is clear from our evidence-based treatments that CBT has become a core skill for clinicians who treat youths with anxiety or depressive disorders.” Read more here...

Times of India, Jan. 5, 2010
Scientists from UTMB and Shriners Hospitals for Children-Galveston have revealed that a compound called glycyrrhizin might be an effective tool in battling life-threatening, antibiotic-resistant infections resulting from severe burns. The study showed that glycyrrhizin improved the ability of damaged skin to create small proteins that serve as the first line of defense against Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. The study appeared in the January issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology. Study authors are Tsuyoshi Yoshida, Shohei Yoshida, Makiko Kobayashi, David N. Herndon and Fujio Suzuki. Read more here...

Early arrival is county’s first baby of 2010

Galveston County Daily News, Jan. 2, 2010

Born five weeks early, A’mayah Morgan was the first baby delivered in 2010 at UTMB. She took her first breath at 5:08 a.m. and weighed 5 pounds and 12 ounces. Shortly after she was born, A’mayah was placed in the hospital’s Infant Special Care Unit for observation but was expected to be fine. Read more here...

Father plays important role in future health of baby

A father’s lifestyle and age likely play an important role
in the future health of his child. Read more here...

Tips for picking the right baby sitter

Galveston County Daily News, Dec. 23, 2009
With so much going on during the holidays, finding baby sitters can pose a problem for hurried parents. UTMB Drs. Sally Robinson and Keith Bly offer tips on selecting the right baby sitter no matter the season in their Keeping Kids Healthy column. Read more here...

Late bloomers

Parents, January 2010 (cover date)
Dr. Patricia Beach, director of general academic pediatrics at UTMB, is quoted in this magazine article about baby milestones. If your child is not speaking much, it doesn’t mean he or she cannot understand you. “Make eye contact and narrate what you’re doing, whether it’s putting on her shoes or preparing lunch,” she said. (Link unavailable.)

Don’t let poisoning ruin holiday celebrations

Galveston County Daily News, Dec. 22, 2009
Giving amphibians and reptiles as gifts could lead to salmonella poisoning if recipients don’t wash their hands after handling the animals. In addition, there are plenty of other things to watch out for this holiday season, from amaryllis to tinsel. Read more here...

Happy holidays in the hospital

Galveston County Daily News, Dec. 22, 2009
Playing Santa Claus in a hospital was one of his most rewarding experiences, wrote UTMB Dr. Michael Warren in his It’s Your Health column. From the column: The sad fact is most patients who must remain hospitalized at this time of year are the sickest: chronically ill, accident victims, burns patients and others requiring careful monitoring. The most heartbreaking of all are children. Most children’s care units take special pains to ensure children don’t miss out on Christmas. Parties, presents, visits from Santa and carolers often are included. You don’t even have to rent a Santa suit to help make Christmas a happier time. It can be simple things. A phone call to say ‘I love you,’ a basket of (physician-approved) homemade baked goods, a miniature artificial tree near the bedside, a poinsettia plant and, most of all, you. Read more here...

There is no risk-free level of tobacco exposure

Galveston County Daily News, Dec. 9, 2009
Third-hand smoke doesn’t get much attention but its effect is insidious, wrote UTMB Drs. Sally Robinson and Keith Bly in their Keeping Kids Healthy column. Third-hand smoke is tobacco smoke that remains after a cigarette has been extinguished. It lingers in carpets, clothing and other materials for hours and even days, posing a health hazard for infants and children. Read more here...

Rhinovirus family tree

KUHF-FM (88.7, Houston), Dec. 5, 2009

Mom was right about many things, but chicken soup will not cure the common cold. However, researchers have made progress in the battle against human rhinoviruses that cause colds, according to Norbert Herzog and David Niesel of UTMB’s Medical Discovery News. Now that the viruses’ common elements have been identified, the challenge is to target groups of the most problematic types. The program airs at 10 a.m. Saturdays on KUHF and more than 90 other stations. Read more here...

Don’t put your child’s development at risk

Galveston County Daily News, Dec. 2, 2009

Children suffer the most when there’s a smoker in the house. Second-hand smoke can have a lifelong affect on their development, wrote UTMB Drs. Sally Robinson and Keith Bly in their Keeping Kids Healthy column. Many options are available to help adults stop smoking. It’s something a parent can do that will help their kids throughout their lives. Read more here...

Natural disasters, war and children’s mental health

Psychiatric Times, Nov. 30, 2009

UTMB Dr. Karen Dineen Wagner reviews several studies about the effect of disasters on the mental health of children and adolescents. Read more here..

Enjoy holiday foods in moderation

Galveston County Daily News, Nov. 25, 2009

Many of the holiday foods can be enjoyed with portion control and attention to calories, wrote UTMB Drs. Sally Robinson and Keith Bly in their Keeping Kids Healthy column. “Perhaps the most important part of any meal is the sharing of attention and affection for those sitting around the table.” Read more here..

Prevent bad sleeping habits with routines

Galveston County Daily News, Nov. 18, 2009

There are a number of steps parents can take to avoid or ease sleep problems, wrote UTMB Drs. Sally Robinson and Keith Bly in their Keeping Kids Healthy column. Most important is to begin parenting with consistent routines for going to bed. Pick a bedtime that allows sufficient sleep, establish a routine of getting ready for bed and ready for sleep, and stick to it. Read more here...

Current Health 2, November 2009

A common reason sexually active teens don’t use birth control is lack of information. According to UTMB Dr. Abbey Berenson, “If you decide to become sexually active, you should know that your chance of becoming pregnant in any given year is at least 85 percent.” The birth control pill can have a number of beneficial effects besides contraception, she said. Current Health 2 is an educational magazine distributed to schools for grades eight through twelve. (Link unavailable.)

Swine flu Q&A

Galveston County Daily News, Nov. 16, 2009

UTMB Drs. Steve Quach, Vic Sierpina and Christine Turley answer questions about swine flu posed by readers of the Galveston County Daily News. Read more...

Mr. Yuk can keep junior out of harm

Galveston County Daily News, Oct. 27, 2009

The Poison Control Center can help parents protect their children from accidental poisoning, wrote UTMB Dr. Michael Warren in his It’s Your Health column.
In addition to advice and information, the poison center can provide “Mr. Yuk”
stickers that parents can place on dangerous and poisonous items in the home.
Read more...

Jeannette Williams Foundation

OCTOBER 22, 2009 - Jeannette Williams Foundation presents a check to the Department of Pediatrics. The mission of the foundation is to raise funds for children's cancer research and special projects for children and their families. For more information about the foundation, or to support the foundation, please visit their website http://www.child-cancer-research.org/

Daily inhaler use may make asthma symptoms
worse in some children

Health.com, Oct. 9, 2009 Read More...

2nd Annual Preemie Party

The Moody Medical Library was the place for UTMB’s tiniest guests on Saturday, Oct. 17th as the Infant Special Care Unit (ISCU) hosted its 2nd annual premie reunion party. In addition to the infants and families who were once a part of the unit, other party guests included Dr. Garland Anderson, Executive Vice President and Provost, Dr. Joan Richardson, Chair of the Department of Pediatrics and Director of the Division of Neonatology and the ISCU, Dr. Gary Hankins, Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. George Saade, Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology Maternal Fetal Medicine.

“Our tiniest patients are our greatest miracles,” says Dr. Joan Richardson.

Past news continued ...