Infants who are “tongue tied” (ankyloglossia) can have difficulties with breastfeeding.
Dried blood samples from newborns are routinely sent to State Centers for Newborn Screening. States vary widely in their policies regarding retention and use of these blood samples. The authors of this study conclude that “some states that retain (DBS) Dried Blood Samples may be acting outside of the scope of their legal authority.”
Infants who sleep prone manifest lower cerebral oxygenation in this recent study from Australia.
Infants born “Late Preterm”, i.e. – 3 to 6 weeks “early”, carry a greater risk of neurodevelopmental delay, compared with those newborns delivered at term (within 3 weeks of due date).
Mild hip dysplasia in infants may resolve spontaneously, even without splinting, a recent study from Norway finds.
Infants of mothers who were vaccinated during pregnancy have a >40% decreased risk of influenza virus infection during their first 6 months of life.
Infants born just 4 weeks early (36 weeks gestation) appear to be at greater risk for long-term cognitive and emotional problems.
Multiple recent studies have confirmed the benefit of breastfeeding for the prevention of infections in children.
Whether to bed-share with infants is controversial, given the increased risk of infant death in this scenario and the competing benefits. A recent study has confirmed that families that shared beds with infants demonstrated significantly higher levels of breastfeeding during the first 15 months of life.
Twin studies have recently suggested that intra-uterine growth restriction, and low birth weight may affect infant verbal IQ attainment.