Premature Infants May Later Have Problems in Day Care

One of the health risks that very premature babies face is a condition known as chronic lung disease of prematurity, or CLDP. These children can be prone to respiratory infections and a recent study supported by the National Institutes of Health shows that kids with CLDP have an even greater increase in risk when placed in daycare.

Serious Respiratory Nearly Four Times as Likely

Normal gestation for humans is 40 weeks. Babies born at 38 weeks and less are considered premature. Chronic Lung Disease of Prematurity occurs in about one-fourth of babies born before 26 weeks of gestation, but can also develop in babies born as late as 32 weeks. Most children with CLDP improve with age as their lung mature, but about one-quarter continue to have respiratory problems even into adulthood.
Sharon McGrath-Morrow MD MBA of Johns Hopkins Children’s Center studied 111 children, aged 3 years and younger who had CLDP. Twenty-two of the children attended daycare. The parents were interviewed about infections, symptoms, emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and use of medications.
Read: US Preterm Birth Rates Improve, But Still Poor
When placed in daycare, those children had a 3.7-fold increase of going to the emergency room with a serious respiratory infection over children not in daycare. Those children also were twice as likely to need corticosteroids and/or antibiotics. Children in daycare were also nearly three times more likely to have breathing problems at least once a week compared to those not attending daycare.
"Daycare can be a breeding ground for viruses and puts these already vulnerable children at risk for prolonged illness and serious complications from infections that are typically mild and short-lived in children with healthy lungs," said Dr. McGrath-Morrow says in a statement.
This article is taken from- http://www.emaxhealth.com/1506/premature-infants-may-later-have-problems-day-care

Parents Don't View Bullying as Top Concern

According to a survey by the Strategic Planning Initiative for Families and Youth (SPIFFY) survey parents concerns vary and bullying isn't always their concern. SPIFFY took 380 South Hadley parents at fall open houses this year, ranked teen alcohol and drug use and Internet behavior and safety as top concerns across all three age groups.
The third-highest concern for parents of seventh- and eighth-graders was bullying. That is compared to the third-highest concern for parents of high school students was supervised and unsupervised teen parties and for the parents of fifth- and sixth-graders, the youngest age group whose parents were surveyed, the third- and fourth priorities were tips for raising teens and mental health. Bullying ranked as fifth in importance for parents of fifth- and sixth-graders and for high school students
Yet 30 percent of students who responded to the 2005 survey reported being bullied, which was higher than the Massachusetts state average. The survey also reported 16.4 percent of students seriously considered attempting suicide, while 14.6 percent reported attempting suicide.
"I think it showed despite all the perception of bullying the biggest concern was drug and alcohol abuse," said Superintendent Gus Sayer. He stated that he was not familiar with the SPIFFY survey, but that the results reflected concerns that drug and alcohol abuse, which had previously been decreasing in the school district, was again on the rise.
According to a 2008 Internet Safety Technical Task Force report, "Along with the positive aspects of Internet use come risks to safety, including the dangers of sexual solicitation, online harassment, and bullying, and exposure to problematic and illegal content." The report states that while sexual predation and increases in risky behavior is a large concern, "Bullying and harassment, most often by peers, are the most frequent threats that minors face, both online and offline."
This survey has demonstrated that parents concerns vary and despite the suicide and suicide attempts, many parents are still more concerned with teen alcohol and drug use and Internet behavior.
This article is taken from- http://www.emaxhealth.com/1357/parents-dont-view-bullying-top-concern