Healthy Living for Babies Under 2
Tests and tools to keep infants healthy. Plus: vaccine safety.
Illustration by Newsweek
DEVELOPMENTAL SCREENING
The AAP recommends that infants and young children be assessed for developmental delays and behavioral disabilities. Talk to your child's doctor about the types and frequency of screening that might be needed.
BLOOD TESTS
The AAP recommends that hemoglobin or hematocrit levels be checked at 1 year of age (and repeated at future checkups only if the doctor feels it's necessary).
VACCINES
Children should get all the required vaccines, following the ACIP's published schedule. The typical immunizations are for hepatitis B, rotavirus, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough (pertussis), Haemophilus influenzae, pneumococcal disease, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis A, and chickenpox. A yearly flu shot is also recommended for children 6 months and older.
ORAL HEALTH
The USPSTF recommends that you talk to your child's doctor about fluoride supplements if you live in an area with fluoride-deficient water.
The AAP recommends that children get a dental checkup at 1 year of age (or within 6 months of their first tooth, says an ADA spokesperson). Tooth brushing twice a day is essential as soon as the first teeth begin erupting. Parents should also start weaning children off pacifiers at age 1.
SECOND OPINION | VACCINES
Before the advent of vaccines, mumps was a major cause of deafness in children, polio paralyzed thousands, and rubella led to miscarriages and infant death. Today, many infectious diseases have been reduced or eliminated in the U.S., and some parents are more concerned about the ingredients in vaccines than the threat of illness. Some are choosing to space out their children's shots; a minority aren't vaccinating their kids at all.
The CDC recommends that children be given a series of immunizations in the first two years of life to protect against 14 different diseases, including diphtheria and chickenpox. Babies are small and vulnerable, so it's not surprising that the question arises: can their tiny bodies handle so many vaccines at such a young age? A number of concerned moms have turned to the "Alternative Vaccine Schedule," published by pediatrician Robert Sears, in which Sears suggests getting fewer shots at each infant checkup and spreading the shots out over a longer period of time.
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Infectious-disease experts say altering the CDC's schedule is scientifically unfounded and potentially dangerous. The reality is that babies are bombarded by foreign substances the minute they're born, says Dr. Margaret Fisher, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Section on Infectious Diseases. Their immune systems are still developing, yes, but they are capable of handling an influx of daily toxins and bacteria. At the same time, the protection babies receive from their mother's antibodies is "pretty much gone," by 6 months of age, says Fisher. Because everything in their bodies is so small, including the airways and ears, serious infectious diseases can hit young infants especially hard. And they're unable to articulate how they feel and, perhaps most important, when they're feeling worse. "That's why it's essential to get those vaccines front-loaded," says Fisher. "We feel passionately that children should be immunized on schedule."
—Research by Ian Yarett
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Claudia Kalb, who writes health and medical stories for the magazine, was named senior writer in December 2004. Kalb has reported on a wide range of medical and scientific issues, including stem cells, autism, reproductive medicine, HIV/AIDS and childhood obesity. Her cover stories for the magazine include “Kids and the Growing Food Allergy Threat” (October 2007); “Girl or Boy? Now You can Choose. But Should You?” (January 2004), which won a Front Page Award from the Newswomen’s Club of New York; and “SARS: What You Need to Know, The New Age of Epidemics” (May 2003). Kalb’s story “Battling a Black Epidemic” was featured in Newsweek’s special report, “AIDS at 25” (May 2006), which was a National Magazine Award finalist in 2007.
Kalb had been a general editor in New York since 1999 and a correspondent in the Boston bureau since 1996, where she covered medicine, politics, education, and family and social issues.
Prior to joining Newsweek in 1994, Kalb worked as a researcher and reporter at the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center in New York, where she researched books, including Dictatorship of Virtue by then New York Times writer Richard Bernstein and Den of Lions by former Lebanon hostage Terry Anderson.
Kalb was awarded a Casey fellowship at the Casey Journalism Center for Children and Families (June 1998), a Knight mini-fellowship at the Knight Science Journalism Fellowships at MIT (December 1999) and a John S. Knight Fellowship at Stanford University for the academic year 2001-2002.
Kalb received her B.A. and graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College before earning her Master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University. She works in Newsweek’s Washington bureau.
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