Women who get pregnant within a year of having weight-loss surgery are more likely to have preterm and smaller-than-normal babies, a new study suggests. Dutch researchers said their findings support current recommendations to avoid pregnancy for 12 to 24 months after weight-loss (bariatric) surgery. “We should encourage women who wish to conceive after bariatric surgery… read on > read on >
As kids get ready for summer camp, parents might be fretting about exposure to COVID-19, but a doctors’ group says they also need to make sure their campers will be protected from allergy and asthma triggers. “The [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] has issued guidelines for keeping campers and staff protected from COVID-19. At… read on > read on >
Heart defects are often – but not always – detected at birth, so it’s important to pay attention when a child gets dizzy, passes out or says her heart is “beeping.” These and other warning signs, such as an apparent change in fitness, shouldn’t be overlooked, an expert says. Evaluating a child who has these… read on > read on >
As U.S. health officials prepare to authorize Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use in younger children, a new poll shows that less than a third of parents would get their child vaccinated as soon as the shots are approved for kids. Only 29% of parents of children under age 18 said they would get their… read on > read on >
Air pollution isn’t hard on the hearts of adults only, suggests a new analysis that found it can raise blood pressure in kids as young as 5. Children experienced increases in blood pressure if they had short-term exposure to air polluted with coarser particles or long-term exposure to finer airborne particles, and that also happened… read on > read on >
It’s long been known that obesity is a risk factor for severe COVID-19 in infected people. But new research suggests that the connection may be even stronger for men than women. Researchers at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City analyzed data from more than 3,500 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital between early March… read on > read on >
In two real-world studies, Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine appears to be standing up well against the challenges posed by more contagious coronavirus variants from Britain and South Africa. The Pfizer mRNA vaccine showed about 90% documented effectiveness in protecting against infection with the British B.1.1.7 variant and 75% effectiveness against the South African B.1.351 variant, according… read on > read on >
Two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine provide a high level of protection for populations, a new study shows. The findings from Israel — the first nation to report national data on the vaccine — show that two doses provide more than 95% protection for people 16 and older against COVID-19 infection, hospitalization and death.… read on > read on >
Access to free or low-cost birth control may be an important factor in improving young women’s futures, according to new research from Colorado. When access to affordable birth control increased, the percentage of young women leaving high school before graduation dropped by double digits, while the rates of pregnancies and abortions also dropped. The study,… read on > read on >
People may think they know what ‘Best before’ food date labels mean, but a new study reveals that many consumers misunderstand them. The study of over 2,600 U.S. adults “showed that an overwhelming majority of consumers say that they use food date labels to make decisions about food and say they know what the labels… read on > read on >
