Latest news with #AmericanAcademyofPediatrics
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Pennsylvania pediatricians advocate against Medicaid cuts in Harrisburg
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM)– Pediatricians from across Pennsylvania are at the state capitol today for a day of advocacy and education. The Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics is in Harrisburg to address how proposed Medicaid cuts would impact children. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now The United States House of Representatives passed H.R. 1 in May, and some pediatricians in Pennsylvania believe that healthcare for children would be negatively impacted if it becomes law. According to the PA Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Medicaid covers 35% of births in the state. Additionally, it covers dental and hearing services, provides care for children with special healthcare needs, and covers other things private insurance doesn't. The pediatricians also said Medicaid cuts would lead to poor or no access to pediatricians and a lack of children being vaccinated. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Health
- Miami Herald
The Trump administration is pushing therapy for transgender youth. What does that look like?
Since President Donald Trump returned to office in January, federal policy has shifted to promote psychological therapy as the only treatment for transgender youth in distress. A report issued last month by the Trump administration's Department of Health and Human Services on care for transgender and nonbinary people analyzed 17 studies out of more than 3,400 looking into gender-affirming care - an umbrella term that can include talk therapy, puberty blockers, hormone treatments and surgeries. They included only analyses of other studies that didn't include any patients older than 26. Those that examined mental health generally found improvements from gender-affirming care, though with low certainty, because they didn't include a large enough group, the effects were small, or other factors. The report had more sweeping conclusions, however, stating that people under 19 with gender dysphoria should receive only psychological therapy, rather than being able to choose puberty blockers or hormone therapy. Gender dysphoria refers to distress when someone's gender identity and their sex, or the way others see them, don't match. Major medical groups, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, have endorsed offering the full range of affirming care to appropriate patients, and experts interviewed by The Denver Post agreed that while some patients only need therapy, others benefit from gender-affirming medical care. The new report comes as the administration ordered providers to stop offering puberty blockers and hormone therapy to anyone under 19, threatening to take away federal funding from hospitals that didn't comply. A federal judge blocked Trump's executive order while a legal challenge plays out from four states, including Colorado. The Trump administration also forbade transgender people from serving in the military, threatened federal funding for schools if they promote "gender ideology," removed references to LGBTQ health disparities from health websites, ordered the Justice Department to take action to stop trans girls from playing on sports teams with cisgender girls, forbade the issuing of passports displaying the gender trans people identify with, and moved inmates who are trans women into men's prisons. Dr. Rae Narr, a nonbinary psychologist in Denver, said the administration's actions targeting transgender people suggest the government is going to push therapy that attempts to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity. But, done right, therapy can also be affirming, they said. "On their face, what they are suggesting is therapy and support for these youth," Narr said. "When you really look at what they're suggesting, it's conversion therapy." Conversion therapy, as typically practiced today, looks for a pathological root for someone's sexual orientation or gender identity, Narr said. For example, the practitioner might argue that another condition, such as autism, caused someone to think that they were transgender, or that they wanted to change their gender because of shame about being gay or a history of sexual trauma, they said. Mainstream medical groups condemn the practice and Colorado banned conversion therapy for minors, though the law faces a challenge at the Supreme Court. Affirming therapy, in contrast, starts from the position that no identity is right or wrong, Narr said. The goal isn't to encourage young people to transition, but to help them sort through what would make them comfortable in their bodies and lives, they said. That can involve talking about how they imagine their adult lives and practical exercises, such as trying on different clothes, Narr said. They also discuss where the young person would feel physically and emotionally safe exploring. For example, someone might go to the next town over to try out going to a store dressed differently, they said. "I talk to kids a lot about what does it mean to you when you imagine being a boy, or a girl, or something else," they said. 'We listen to them' In 2024, 46% of transgender or nonbinary young people reported seriously considering suicide, and 14% attempted it, according to the LGBTQ nonprofit The Trevor Project. Those who reported they'd experienced bullying or physical harm because of their gender identity were more likely to report thoughts of suicide, as were those who said their schools didn't support them. But the odds of suicide drop when youth report that people in their lives accept them, such as by calling them by their chosen name and pronouns, Narr said. Dr. Casey Wolf, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at WellPower in Denver, said the field hasn't agreed to a protocol for treating gender dysphoria, but does have evidence-based therapies for the depression, anxiety or trauma that typically push people to seek help. Sometimes, those symptoms stem from gender dysphoria or from mistreatment based on someone's gender identity, but not always, she said. "We listen to them. We try to understand what their symptoms are," Wolf said. While the public is talking about gender identity more than in the past, Wolf said she hasn't seen an increase in young people experiencing gender dysphoria. Despite the perception that being transgender is trendy, people don't take on marginalized identities like they change their hairstyles, she said. Not all trans people experience gender dysphoria, and not everyone who has gender dysphoria decides to transition, said John Mikovits, an assistant professor of nursing who studies care for LGBTQ people at Moravian University in Pennsylvania. Some people may only need emotional support at some points in their life, but may decide to socially or medically transition later, he said. What the therapist helps the patient work on may also change, Mikovits said. For example, a person who opts to transition may feel relief from gender dysphoria, but needs to learn skills to cope with increased discrimination, he said. "The treatment is not about curing someone's transgender or misaligned identity, it's about affirming that identity and improving their quality of life," he said. 'The most basic and easiest thing to do' Acting as a liaison between kids and parents can also be part of the job. Young people often struggle to tell their parents what they're feeling, so the news they're questioning their gender can feel like it comes out of nowhere, Narr said. Parents also don't always do the best job explaining their feelings, so confusion or fear for their child's future can come off as rejection, they said. "Even if the parents are supportive, it's reasonable to have some fear and grief" for the life they imagined for their child, they said. While discussion about affirming care focuses on puberty blockers, hormones and surgeries, just using the right pronouns for someone can be important affirmation, Mikovits said. "It's the most basic and easiest thing to do, to refer to people the way they want to be referred to," he said. Everyone wants others to see them the way they see themselves, and if that isn't happening, it can bring shame and hopelessness, Wolf said. When someone says they aren't wrong or sick because of how they see themselves, that can bring back some hope that the problem is their environment, and they may be able to change it, she said. "That's the beginning," she said. _____ Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
The Subtle Signs Of Drowning Every Parent Should Watch Out For This Summer
The second-leading cause of unintentional death in children ages 1 to 4 is drowning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is because the majority of kids under six who drown in a pool were not supposed to be in the water, said Dr. Sarah Denny, an Ohio-based pediatrician, American Academy of Pediatrics spokesperson and former lifeguard. 'We know that at this age they are mobile, they're fast, they're curious, but they have no sense of danger whatsoever,' Denny said. As pool party and beach season kicks off this summer, so do the number of kids that drown: Two-thirds of drowning deaths for children in America happen between May and August. To keep your kids safe, drop your assumptions of how well you think a child should swim and how you think someone will typically call for help if they are in the water. Here are the signs of distress to watch out for and myths about drowning that just aren't true. If you realize a normally talkative child is suddenly silent, check in on them. Unfortunately, drownings often happen when adults nearby are unaware that a child is in danger. The common pop culture representation of drowning is not what it usually looks like, but the idea is pervasive. In a 2016 survey by Safe Kids Worldwide, about half of U.S. parents of young children said they believed that if their child was drowning nearby, they would hear splashing, crying or screaming. But too many times, drowning occurs silently. 'People in distress in the water rarely yell or wave for help, because they are spending their time trying to keep themselves afloat,' said B. Chris Brewster, chair of the national certification committee for the United States Lifesaving Association and a former lifeguard chief in San Diego. 'If you are going to wait until someone yells 'Help!' or waves their arm, you may completely miss the person struggle and submersion.' Denny noted that it's much more common for children to drown silently. 'They are just trying to get their mouth above the water. They don't have extra energy to wave or yell,' she said. 'It's very quiet and very quick. As a former lifeguard and having seen this happen, I can tell you that if you are not looking for it, it's hard to necessarily notice.' That's why it is so important to keep eye contact on children and be within arm's length of them in water at all times, as multiple water safety guides recommend adults do for beginner swimmers. Drowning in kids can appear as an obvious struggle to stay afloat. 'The problem is that can be a very brief period of time,' Brewster said. Denny said subtle drowning distress can also show up as looking panicked and bobbing up and down in the water. Other signs can include an unfocused gaze, closed eyes, hyperventilating, a mouth at water level, hair over eyes, a person in vertical position not using their legs in the water or appearing to be climbing an invisible ladder, according to ocean rescue experts. A sudden disappearance is also a big clue. If you can't find a kid and you are near a body of water, check the water ASAP. 'If you are somewhere where there is water or a pool and you are looking for a child and you can't find them, check the pool first,' Denny said. Even if you are within sight of a pool, don't assume you will always see a person submerged under it. 'People think you can easily see beneath the water where the person is, but because of light refraction and even a little bit of wind on the water if it's an outdoor pool or reflection from an overhead light if it's an indoor pool, it can be very difficult to see below the surface of the water,' Brewster said. The most important and effective step to reducing fatal drowning is to prevent children from getting into this kind of dangerous scenario in the first place.1. Assign dedicated watchers every time there is a pool gathering or beach outing. 'When everybody is watching, nobody is watching,' Denny said. 'We see this all the time: A whole group of adults are around and a child drowns, and it's not anyone's fault, but it's just [that] everyone assumes everyone else is watching.' An assigned watcher should not be drinking or distracted with doing a separate activity like reading a book or playing cards, even if a lifeguard is present, according to Water Safety USA organization. Their full-time job does not end until people are out of the water or they hand off responsibilities to another person. To prevent fatigue, Safe Kids Worldwide recommends setting a 15-minute shift of responsibility before the watcher passes off duties to the next assigned person. 2. Have barriers in place. Don't let curious young children fall into places where they shouldn't. For kids who don't swim and would not be expected to be in the water, 'the issue isn't normally the signs of drowning,' Brewster said, noting, 'In that case, the major issue is ensuring the pool is fenced.' To prevent kids from getting into a pool without adult supervision, safety experts recommend four-sided fencing with a self-latching and self-closing gate that will separate the pool from the house and yard. Detailed guidelines for what safety barriers in home pools should look like are available online from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. 3. Don't assume that just because a child has had a swim lesson that they can't drown. Yes, swimming lessons can definitely reduce a child's chances of drowning, but they are not a guarantee against it. 60% of parents surveyed by Safe Kids Worldwide said they would not worry as much about their child drowning if their child has had swim lessons. If a child swims well in a pool, it doesn't necessarily mean that they will swim excellently in a lake or an ocean. A child may have also forgotten how to be a good swimmer during the COVID pandemic, Denny said. 'Kids have not been in swimming lessons because of COVID; they may not have had the same water exposures that they had in summers previous to COVID,' she said, noting that it's key to have realistic expectations of your child's swimming abilities, as kids may think they can swim better than they do. 4. Learn CPR. If you happen to be the only bystander, knowing CPR can make the difference between life and death for a child. 'Knowing CPR and being able to start bystander CPR has actually been shown to improve long-term outcomes in children,' Denny said. 'Even if you don't know how long the person has been in, start right away.' Look up trainings in your community, or check out the American Heart Association, which has online and in-person trainings. My 6-Year-Old Son Drowned In Our Pool. Here's What I Wish I Had Known To Keep Him Safe. This Is How Easily Your Brain Can Forget A Kid In A Car Childhood Drownings Are Up. Here's How Parents Can Keep Kids Safe.
CBS News
5 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Penn Medicine to stop providing gender-affirming surgeries for patients 18 and under, official says
Penn Medicine will no longer provide gender-affirming surgery to patients under 19 years old Penn Medicine will no longer provide gender-affirming surgery to patients under 19 years old Penn Medicine will no longer provide gender-affirming surgery to patients under 19 years old Penn Medicine will stop providing gender-affirming surgeries for patients under 19 years old, the Philadelphia-based system said Thursday. Penn Medicine will no longer perform gender-affirming surgical procedures in plastic surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and urology, as well as head and neck surgeries, PJ Brennan, Penn Medicine's chief medical officer, said in a statement. The change comes "as a result of current guidance established by the federal government," the statement says. The news comes after President Trump signed an executive order restricting gender-affirming care for people under 19. The order, which threatens federal grants awarded to institutions that provide gender-affirming care to people 18 and under, has been challenged in court. Major medical groups, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, support access to care, and surgery for minors is extremely rare. "We remain deeply committed to ensuring a respectful and welcoming environment for all members of the communities we serve and providing comprehensive medical and behavioral health care and psychosocial support for LGBTQ+ individuals while complying with federal government requirements," Brennan said in the statement. The University of Pennsylvania previously came under fire from the Trump administration, which claims the school violated laws guaranteeing women equal opportunities in athletics by letting a transgender swimmer compete on the school's women's team and into team facilities in 2022. Penn has said that it always followed NCAA and Ivy League policies regarding student participation on athletic teams. The Trump administration said in March it would cut $175 million in grants for the university over the issue.
Chicago Tribune
6 days ago
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
Oak Lawn high school students eye downside of energy drinks, processed food
Energy drinks became a thing for Maha Jaghama and her friends during the COVID-19 pandemic, when they dove in looking for a buzz to distract them from dreary days and isolation. A couple of years afterward, they decided to find out how those kinds of beverages were affecting them and their peers through an interactive project at Oak Lawn Community High School. And in the process, Jaghama and her classmate Bridget Berkery discovered the caffeine and sugar-packed drinks are almost like a drug that can do more harm than good. They were among the English Honors 2 students who read Eric Schlosser's 'Fast Food Nation' to learn about how what we eat impacts our health and culture, and then took their project outside the classroom to students and teachers at the school, as well as businesses in the Oak Lawn area. They did interviews, taste tests with peers, surveys and research before presenting it to their peers as the school year drew to a close. Among their discoveries was that up to 70% of energy drinkers are teens, according to studies, and the beverages are marketed to teens based on packaging, design, taste, color and other elements. They also learned the American Academy of Pediatrics advises children and teens avoid energy drinks because of their high caffeine content. 'The recommended caffeine is 100 mg daily,' Jaghama said. 'A single can has 160 mg.' During their research, the two asked students which energy drinks they liked best — Celcius, Red Bull and Monster were favorites. The two interviewed nearby gas stations and store owners to see how many teens bought the drinks there. The results: many. They also looked at the ingredients in the drinks for unhealthy additives. 'We learned about how much society tries to hide what's in them,' Berkery said. 'We want to share that with other teens … we want to change their perception. They don't know what is going into their bodies.' Beyond warning them away from potentially harmful beverages, the project had a side benefit of getting the students outside of the school, brushing up on their interview skills and developing a sense of the world outside of the classroom. 'Doing the project helped us be social with the public,' Berkery said. Jeff Vazzana, their English teacher, said the assignment was a capstone project that could help prepare them for next year's AP Language course. 'It was a cool way for kids to show their mastery of what they're learning and apply it to the real world,' he said. The project, titled 'How can Oak Lawn build a healthier, more sustainable food culture?' sparked student interest, the teacher said. 'I had them think about issues they cared about,' Vazzana said. 'They all have a buy-in — everyone eats. And it's timeless, there are always issues with food.' Fellow students Laith Abbasi, Gabriel Fudala and Dylan Jones were part of a group that looked into the dangers of processed foods. 'We're all athletes, so looked at what we're putting into our bodies,' Abbasi said. They scoured ingredients and decided if they couldn't pronounce the first few, the food was most likely processed. Health teacher Scottie Miller told them high fructose corn syrup and artificial coloring also are red flags. 'I think it was more highlighting just how bad processed foods are for your body and why people use them so much,' Abbasi said. 'It's appealing, convenient and saves time … most of the processed foods are efficient in how you eat them.' They also said processed food seemed more prevalent than in the past, causing more health concerns. 'In the past couple of years, the rates of diabetes and cardiovascular disease are really soaring,' said Gabriel Fudala, linking the high salt and sugar content to health problems. The group did taste tests of fries at various fast-food restaurants to see what made the popular side dish more appealing. 'It can have an emotional connection to people,' Zain Mousa said about the draw of unhealthy fast food. 'There's aggressive marketing, catchy slogans and it's targeted to (certain) populations.' The students said during their presentation reading labels and cooking at home with fresh ingredients would help. Many of the students showed a concern for how the food was affecting other people including younger generations. 'I'm concerned about how this would affect people across the globe in the long-term,' Abbasi said.
