Latest news with #NationalInstituteofChildHealthandHumanDevelopment
New York Post
3 days ago
- Health
- New York Post
Move over rugrats — Gen Zs, millennials, are using ‘tummy time' to cure tech neck
It's a position that's tech-neck-ly exclusive to babies. Still, adults of the digital age — folks constantly staring down at their devices or hunching overtop a laptop — are now remedying their poor posture and troublesome 'tech neck' with tummy time. 'Instead of scrolling [on my phone], sitting in a chair and looking down, I'm just on my tummy and I'm scrolling with my phone in front of me,' said Bek, a content creator, in a TikTok how-to. Advertisement 4 Adults are adopting 'tummy time' as a remedy for 'tech neck' caused by constant phone and computer use. Anton – 'If you are having neck problems from tech neck [because you're] looking down all the time, get on your belly,' she urged before closing the clip with an infant-like 'goo-goo, gaga.' Sure, it's a little childish, but achy millennials and Gen Zers are happily stomaching the trend. Advertisement A scourge of the times, 'tech neck' is any form of chronic neck or shoulder pain, soreness or stiffness caused by bad posture while using technology,' according to the Mayo Clinic. 4 Gen Zs and millennials suffer from tech neck as a result of leaning over to look at their phones and computers. Kittiphan – 'Bending your head forward at a 45-degree angle to look at a cellphone or tablet can dramatically increase your chances of having a tech neck,' warned the experts in a recent report. The findings revealed that the average adult spends between three to eight hours leaning downward to gaze at screens. Advertisement 'Neck pain is the fourth leading cause of disability, with an annual prevalence rate exceeding 30%,' the insiders noted. 'Most episodes of acute neck pain will resolve with or without treatment, but nearly 50% of those people will continue to experience some degree of fatigue or discomfort from frequent recurrences.' 4 Experts warn that neck and back pain caused by tech neck can be permanent, flaring up at random times throughout a person's life. Graphicroyalty – The agonizing flare ups even forced a whopping 24% of workers ages 16 to 26 to call out of work in 2024. The throbs and twinges are literal pains in the neck, cursing young adults with 'old lady issues' that may continue plaguing them into old age. So, to avoid developing a Quasimodo-esque hunchback, twentysomethings and beyond are carving out time for a little tummy time. Advertisement 4 The 'tummy time' hack is a moved inspired by babies, whose necks, arms and backs become stronger in the belly-down position. szmuli – For most parents, 'tummy time' has long referred to the practice of placing a baby on its stomach — while he or she is awake and under supervision — in effort to strengthen the tot's neck, shoulder and arm muscles. The position helps to improve the little one's motor skills, per the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. And grownups claim it's helping them too. 'To the person that suggested tummy time to correct tech neck, thank you,' raved influencer Megan Jo, adding that she 'already feels a difference' in her body by spending more time on her belly. 'Thank you.' Sam Rus, a yoga instructor, also sang the babyish move's praises, saying, '10 minutes a day will passively stretch your core and hips, increase spine mobility, aid in digestion and reverse the effects of sitting for long periods of time.' Ari Viscera, a part-time New Yorker, scored 3.5 million views on her tummy time hack vid, championing the position for curing her 'horrendous' posture. 'I got my journal and my book — my legs kicked up,' she gushed while on her front. 'Let's see what this does for my body.'
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The Trump Administration's Reckless Policies Will Kill Children
The Trump administration has often claimed that it wants to increase the nation's fertility rate. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last month that the rate is at roughly 1.6 births per woman. That is higher than in other major developed countries—South Korea has dropped to a fertility rate of 0.75, for example—but below the replacement level of 2.1. Trump described himself as 'the fertilization president' at a Women's History Month event at the White House earlier this spring, a title he claims is apt because of his verbal support of in vitro fertilization, a practice that many other Republicans oppose on religious grounds. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of health and human services, has expressed concern about the decline in potential fertility among younger Americans. 'Our fertility is dropping dramatically,' he claimed in April. 'Teenagers in this country have the same testosterone levels as 68-year-old men.' (He was presumably referring to teenage boys.) JD Vance and other top Trump officials have supported the so-called 'pronatalist' movement that advocates for much higher fertility rates, at least among certain groups of people. These concerns are shaping policy areas that might seem unrelated at first glance. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy ordered his department in February to prioritize infrastructure projects in 'communities with marriage and birthrates higher than the national average.' Most of the decline in the U.S. fertility rate can be attributed to the sharp decline in teenage pregnancies, something that would have been seen as a policy victory by conservatives a generation ago. Increasing fertility rates is a vexing issue that countries in Asia and Europe have struggled with for the last 20 years with little success. Nonetheless, if the Trump administration is actually serious about the nation's fertility rate, it might want to stop doing numerous things that will likely kill American children. In April, for example, the Trump administration shuttered the communications office for the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, one of the components of the National Institutes of Health, and laid off its workforce. Among the office's responsibilities was coordinating the federal government's participation in the Safe to Sleep program, which aims to encourage parents to adopt safe-sleep practices for newborns and infants. The Safe to Sleep program emerged in the 1990s as researchers sought to identify the causes of sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, which killed thousands of infants every year at the time. While the specific causes of SIDS are still being studied, the program has helped persuade millions of parents to avoid practices that might seem safe or normal—bed-sharing, using blankets or stuffed animals, letting infants sleep at night in car seats and strollers—but actually contribute to suffocation risks. Those changes and others helped reduce SIDS deaths by 50 percent by the 2010s. It is hard to imagine a better use of taxpayer funds than preventing infant deaths—or one more aligned with so-called 'pronatalist' interests. Instead, the Trump administration appears poised to destroy how federal public health agencies track infant mortality and maternal health problems and communicate about them to Americans. Kennedy began his tenure at HHS by proposing a radical internal restructuring of the department, shuttering numerous programs, and directing layoffs for roughly 20,000 employees. Among the casualties are the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, or PRAMS, which collects data on prenatal and postpartum care across the country to improve policymaking on maternal and infant health. The Washington Post reported that HHS also dismantled programs that collect fertility and reproductive health statistics, with vast downstream implications for research that relies on official numbers for issues ranging from IVF success rates to postpartum depression. Personnel can be policy as well. Kennedy, the nation's top public health official, has a long history of spreading doubt and confusion about childhood vaccinations for personal gain. After the island nation of Samoa paused its measles vaccination program in 2019 after a fatal vaccination mishap, Kennedy flew in to encourage government officials there to engage in a 'natural experiment' to see what would happen if they went without vaccinating their children against the disease. The resulting measles epidemic killed at least 83 children and sickened thousands of others. While seeking Senate confirmation earlier this year, Kennedy downplayed his anti-vaccine views and told senators that he would leave current childhood immunization schedules intact. That pledge appears to be hanging by a thread. Kennedy and his allies are reportedly planning to remove the Covid-19 vaccine from the schedule. They also plan to require that future vaccine studies include unvaccinated control groups, a practice that health experts had long opposed because it was unethical. Some of Kennedy's critics have described his policies and rhetoric, especially toward people with autism and vaccines, as 'eugenic' in nature. After overseeing a measles outbreak in Texas that killed two children earlier this year, he recently suggested in a Fox News interview that the measles vaccine was unnecessary because the disease had a low mortality rate. 'Even in 1963, before the introduction of the vaccine, there were 400 deaths a year and there were up to two million measles cases,' he claimed. 'Only very, very sick kids should die from measles.' With sufficient vaccination rates, however, it is possible to eliminate childhood deaths from measles altogether. Kennedy's comments suggest that children who die from childhood measles outbreaks 'should' die from it and that vaccinations only impede this outcome. Other 'Make America Healthy Again' advocates are cut from the same anti-scientific and conspiratorial cloth, casting themselves as brave truth-tellers who propose treatments that the medical establishment rejects as unproven and inflaming doubts about scientifically proven practices. At Kennedy's behest, for example, Trump recently nominated Casey Means, a failed ENT surgeon with an inactive state medical license, to serve as the nation's next surgeon general. Means, like Kennedy, has espoused anti-vaccine views in the guise of questioning established truths and encouraging skepticism. That would make her a dangerous pick for an office that has long served as the nation's 'top doctor' of sorts. Among her other anti-child views is her promotion of 'raw milk,' a term used by promoters to make unpasteurized milk sound natural and wholesome. Unpasteurized milk can sicken healthy adults by introducing them to a wide range of pathogens; those same illnesses can severely injure or kill children. Means framed her advocacy of unpasteurized milk as one of personal empowerment. 'When it comes to a question like raw milk, I want to be free to form a relationship with a local farmer, understand his integrity, look him in the eyes, pet his cow, and then decide if I feel safe to drink the milk from his farm,' she once claimed. For decades, Americans did not need to engage in such feel-good nonsense to obtain safe milk for themselves and their children because the Food and Drug Administration operated a national quality-control program for dairy producers. The Trump administration laid off that task force's workers in April. Beyond the nation's public health apparatus, the Trump administration is also pushing federal agencies in ways that are directly harmful to children. Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, has championed a radical plan to slash most of the agency's regulatory efforts. In April, the agency moved to end grants for a variety of health-related programs, including one that studies pesticide exposure among children in rural America and another that traces how 'forever chemicals' enter the nation's food supply. Other deregulatory efforts for air and water pollution will likely have an indirect health impact on American children in the years and decades to come. Last week, Trump also fired the three Democratic members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is charged with organizing recalls of unsafe products. While its mandate covers products for Americans of all ages, the CPSC's impact is most acutely felt in child-related products. The Trump administration eventually hopes to dismantle it altogether by absorbing it into Kennedy's HHS. This campaign is hardly new: I wrote last year about efforts by the conservative legal establishment to defang the commission on behalf of companies that are frustrated by efforts to prevent them from selling unsafe products to American customers. But it is still striking given the agency's cost-to-payoff ratio and uncontroversial nature. Trump administration officials do not generally describe these moves as if their goal is to increase childhood mortality. (Kennedy appears to be an exception.) They typically justify them as part of an effort to alleviate regulatory burdens on businesses, to reduce government costs, or to otherwise shrink the federal workforce. The net effect of these policy changes, however, is to make this country a more dangerous place for Americans to give birth and grow up. Is that at odds with Trumpworld's embrace of pronatalism? Perhaps not. Taken at face value, the term pronatalism simply means to be in favor of births and children. (Antinatalism, a fringe movement that supports human extinction on philosophical grounds, is its counterpart.) I would venture to guess that being pronatalist in that sense describes the overwhelming majority of Americans, even those who do not have or do not plan to have kids of their own. My child-free friends were all happy for me when I had a kid recently, for example. For American conservatives, pronatalism appears to mean something much different. DOGE head Elon Musk, a South African billionaire, has framed his concerns about 'birth rates' along white nationalist lines by focusing on declining fertility rates in Europe and the United States. Vance has favored shaming women who don't have children by deriding them as 'childless cat ladies,' claiming they have no stake in the country's future. Vance has also denounced federal subsidies for childcare that make it easier for working women to have children. Instead, he argued, children should be cared for at home by one of their parents. (Guess which parent he prefers.) The Trump administration's real goal is not to increase the fertility rate or, more specifically, to address policy issues that prevent Americans from having more children. Instead, it appears that they hope to reorient American society by driving women—and especially white women—out of the workforce and pressuring them to raise children at home. It is unlikely that the Trump administration can reverse a nearly century-long social and economic shift over the next four years. It is also unlikely that their efforts to do so will lead to any measurable boost to U.S. fertility rates. If the Trump administration's goal is to increase childhood mortality rates over the next four years, on the other hand, then it is off to a terrific start.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
A Parents' Guide to Safe Sleep Practices For Your Baby
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways Fact checked by SarahWhen you have a newborn—especially if it's your first child—there is nothing more perplexing and frustrating than your child's sleep patterns. Parents struggle to get their kid to sleep, get them to stay asleep, and even have a time deciding where they should sleep, whether it be a crib, bassinet, or even in the parents' bed. The potent mixture of this trial-by-fire learning experience, exhaustion, and frustration can lead to parents sometimes making unsafe sleep decisions—just so they can get a few hours of uninterrupted rest. That situation is understandable, and yet it is essential that parents stay informed about best practices for the safest sleep setup for their babies. Unfortunately, it might now be harder for sleep-deprived parents to find the resources they need: Recently, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development shut down the office which manages the 'Safe to Sleep' campaign, which distributed information to new parents that saved thousands of babies lives in the three decades since it was launched. But that doesn't mean new parents are going to be left in the dark. Below we have assembled a guide that can help you ensure your baby sleeps in the safest environment possible. Here's what you need to know about where your baby should sleep and how long they should sleep, as well as what sleep practices to avoid. First, Know the ABCs of Safe Sleep Whether they want to sleep all the time, have their days and nights mixed up, or need to be held much of the time, infant sleep is a complex process that takes a while to even out, especially as they get used to life outside of the womb. As many as 3,500 babies die suddenly while they're sleeping each year in the U.S. Most of the time, these deaths are caused by suffocation, strangulation, or from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). To reduce the likelihood of these tragedies, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), has developed a number of safe sleep guidelines to help parents ensure their babies are sleeping safely. One way that they communicate these guidelines is with the phrase—the ABC's of sleep. This is a quick and easy way to remind parents like yourself that babies should be put down alone [A], on their back [B], and in a crib [C] that is free of blankets, toys, and other objects for every sleep. If you follow the ABC's you can ensure your baby's sleep is as safe as possible. Create a Safe Place to Sleep One of the best ways to keep your baby safe while sleeping is to create a safe place for them to sleep. For instance, your baby should sleep in a crib or bassinet that has a firm, flat mattress and a fitted sheet. Nothing else should be in the crib with your baby including bumper pads, blankets, pillows, and soft toys. You might worry that your baby is cold without a blanket, but no matter the temptation, do not add one to their crib (you can use a swaddle instead; more on that later). It's also important to keep your home smoke-free. This means not smoking or allowing others to smoke in your home or around your baby. Not only can secondhand smoke stunt the development of their lungs, but it also increases their risk of SIDS and serious health issues. Take Steps to Reduce the Risk of Sids There is no way to entirely prevent SIDS, and according to the National Institutes of Health, researchers are still not sure of the cause. However, there are things you can do to reduce the risk. To start, make sure your baby has a safe place to sleep and that you are following the ABC's of safe sleep, especially during their first year of life. Researchers have found that SIDS is most prevalent between 1 and 4 months of age and then decreases after 6 months with more than 90% of deaths occurring before a baby's 6-month birthday. Here are some ways you can reduce the risk of SIDS: Put your baby down on their back and never on their stomach or side Keep their crib clear of toys, blankets, bumpers, and more Avoid using positioners and other gadgets Keep their room at a comfortable temperature and avoid overheating Allow your baby to sleep in your room but not in your bed Consider giving your baby a pacifier According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, there is no evidence that anti-SIDS gadgets and devices effectively reduce your baby's risk, and they are not a substitute for safe-sleep practices, so you can skip them There is also some evidence that breastfeeding might reduce the risk of SIDS Know the Risks of Sleeping in Swings, Car Seats, and More While it can be tempting, especially if your baby doesn't sleep well in their crib or bassinet, you should avoid allowing them to sleep on a couch, armchair, or your bed. If your little one falls asleep in their swing, bouncy chair, stroller, or even car seat—except while riding in the car—they should be transferred to a crib, bassinet, portable crib, or play yard as soon as possible. Researchers have found that infants who sleep upright are at risk for suffocation, especially if their head tips to the side and their breathing is impaired. One study found that of nearly 12,000 infant deaths studied, 3% occurred in a sitting device and 35% of those sitting devices were baby swings. Choose the Correct Sleeping Position Putting your baby down on their back for sleep is imperative. Researchers have found that this is the safest position for your baby to sleep in and that babies are less likely to die unexpectedly than if they are sleeping on their stomachs. Even putting them to sleep on their side is not recommended—even if they have issues with acid reflux. The primary issue with side sleeping is that your baby can more easily fall onto their stomach increasing the risk for SIDS. Opt for Room Sharing Over Bed Sharing The AAP recommends sharing a room with your baby until they are at least 6 months old. Not only does this allow you to comfort and care for your baby more easily, but research shows that having your baby's crib or bassinet in your room reduces the risk of SIDS by up to 50%. It also is much safer than sleeping in the same bed which can increase the risk of injury, suffocation, and even SIDS. You also should avoid falling asleep with your baby in other locations too, like in a soft chair or on the couch. Your baby's risk of a sleep-related death is up to 67 times higher when they sleep with you on a cushion, couch, or chair. Use Good Judgment With Swaddles, Blankets, and More When it comes to infant sleep, you likely know that putting a blanket over your sleeping baby is a big no-no, especially during that first 12 to 18 months of life. But swaddles and sleep sacks may provide a way to comfort your baby and keep them warm in the colder months. The key is knowing how to use them safely. For instance, it is generally safe to swaddle your baby until they are about 3 or 4 months old—or when they start to show signs that they are learning to roll over. Also, make sure the swaddle is snug but not too tight and that you avoid adjusting the material so that it is near their face. Some parents prefer sleep sacks, which are wearable blankets that zip or snap around your baby because they are easier to use. That said, you should avoid using weighted sleep sacks. These are not safe for your baby because they impair their ability to rouse themselves from sleep and can increase their risk of SIDS. Avoid Unsafe Sleep Products While it's perfectly natural to want to create a cozy space for your baby to sleep, you don't want to compromise their safety in the process. For this reason, there are a number of sleep products you should avoid in order to keep your baby safe during sleep. At the top of the list, are crib bumpers, loose sheets, soft toys, and blankets. You also want to avoid crib tents, sleep positioners, wedges, and bedside sleepers. None of these products are safe for your baby and could increase the risk of death or injury while they're sleeping. In other words, if a product increases your baby's risk of entrapment, suffocation, or strangulation, it should not be used. Know How Much Sleep They Need Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of infant sleep is knowing how much your baby should be sleeping. In fact, most new parents are surprised by how much their newborn will sleep in those first few weeks. That said, when a baby is sleeping too much or you have a hard time rousing them from sleep they need immediate medical attention. Ideally, your newborn should wake up every two to three hours to eat. For sleep-derived parents who just want to stay in bed, that might seem frequent. While sleeping a lot during those first few weeks is important, you also need to make sure they are eating regularly too. For breastfed babies, you can expect to feed them 10 to 12 times in a 24 hour period and for bottled fed babies, you can expect to complete about 8 feedings in 24 hours. If your baby is still sleeping after three hours, you should wake them up. Other Important Sleep Tips Every baby has a unique sleeping pattern, but this doesn't address how taxing it can be on sleep-deprived parents to deal with the long days and sleepless nights that sometimes come with welcoming an infant. For this reason, it can be helpful to be armed with some safe sleeping tips that will help you—and your baby—get more sleep. Here are some things you can try to improve your baby's sleep without resorting to gadgets that claim to promote sleep. Establish a bedtime routine early. Babies take cues from their environment on when it's time to sleep and following the same routine each evening can provide some predictability that may eventually lead to more restful sleep. Put your baby down drowsy. If you get into the habit of rocking your baby to sleep, they will come to rely on that method to fall asleep. Instead, try putting them in their crib while they are sleepy but still awake. Aim for an early bedtime. Although it can be challenging, especially if you're working, you should aim for an early bedtime for your little one—around 7 or 8 p.m. Prioritize napping. A well-rested baby will sleep better at night and naps are an essential part of the process of getting them to sleep at night. So, try not to skip naps if you can help it. Approach sleep training with caution. There are a lot of different sleep training methods out there to get your baby to sleep, but not all of them are right for your family or for your baby. If your baby is having trouble sleeping, talk to their pediatrician about your concerns. They may be able to offer suggestions or tips that can help. Read the original article on Parents
