Many hospitals have succeeded in reducing the number of babies who are delivered early without a medical reason, according to a report from the Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit watchdog organization that collects quality and safety data from hospitals on behalf of employers. In 2010 only 30 percent of hospitals that report data to Leapfrog maintained an early elective delivery rate of 5 percent or less, which experts feel is a reasonable target for hospitals. That figure improved to 39 percent of reporting hospitals in 2011.

Infections in pediatric intensive care units put children's lives at risk and occur all too often, according to a new investigation from the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center. We found that pediatric ICUs often have higher infection rates than adult ICUs, and that some hospitals do much better than others at preventing infections.

A federal advisory group to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called for a lower limit to be set for lead poisoning in children, after finding that children could be harmed by lead levels lower than the current limit.

I knew it was more than a tragic coincidence when two of my friends, middle-aged men without the usual risk factors of tobacco and alcohol use, developed late stage (IV) tongue cancer, reportedly the identical condition with which actor Michael Douglas was diagnosed last year. Cancers of the mouth and throat are growing so quickly that experts in the medical and scientific community are calling this an “epidemic,” for which middle aged men appear most at risk.

In an innovative study published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers found that mice fed a cooked diet of either meat or sweet potatoes were able to get more energy from the food than if they were fed the same item raw.

A recent study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) using surveys from 10,765 students across the country in grades 9-12 found that over a third of high school students were eating vegetables less than once a day. Just under a third ate fruit less than once a day.

New guidelines that recommend cholesterol testing for all children between the ages of 9 and 11 and again as young adults 17-21 years of age are likely to surprise most parents and stimulate vigorous debate among physicians.

School bans on sugar-sweetened beverages do not appear to reduce consumption among adolescents, according to a new study published online today in Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

A couple of years ago when I took my teenage son to the dermatologist, we asked the doctor to set the record straight on a number of acne myths: Did too much chocolate make it worse? (Possibly…) Could popping pimples cause scarring? (Possibly…) And was Proactiv worth the cost? (Absolutely not!) He said a topical treatment with any over-the-counter benzoyl peroxide product was an equally good and far less expensive choice, and that it would be great if someone would set the record straight for gullible parents and teens.

A few simple steps for handling central-line catheters in pediatric intensive care units saved more than a hundred children’s lives and millions of dollars, according to a study published online today in Pediatrics.

The Federal Communications Commission’s “safe exposure” limits for low-level radiation absorbed from cell phones operating at their highest possible power level—known as the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)—“does not adequately protect" most people who use cell phones, especially children who absorb more cell phone radiation than adults, according to an article published online this week in the journal, Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine.

This week, the American Academy of Pediatrics revised its ADHD diagnosis and treatment guidelines to include preschool aged children as young as age 4, down from the previous minimum age of 6 years old.

For millions of children with asthma and allergies, and their parents, Halloween can be a frightful time of year. Not only because of the usual suspects—candy and treats—but some more unexpected culprits as well. Costumes, makeup, and other accessories can bring on dangerous allergy and asthma symptoms, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology. But fear not—be smart and consider these important tips on how to help your little ghost or goblin stay wheeze and sneeze-free on Halloween night.

Taking folic acid supplements from four weeks before conception to eight weeks afterward may substantially reduce the risk of a rare but severe delay in language development in offspring at age 3, according to a study of women in Norway, where everyday foods are not routinely fortified with folic acid, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Emergency room visits for sports- and recreation-related traumatic brain injuries, including concussions, among children and adolescents increased by 60 percent since 2001, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.