by Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff Executive Director & CEO Healthy Child Healthy World www.healthychild.org TIME raised a ruckus recently with a profile of “attachment parenting” guru Dr. Bill Sears, highlighted by a cover photo of a mother breastfeeding her three-year-old son, according to the Huffington Post . Healthy Child believes breast is best—especially for the first year, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics—and welcomes the discussion these photographs have incited (although not the flaming, that’s just plain mean). Some additional information to add to the chatter:...

by Rachel Sarnoff, Executive Director & CEO Healthy Child Healthy World www.healthychild.org Happiest Babies Are Soothed by 5 S’s Can simple soothing take the place of sugar? That was the takeaway from a new study published this week in the journal Pediatrics. In a study involving more than 200 infants, researchers found the “5 S’s” baby-calming tactics worked better than the sugar-water supplements traditionally given to infants after experiencing pain, according to ABC News . The 5 S’s tactics were developed by Dr. Harvey Karp, a founding board member of Healthy Child Healthy World and...

by Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff Executive Director/CEO Healthy Child Healthy World www.healthychild.org There was a time when doctors told pregnant mothers it was okay to smoke and drink alcohol because their babies were protected. Obviously, now we know otherwise—but many women are still misinformed about the dangers of the common contaminants that their fetuses are exposed to. Last week, a new study published in Environmental Health Perspectives found that “an expectant mother's exposure to commonly used pesticides might pose risks to her developing fetus comparable to those long associated with...

by Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff Executive Director/CEO Healthy Child Healthy World Cleaning used to be a simple thing. You learned what to use from your parents and bought the same products when you moved into your own house. But new reports just emerging may make you rethink choosing some of those brands. Earlier this month, a report conducted by the Silent Spring Institute in Newton, MA and published in the online Environmental Health Perspectives journal revealed chemicals linked to linked to asthma and hormone disruption in 200 common household products. Personal care products such as soaps and...

According to First Lady Michelle Obama, in a piece she wrote for the Healthy Child Healthy World book , when her daughter Malia was about three years old, they took a family outing to the circus where Malia’s breathing became more and more strained. The Obamas rushed her to the emergency room where the doctor diagnosed her with asthma. It’s all too common of a story these days. In fact, asthma is the most common chronic disorder of childhood impacting nine million children under the age of 18 —a more than 200% increase over the last 30 years. Everyone who's been through it knows that an...

by Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff Executive Director/CEO Healthy Child Healthy World www.healthychild.org I spent the past few weeks poring over the Healthy Child archives and I’m amazed at what I found. I knew this organization was powerful, but I didn’t really comprehend the extent of our impact. The reason my children’s school has to notify me before spraying pesticides is thanks to legislation that was introduced by Barbara Boxer, who dedicated the Children’s Environmental Protection Act of 1996 to the memory of Colette Chuda. And though the Act was not passed in full, the Chudas and Healthy...

by Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff Executive Director/CEO Healthy Child Healthy World www.healthychild.org Last week’s findings of arsenic in organic brown rice syrup may be even more frightening to parents than last year’s discovery of the cancer-causing substance in apple juice . That’s because organic brown rice syrup is ubiquitous in natural products—it’s used as a substitute for high fructose corn syrup. MNN reported on the Dartmouth study, which found concentrations of arsenic of 23 to 128 parts per billion (ppb)—12 times the Environmental Protection Agency's safe drinking water limit of 10 ppb—...

by Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff Executive Director/CEO Healthy Child Healthy World www.healthychild.org Last week Michelle Obama, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Rachael Ray announced new nutrition standards for school lunches , the first major change in school meals in over 15 years. The program allots an additional six cents per school lunch—the first real increase in 30 years. The new standards call for more whole grains and produce, as well as less sodium and fat, and are the first to be enacted as part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 , part of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move!...

by Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff Executive Director/CEO Healthy Child Healthy World www . healthychild . org Think the flame retardant Tris is a thing of the past? Think again. Last week the Washington Toxics Coalition and Safer States released a study that found 80% of new baby and children’s products tested positive for chlorinated Tris (TDCPP) , a chemical voluntarily removed from children’s pajamas in the 1970s because it was found to cause cancer. The Hidden Hazards In the Nursery study tested 20 products—including nursing pillows, changing pads, bassinet pads and car seats—for traces of Tris...