Showing posts with label Children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Children. Show all posts

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Rear-facing seats safer for bigger kids too


Posted: 12 June 2009 0935 hrs 

A parent belting up her child in a car seat
PARIS: Parents should keep their children in rear-facing car seats at least until the age of four, according to a British study released Friday.

Currently it is common practice in many countries to switch babies to front-facing seats when a child is about nine kilos (20 pounds), the average weight of an eight months old boy, said the study.

British general physician Elizabeth Watson and Michael Monteiro of Sunny Meed Surgery in Woking, near London, reviewed key studies from Europe and the United States to see if any safety patterns emerged.

They found that small children were consistently safer in a car when they were looking where they have been rather than where they were headed.

"Parents and guardians should be advised to keep young children in rear facing seats for as long as possible," the two researchers concluded.

"Excessive stretching or even transection (cutting) of the spinal cord can result if a child is involved in a head-on crash while in a forward facing car seat."

Data from Sweden - where rear-facing seats for kids up to four is the norm - showed that some children in forward-facing booster seats who died in accidents could have survived had then been facing the other way round.

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A review of US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data on crashes between 1998 and 2003 involving 870 children concluded that rear-facing seats were better at protecting kids up to 23 months across all types of accidents.

Unlike forward-facing seats, rear-facing car seats keep the head, neck and spine fully aligned so the force of the crash is distributed over all of these body areas, noted the study, published on the website of the British Medical Journal.

The researchers called on manufacturers and retailers to increase the availability of rear-facing seats for older children.

They also called for a change to the current weight-range labelling of European seats, which suggest that forward- and rear-facing seats are equally safe for kids over nine kilos.

- AFP/il 

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.
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Wednesday, May 20, 2009

ASK THE DOC

English: Breastfeeding an infant Português: Um...
English: Breastfeeding an infant Português: Um recém-nascido em aleitamento (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Baby’s bowel movement

Question by Claudia Koh

I’ve been breastfeeding my two-month-old baby since birth and she has been passing stool frequently. However, she suddenly stopped doing so for three days. Is there a cause for concern?

Reply from Ms Cynthia Pang, senior lactation consultant, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

It is not uncommon for a breastfed baby at this age to skip passing stool for a couple of days. In most cases, as long as your baby is not ill or crying excessively, and her tummy is soft and she is feeding well, not passing stools for a few days is not a cause for concern. However, if your baby seems unwell, it is advisable to send her to a doctor for a check-up to ensure that there is no other physical problem.

The information provided above is for your general knowledge only. You should seek medical advice or treatment for your condition.

Email health@newstoday.com.sg if you have a medical query.

From TODAY, Health – Tuesday, 19-May-2009

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