Getzwell Pediatrics

This past January Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin announced the The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding.  Due to mounting evidence of breastfeeding’s myriad health benefits she declared its promotion a national priority.  Indeed, most people have heard about the passage of immunities from mothers to their breastfed infants, but few parents have [...]

Morgan, Hugh D. et al. “Epigenetic Inheritance at the Agouti Locus in the Mouse.” http://www.genetics.wustl.edu/bio5488/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Morgan1999.pdf Barker, D.J.P. “Fetal Origins of Coronary Heart Disease.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2550226/pdf/bmj00601-0037.pdf Giscombe, C. L. & Lobel, M. (2005). Explaining disproportionately high rates of adverse birth outcomes among African-Americans: The impact of stress, racism, and related factors in pregnancy. Psychological Bulletin, 131(5), 662-683. [...]

Although Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are the most studied and diagnosed psychiatric disorders affecting children, there is still little consensus about the root causes of the disorders and their appropriate treatments.   According to the CDC, almost 10% of all children in the United States have received an attention deficit [...]

Researchers in the field of “fetal origins” propose that the 40 week gestation period may be one of the most significant times of our lives.  The 9 months before birth may shape our susceptibility to disease and the functioning of our major organs as well as influence our temperament and intelligence.(1) Over the last fifty [...]

Cold Hard Facts Colds are caused by viral infections of the nose and throat. The average healthy child will experience between 6-10 colds a year. While colds are not serious, about 5-10 % of children will develop a bacterial complication (e.g. ear infection). Typical Cold Symptoms Runny or congested nose—it’s okay for mucus to be [...]

Gastroenterologists at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center have recently reported a 30 percent increase in the number of serious or chronic bouts of constipation experienced by American children between 2008 and 2009. While it’s unclear if the rise in severe cases is related to delayed diagnosis or insufficient treatments, Hopkins researchers contend that a lack of [...]

There is no question that in California the green movement is the ethos of our time, impacting all elements and stages of life. At every turn, families, communities, and businesses are beginning to make decisions that seek to minimize environmental degradation and facilitate a more synergistic and balanced relationship with the natural world. In San [...]

Q: I need some guidance on starting my infant on solids. Can you help? A: My goal in counseling parents about solids is to emphasize healthy eating and to teach them how to positively shape their child’s taste preferences. A growing body of research shows that babies’ palates are influenced before birth. Maturing in the [...]

We’re already headed into flu season and the influenza virus is highly contagious–at GetzWell we’re gearing up to help protect our families and community. During flu outbreaks, the highest infection rates occur among school-age children.  Children are important disseminators of disease in the community.  For every 100 children in U.S. elementary schools, influenza accounted for [...]

Research published in the June issue of the prestigious journal, Pediatrics, suggests that exposure to high levels of organophosphate pesticides may increase the risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. “Organophosphates are one of the most widely used pesticides in agriculture,” to quote from the article. In their study, Bouchard and her colleagues analyzed data [...]