Infant lying down, looking at the camera

Safe Infant Feeding: Parents Aren’t Getting The Information They Need

Image: bingngu93 from Pixabay by Ranjini (Rini) Ghosh When it comes to safe infant feeding, the “Breast-is-Best” mantra is the standard in hospitals, from prenatal education sessions and through the postpartum hospital stay and beyond. It’s based on guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization that infants be exclusively breastfed … Continue reading Safe Infant Feeding: Parents Aren’t Getting The Information They Need

SciMoms COVID FAQs: Who is at high-risk for COVID-19?

In this series of COVID FAQs, the SciMoms answer your frequently asked questions about the novel coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic. For our third FAQ, we focus on high-risk groups for COVID-19. Defining risk: it's not about you Risk is a population-based measure, which means it doesn’t necessarily apply to every individual in that population. Since … Continue reading SciMoms COVID FAQs: Who is at high-risk for COVID-19?

Open jar of peanut butter with butter knife in jar

Reducing the Risk of Food Allergies, Starting With Baby’s First Foods

Visual: Pixabay user stevepb If you’ve had a baby in the last few years, you may have been confused about when, exactly, to introduce common allergenic foods, like peanuts, cow’s milk, eggs, and shellfish. You may have heard that delaying these foods beyond one year of age can help prevent food allergies. The American Academy … Continue reading Reducing the Risk of Food Allergies, Starting With Baby’s First Foods

Coronavirus Shows We Still Suck At Assessing Risk

I was really looking forward to co-chairing a session at the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting this year. The organizers wisely canceled the meeting due to the one risk on everyone's mind these days: coronavirus. My talk? “Communicating Risk in a (Mis)information-filled World,” in which I explore how errors in risk perception lead to public … Continue reading Coronavirus Shows We Still Suck At Assessing Risk

Are we worried about flame retardants?

When I was pregnant with my first child in 2008, the nurse who taught our pregnancy class recommended that we use Dreft detergent. One of her reasons was that they don’t strip clothes of their flame retardants. At which point, I raised my hand and asked, “but don’t we want to avoid flame-retardant exposures?” Consider … Continue reading Are we worried about flame retardants?