HomePaediatrics
Paediatrics
WHO says no to obesity drugs, surgery, for under-10s
Medicine and surgery are not the answer for overweight children, the World Health Organisation has said, releasing its first guidelines addressing the escalating obesity...
Children dying in pain because of palliative care neglect
A damning report from the World Health Organisation confirms what professionals already know – that South Africa’s health system is failing abysmally at providing...
Africa commits to new framework to slash maternal, child deaths
Under a new health accountability framework endorsed by the 81st UN General Assembly (UNGA) last month in New York, African governments have committed to...
Congenital TORCH infections tied to autism risk – Swedish study
Swedish researchers have suggested that a collection of rare infections passed from mothers to foetuses could increase the risk of autism or intellectual disability...
High costs block SA babies’ access to crucial RSV jabs
The high cost of two newly-licensed interventions that protect babies against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is blocking their introduction into South Africa’s public health...
Stats SA defends data after scepticism over unvaccinated babies
Stats SA has defended its population data, which the National Department of Health said last week may have skewed its estimates of childhood vaccination...
Anaemic mothers have babies with smaller brains – UCT study
Researchers from the University of Cape Town and King’s College London have suggested that babies born to mothers with anaemia have smaller brains, particularly...
Dodgy childhood vaccination data prompts department review
Recently published childhood vaccination figures by the National Department of Health – showing an alarming drop – may have been skewed by inaccurate population numbers...
No link between prenatal pesticide exposure and autism – US study
Chlorpyrifos and other organophosphate insecticides had no association with autism at low exposure levels, according to data recently published in JAMA Paediatrics by US...
Low B12, folate, in fathers linked to birth defects – Chinese study
The importance of adequate vitamin B12 and folate during pregnancy for preventing birth defects is well-known, but a recent study suggests fathers may also...
FDA approves drug to treat HIV in newborns
The FDA has approved dolutegravir (Tivicay PD; ViiV Healthcare) tablets for oral suspension for the treatment of HIV infection in newborns from birth to...
Trump order slashes childhood jabs
Still fixated on the unproved theory that vaccines are linked to autism, last week – for the third time in less than a year...
Should the MMR vaccine be split into three separate shots?
The contentious executive order by President Donald Trump that immunisations for measles, mumps and rubella should be given in individual jabs in three different...
Vaccine trial offers hope for deadly diarrhoeal disease
A new vaccine candidate offers hope for millions afflicted by diarrhoea, which kills 1m people worldwide every year, with nearly half of them under...
Trump orders MMR vaccine to be split into three jabs
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order calling for revamped childhood vaccine recommendations that promote his long-held but discredited theory that childhood shots should be spaced...
South African doctor leads pioneering US surgery on baby in utero
A pioneering procedure carried out by a South African doctor working in Texas could eventually be performed in South Africa, according to the surgeon...
Shortened duration of penicillin treatment effective, study finds
A recent study provides strong evidence that just one or two days of intravenous penicillin, followed by a short oral course of amoxicillin, is...
Measles cases reach 35-year high in United States
America has already recorded 2 295 measles cases this year, a number not seen since 1991, according to new data published on the Johns...
Australian woman gives birth to rare identical quad girls
An Australian woman has given birth to identical quadruplet girls after a pregnancy doctors described as incredibly rare, reports The Associated Press.
Jenitar Sau Na’amoana...
6 000 Zimbabwean babies, 500 mothers, died in 2025
More than 6 100 babies died within the neonatal period in Zimbabwe last year – most from birth asphyxia – while 563 women lost...
Drop in vitamin K birth shots tied to bleeding in babies – Swedish analysis
Bleeding episodes among infants aged six months or younger in Sweden doubled between 2003 and 2021, a concerning trend apparently driven by more parents...
US Surgeon-General issues advisory for children’s screen time
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Surgeon-General has released an advisory on the harms of excessive screen use...
Donation of R1.1m boosts Tygerberg Hospital Children’s Trust
The Tygerberg Hospital Children’s Trust has received a significant donation of R1 105 000 from the South African Muslim Charitable Trust (SAMCT), which will...
Vaccine hesitancy – lessons from South Africa and Brazil
Vaccine uptake has been declining in Brazil and South Africa over the past decade, reversing important gains in protecting children against vaccine-preventable diseases like...
UCT study finds major risks to unborn babies from indoor pollution, tobacco smoke
A recent study has suggested that pregnant women exposed to poor quality indoor air – including tobacco smoke – can place unborn babies at...
Why food alone won’t fix childhood stunting – SA study
South Africa has a paradox when it comes to food availability. Its supermarkets are overflowing, and yet it continues to record high levels of...
Father and daughter volunteer to change lives with cleft surgery
A Cape Town father and daughter recently joined a team of volunteers who helped deliver life-changing corrective surgery to children born with cleft palates...
UK researchers urge safety campaign for baby sling and carrier use
British sleep experts are calling for a campaign to ensure parents are given trusted guidance and specialist advice before buying baby carriers, their recent...
Big Tobacco uses cigarette sales ploys to push ultra-processed food
Revelations in the latest American Journal of Public Health unravel the strategies used by big tobacco companies – which have acquired food product lines...
Hundreds of children dying in outbreak the world ignores
Hantavirus and Ebola are making headlines. But another deadly outbreak is unfolding that’s barely registered on the global scene – a devastating measles outbreak...
Still no conclusive explanation for SIDS – Swiss study
Contemporary sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) research is at an impasse, say experts, who are still unable to pinpoint the cause, or risk factors,...
Iconic beachfront Children’s Hospital reclaims its heartbeat
Shut down by the apartheid government for providing care to young patients of all races, Durban’s historic Children’s Hospital is transforming from a ghostly...
Gauteng Health fails to vet thousands of childcare staff
The Gauteng Department of Health has not vetted nearly 40 000 staff who work with children, raising serious concerns about child safety and patient...
Infant RSV jab better protection than maternal jab – French study
Immunisation with the long-acting monoclonal antibody nirsevimab may provide stronger protection against hospitalisations for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants than maternal RSV vaccination...
Anti-depressants in pregnancy not tied to autism/ADHD – Hong Kong analysis
In an analysis of more than half a million pregnancies, there was no indication that taking anti-depressants during pregnancy increased the risk of children...
Unique Cape Town centre focuses on youngsters with kidney disease
Young people with kidney disease in South Africa often fall into the gap between the paediatric and adult healthcare systems, but an innovative clinic...
Malaria mortality slashed in African children after vaccine
WHO’s approval of the RTS,S/AS01 (Mosquirix) malaria vaccine in 2021 was a milestone in global public health, representing not only the first vaccine approved...
Red Cross Children’s Hospital celebrates 70 years
The first and only stand-alone tertiary hospital in sub-Saharan Africa dedicated entirely to child healthcare, the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in Cape...
New treatment slashes death risk for paediatric leukaemia
British doctors have found a gentler treatment for children whose leukaemia has come back, which could boost survival and quality of life, a Great Ormond Street...
Brain scans show extreme ADHD subtype
Researchers have identified a more severe presentation of ADHD marked by emotional dysregulation – a finding suggesting a re-assessment of the traditional medical definition...