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Addressing food insecurity: How Boston Children’s makes food accessible for patients

Posted on by | Health and Parenting, Our Community
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Food insecurity is more common than you might think, affecting an estimated 21.1% of Massachusetts households with children in 2023. To add to the stress, families of children with dietary restrictions who face food insecurity are frequently left with limited options to find proper nutrition. One of the biggest hurdles when it comes to addressing ... Read More
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From Toronto to Boston: Osteochondritis dissecans, hockey, and hope

Posted on by | Patient Stories
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Hockey is a fast and physical sport. Players need to think and act quickly as their team members, opponents, and the puck zip around the ice. Wherever the puck goes, high-speed collisions often follow. Osteochondritis dissecans is a joint disorder in which a segment of bone and cartilage starts to separate from the rest of ... Read More
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‘I did it!’ Micah is thriving after maternal-fetal care for a CPAM

Posted on by | Patient Stories
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Dr. Marla Lipsyc-Sharf is no stranger to the field of medicine: As a medical oncology fellow, she’s familiar with the human body and the health challenges that can arise. But it still came as a shock when — 20 weeks into a healthy pregnancy — she and her husband, Jeremiah, learned during an ultrasound that ... Read More
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Escaping the fire: How mental health care providers can fight burnout

Posted on by | Clinical Care
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It might feel like an occupational buzzword lately, but “burnout” is nothing new. It has plagued clinicians and other medical professionals for decades, but the COVID-19 pandemic and intensely spotlighted behavioral health crisis have only fueled the inferno. And maybe no one knows this better than the mental health professionals who have been on the frontline of both battles. ... Read More
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Summertime Sadness: Helping children manage summer depression

Posted on by | Health and Parenting
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Summer’s here, which means school is out and the sun is in. It’s everyone’s favorite season. Unless it’s not. Summer can bring with it feelings of depression or anxiety, which can be especially frustrating for young people who may think they’re supposed to unequivocally love this time of year. We spoke with Dr. Deepika Shaligram, ... Read More
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‘Our silver lining’: Mila is thriving after CDH repair

Posted on by | Patient Stories
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For Katie, last St. Patrick’s Day wasn’t an occasion for revelry. Instead, it was the day an ultrasound revealed that their daughter, Mila, would be born with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). In this condition, the diaphragm — the layer of muscle and tissue between the chest and abdominal cavity — forms with a hole ... Read More
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COVID-19 vaccines are now available for kids under 5. Here’s what parents should know.

Posted on by | Health and Parenting
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Children under age 5 can now be vaccinated against COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently approved the use of vaccines produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna in children ages 6 months and older. We spoke with Dr. Kristin Moffitt, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Boston Children’s, to get answers to your questions. ... Read More
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Genomic ‘fingerprinting’ yields better treatments for pediatric solid cancers

Posted on by | Clinical, Research
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Genomic profiling is increasingly used for solid tumors in adults and for pediatric brain tumors and blood cancers, allowing treatments to be matched to patients’ mutations. But for children with solid tumors, genomic fingerprinting has been elusive, because these cancers are so varied and individually so rare. Therapies therefore remain non-specific: chemotherapy, surgery, and/or radiation. ... Read More
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Optimizing care for bronchopulmonary dysplasia, infant by infant

Posted on by | Clinical Care, Specialty Care
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Preterm newborns with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) can require ongoing mechanical ventilation to support their lungs. But babies with BPD aren’t just newborns with underdeveloped lungs. Each has a unique presentation. And every part of their care is important, with the ultimate goal of enabling them to grow, develop, and go home to their families. The ... Read More
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Pregnant mothers who get COVID-19 vaccines are also protecting their babies

Posted on by | Health and Parenting, Research
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Recent studies have shown that COVID-19 vaccination is safe for expectant mothers and can protect them against infection, severe illness, and death from COVID-19. We also know that mothers vaccinated during pregnancy pass coronavirus antibodies to their babies. The latest research — drawing on 30 children’s hospitals in 22 states — now confirms that vaccinating ... Read More
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