Post Author: Justin Morgan, MD

California’s vaccine mandate is working. More states should adopt it.

Meds
January 18, 2017

On June 30, 2015, California’s Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill 277 (SB277), which tightened requirements so that parents could no longer opt out of vaccinating their children if they were attending state licensed schools, daycares, and nurseries.

Dr. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), a pediatrician, sponsored the legislation, which quickly became a nationwide litmus test on the debate over personal liberty versus public health in the aftermath of the large, …

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The unknown impact of changing a person’s genetic makeup

Physician
April 1, 2016

In February 2015, the British Parliament approved the creation of a human embryo from the DNA of three people: mother, father and a donor mother. The modified in-vitro fertilization (IVF) technique, called mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT), would help some mothers with known rare mitochondrial mutations avoid passing on unhealthy defects. These defects can cause severe or deadly diseases, which are often incurable, such as muscular dystrophy, heart and kidney disease, liver …

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Are essential oils safe for children?

Meds
March 13, 2016

On January 5, 2016, emergency crews were called to Our Kids Daycare and Learning Center in Middleton, Idaho. The reason: concern for carbon monoxide poisoning. The daycare center’s director Robin Hagaman noted that some of the 12 toddlers in the classroom were acting strangely when they awakened from their naps and were also noted to have dilated pupils. In addition, two of the teachers were simultaneously experiencing headaches and …

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Deliver a princess. And then be home for dinner.

Conditions
May 19, 2015

On May 2, 2015, at approximately 6 a.m. local time, the Duchess of Cambridge was admitted to the Lindo Wing of Saint Mary’s Hospital after going into labor. At 8:34 a.m., the Duke and Duchess welcomed a baby girl, Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, into the world weighing 8 lbs. 3 oz. Kensington Palace announced the arrival of the fourth royal in line to the British throne at 11 a.m. At around …

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Alternative vaccine schedules dilute the vaccine message

Conditions
April 10, 2015

An increasing amount of parents are choosing to delay or spread out vaccines for their infants and toddlers. Dr. Allison Kempe and her colleagues at the University of Colorado School of Medicine found that in a typical month, 93 percent of pediatricians and family physicians reported that some parents of children less than 2 years of age requested to spread out their vaccines. The findings, published in the April 2015 edition …

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Should home births be turned into reality TV?

Physician
April 6, 2015

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Lifetime has an unscripted series, Born in the Wild, which documents couples’ decisions to forgo birth in a hospital and instead give birth in nature on their own terms without assistance:

In this new series, families take one step beyond home birth and make the powerful choice to experience childbirth in the great outdoors. No inductions, no epidurals … just expectant mothers facing …

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With vaccines, pediatricians walk a thin line

Physician
March 11, 2015

It’s 2015, and we’re talking about measles. Not Enterovirus. Not Ebola. Not RSV. Not influenza. Instead, we’re talking about a historical virus that was declared eradicated from the United States in 2000. Most pediatricians who began practicing within the last 15 years have never even seen the disease.

Measles starts as a high fever followed by a cough, runny nose (coryza), red and watery eyes (conjunctivitis), and tiny white spots inside the mouth …

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The problem with physically disciplining children

Conditions
September 28, 2014

The recent arrest of Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson on child abuse charges has sparked a national conversation on the manner in which parents should discipline their children. Allegedly, Adrian Peterson injured his 4-year-old son by spanking him with a thin tree branch (“a switch”) and leaving cuts and bruises all over his body.

After learning of Adrian Peterson’s indictment, Peterson’s mother, Bonita Jackson, was interviewed by the …

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Vaccine denial: A case of toddler logic syndrome

Conditions
July 13, 2014

A couple of weeks ago, my family was traveling out of town. I was driving and my wife and almost 2-year-old daughter were buckled up in the back seat playing with some toys. My wife pulled out a brand new container of Play-Doh. As my daughter was preparing to pull the lid off to see what was inside, I drove through a section on the interstate where there was a …

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Real men don’t leave their wives right after birth

Physician
April 20, 2014

News broke recently that Daniel Murphy, second baseman for the New York Mets, recently took two days off for paternity leave, causing him to miss Major League Baseball’s opening day and the season’s second game to be with his wife and child.

Mike Francesa, a popular New York sports radio personality, devoted about 20 minutes of his Wednesday broadcast on WFAN to a rant against paternity leave. According to him, a …

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