Children’s health

The infant gut microbiome shapes health for decades

Savita Srivastava, MD

November 6, 2026Nov 6, 2026

When you're expecting your first child, your mind is naturally consumed by the big, tangible details: assembling the crib, choosing a car seat, and debating baby names. But beneath the surface of those exciting preparations, an invisible, high-stakes biological process…

When you’re expecting your first child, your mind is naturally consumed by the big, tangible details: assembling the crib, choosing a car seat, and debating baby names. But beneath the surface of those exciting preparations, an invisible, high-stakes biological process is taking place. From the moment of birth through a child’s second birthday, an entire microscopic ecosystem is taking root inside their body.

As physicians, our clinical training conditions us to …

When a failed newborn heart screen reveals something rare

Srinivasarao Badugu, MD

November 5, 2026Nov 5, 2026

A newborn failed her routine screening for critical congenital heart disease. What followed was a journey through one of the rarest forms of congenital heart disease, and a reminder of how a simple screening test, followed by the right clinical response, can change the course of a child’s life. The infant had been born near term by urgent cesarean delivery after concerns developed about the fetal heart rate tracing. After …

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A physician midlife crisis, charted in relative value units

Divya Rana, MD

November 1, 2026Nov 1, 20264

In any given year, working in the NICU brings its share of clinical challenges, heartaches, and spirit-lifting accomplishments. We're often the doctors whose "miracles" become someone else's "headache" once the baby moves to the PICU or the pediatric floor. Most…

In any given year, working in the NICU brings its share of clinical challenges, heartaches, and spirit-lifting accomplishments. We’re often the doctors whose “miracles” become someone else’s “headache” once the baby moves to the PICU or the pediatric floor. Most of the general public doesn’t know a place for sick newborns even exists, until they or someone they love lands there. I always tell my friends: I hope you never …

What kids really get from AI for emotional support

Timothy Lesaca, MD

October 31, 2026Oct 31, 2026

Kate Schweitzer's October 2026 JAMA article examines children's growing use of artificial intelligence and reports that, in a large Ontario survey, over one in five students used AI for emotional support or advice. Of these students, about 58 percent showed…

Kate Schweitzer’s October 2026 JAMA article examines children’s growing use of artificial intelligence and reports that, in a large Ontario survey, over one in five students used AI for emotional support or advice. Of these students, about 58 percent showed signs of emotional problems, compared to 29 percent of those who didn’t use AI. The article explains why chatbots have appeal: they’re easy to access, usually free, and can feel …

Academic medicine does not have a monopoly on excellence

October 31, 2026Oct 31, 2026

For much of my career, I practiced developmental and behavioral pediatrics far from what many people consider the centers of American medicine. Not in Boston. Not in Philadelphia. Not in Baltimore. Not in the academic corridors that dominate medical journals,…

Instead, I practiced in places like Minot, North Dakota; rural Ohio; Appalachia; Peoria, Illinois; and Phoenix, Arizona. Over time, I came to an uncomfortable conclusion: …

3 pediatric migraine traps that keep kids in pain

Deb Mojumder, MD, PhD

October 30, 2026Oct 30, 20262

On a recent Monday morning, 13-year-old Maya sat at her family's kitchen table with the blinds pulled shut, shielding her eyes from the sliver of sun cutting across the counter. Her breakfast sat untouched. She pressed both palms into her…

On a recent Monday morning, 13-year-old Maya sat at her family’s kitchen table with the blinds pulled shut, shielding her eyes from the sliver of sun cutting across the counter. Her breakfast sat untouched. She pressed both palms into her temples, dreading the first-period math test she was about to miss.

Her mother, exhausted after months of watching these episodes escalate, spotted a crumpled candy wrapper from the night before. She …

When caring for Medicaid patients hurts the bottom line

October 27, 2026Oct 27, 2026

When I arrived in Phoenix, families seeking developmental evaluations often faced a bewildering process. A child with suspected autism might spend 90 minutes with a pediatric nurse practitioner. Parents completed multiple questionnaires. Detailed histories stretched for ten to twenty pages.…

Only after navigating this maze would the child finally see a developmental-behavioral pediatrician. Parents hated it. I didn’t blame them.

The system was not designed …

Michael L. Saile Jr., Esq

Nutrition in pediatric oncology is not a fixed meal plan

Dr. Manjari Chandra

October 25, 2026Oct 25, 2026

In pediatric oncology, nutrition is often reduced to a simple question: Is the child eating enough? In practice, it is rarely that straightforward. During intensive cancer treatment, appetite, swallowing, taste, gastrointestinal tolerance, body weight, body composition, and functional capacity can change within days. A nutrition plan that works well in one phase of treatment may become difficult, or even impossible, a few weeks later.

This is the journey of a twelve-year-old …

Health policy

Your teen is a safe driver. That doesn’t mean they’re protected.

October 23, 2026Oct 23, 2026

As the father of three active boys, including two teenagers approaching driving age, I know the day I hand over the car keys isn't far off. Right now, our days are filled with practices, wrestling meets, school activities, and the…

As the father of three active boys, including two teenagers approaching driving age, I know the day I hand over the car keys isn’t far off. Right now, our days are filled with practices, wrestling meets, school activities, and the constant shuffle of getting everyone where they need to be. Before long, they’ll be the ones behind the wheel, driving themselves to those same activities. Like most parents, I’ll worry …

Parental instincts caught what normal tests missed

Jayme Higgins, RN

October 22, 2026Oct 22, 20264

As a nurse, I understand why medicine depends on objective data. We rely on lab results, imaging studies, vital signs, and physical examinations to help guide decisions. We are trained to avoid unnecessary testing, unnecessary radiation, and unnecessary interventions. I fully understand the risks of overdiagnosis, radiation exposure, and the reality that many childhood illnesses improve with time and supportive care.

But recently, I learned a lesson from the other side …

Is teen anxiety normal or a disorder? Both answers can fail.

Timothy Lesaca, MD

October 21, 2026Oct 21, 2026

Teenage anxiety is real, but if we treat every feeling as a medical issue, we might overlook what is truly important. When a teen says, "I'm anxious," we shouldn't have to choose between saying, "You have a disorder," or "That's…

Teenage anxiety is real, but if we treat every feeling as a medical issue, we might overlook what is truly important. When a teen says, “I’m anxious,” we shouldn’t have to choose between saying, “You have a disorder,” or “That’s just adolescence.” Both responses can shut down a conversation before it even starts.

A 2026 study in JAMA Pediatrics reveals this distinction. Analyzing 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health …

What David Satcher taught me about health disparities

October 18, 2026Oct 18, 2026

In December 2001, I received an invitation that surprised me. U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher invited me to present at his final official conference, Closing the Gap: Surgeon General's National Conference on Health Disparities and Mental Retardation. The invitation was…

In December 2001, I received an invitation that surprised me. U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher invited me to present at his final official conference, Closing the Gap: Surgeon General’s National Conference on Health Disparities and Mental Retardation.

The invitation was unexpected. At the time, I was directing Ohio’s Rural Developmental and Behavioral Clinic Initiative, a program designed to bring developmental and behavioral services to underserved communities. The work aligned closely with …

What Gold Star families need beyond flags and funerals

October 15, 2026Oct 15, 2026

At 2 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3, 1970, someone started pounding on our apartment door. My mother thought it was a prank. She had ignored the buzzer downstairs because neighborhood kids occasionally rang doorbells in the middle of the night.…

Instead, he found two Air Force officers standing at the door. One was a lieutenant colonel. The other was a chaplain. …

Why I built a medical home model for military families

October 12, 2026Oct 12, 2026

The Franklin Medal sits in a box in my attic. Most days I don't think about it. Life has a way of burying old honors beneath newer responsibilities. Yet every so often I remember that silver medal and what it…

The Franklin Medal sits in a box in my attic. Most days I don’t think about it. Life has a way of burying old honors beneath newer responsibilities. Yet every so often I remember that silver medal and what it represents.

I am not a descendant of Benjamin Franklin. I am one of his heirs.

More than two centuries ago, Franklin left money to the city of Boston to reward academic merit …

Who protects children from a livestreamed execution?

Timothy Lesaca, MD

October 10, 2026Oct 10, 2026

Before this or any government broadcasts an execution, it should first consider an obvious public health question: How will it protect children and other vulnerable people who might see the footage? This question needs a medical answer, no matter what…

On October 8, 2026, the United States Pentagon announced plans to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, who was convicted for the 2009 Fort Hood mass …

Measuring autism treatment progress beyond therapy hours

EarliPoint Health

October 9, 2026Oct 9, 2026

One of the things I value most in medicine is our ability to ask a seemingly simple question: Is the treatment working? In many areas of medicine, we have objective measures that help us answer it. When caring for a…

One of the things I value most in medicine is our ability to ask a seemingly simple question: Is the treatment working?

In many areas of medicine, we have objective measures that help us answer it. When caring for a child with diabetes, we can follow hemoglobin A1C. When managing hypertension, we monitor blood pressure. Those measurements do not replace the physician’s judgment or the patient’s experience. They give us another …

Good trouble: lessons from a physician whistleblower

October 8, 2026Oct 8, 2026

Rep. John Lewis nearly lost his life on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, marching for rights that should never have required a march. His courage redefined the moral calculus of resistance, what he called "good trouble, necessary trouble." I've…

I’ve created trouble too. Not on bridges, but in boardrooms. Not with batons overhead, but with data, dissent, and quiet refusal. I’ve challenged supervisors, disrupted systems, and questioned protocols that harmed more …

Physician leadership roles have a cost no résumé shows

October 6, 2026Oct 6, 2026

The other day, LinkedIn informed me that I was a strong match for a developmental-behavioral pediatrics section chief position at an academic medical center in the Midwest. The irony was hard to miss. Years ago, I held essentially the same…

The other day, LinkedIn informed me that I was a strong match for a developmental-behavioral pediatrics section chief position at an academic medical center in the Midwest.

The irony was hard to miss. Years ago, I held essentially the same leadership position. It nearly killed me.

The recommendation arrived complete with all the reassuring language modern recruiting systems like to use. My qualifications matched the position well. My experience aligned with the …

Health policy

The developmental pediatrician shortage is about to deepen