babies

Last month, Florida joined 15 other states in banning sales taxes on diapers to make them more affordable for older adults and families with young children.

The experimental technique is an effort to prevent children from inheriting rare genetic diseases. Critics warn that tweaking the genetic code this way could be a slippery slope that leads to designer babies.

These babies can have withdrawal symptoms because of exposure in the womb. New research shows that those born to opioid users have shorter hospital stays when care includes more parent involvement and a quieter environment.

An infant was infected with the bacteria that sparked a recall and nationwide shortage of powdered infant formula last year. Genetic sequencing linked the infection to bacteria isolated from a breast pump.

Minnesota officials announced the state will be the first in the nation screening all newborns for cytomegalovirus.

The illness sends tens of thousands of babies to the hospital each year. If approved, the new injection would be the first broadly available prevention tool.

A newborn was surrendered recently under a program that lets people give up an unwanted infant anonymously. There are dozens of baby boxes scattered across the U.S., but the practice is controversial.

U.S. health regulators say their response to the ongoing infant formula shortage was slowed by delays in processing a whistleblower complaint and test samples from the nation’s largest formula factory.

Sales of formulas designed for toddlers increased in recent years, but health experts warn parents that once children reach their first birthday, they are generally fine with cow or plant milk. And doctors say toddler formula should not be given to infants.

Shortly after birth, babies are pricked in the heel so their blood can be tested for life-threatening conditions. States generally save leftover blood from those samples, and parents and privacy experts are concerned that information could be used without consent years later.