Social media and networking especially Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube (Meet-up ? I never heard of it until now) plays an important role in disseminating information about kid’s health issues and controversies. American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has an excellent website as well as a page in Facebook or Twitter that address these controversies. The top five controversies that make a parent or a Pediatrician so crazy are:
First: Proper position when baby is sleeping: Prone or Supine?
Which one is recommended? Historically, lying on baby’s face is recommended but researchers found out that there was increased incidence of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), now it’s “Back to Sleep”. Really? Make up your mind GUYS!!
Second: Breastfeeding is the best but you can’t do it in public. Are you serious?
To breastfeed in public or to starve your baby?
Thumbs-up for both breastfeeding and breastfeeding in public.
Third: The cure for common colds.
Doctor…..my baby has a cold….Can you prescribe my baby Amoxicillin?
Gimme a break!!! Common colds or Upper Respiratory Infection is caused by a virus.
It’s a VIRUS. OK….. a VIRUS!! YOU GET THAT!!
Not a viral video….Dummy!!
Not a fungal infection, Miss HOLLY!!
Not a flesh eating bacteria!!!
COMMON COLDS….. DOES NOT NEED ANTIBIOTICS LIKE AMOXICILLIN OR ZITHROMAX!!!!
Fourth: Media violence can increase the risk of aggressive behavior in children and adolescent. Agree or Disagree? Yes or No.
This is a big YES but some parents will still say no. Television and video games are their babysitters. ARE YOU SERIOUS?
EXAMPLE: Columbine Shooting…..so tragic
And last but not the least: To immunize or not to immunize? That is the question. A no-brainer!!
Vaccines are not perfect but they are safe and effective.
Wow…… that jerk (excuse me for my language) said that Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine can cause Autism. AGAIN……ARE YOU SERIOUS? WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?
This one is the most controversial issue in Pediatrics. The controversy will never die. Sarcastically, thank you to Dr. Wakefield who wrote the journal that MMR vaccine can cause autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). GIMME A BREAK!!
This lead to non-vaccination of MMR to some children causing increased mortality and morbidity in Pediatric population as well as its incidence in the past few years.
Through social media and social networking like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and others, we can able to address the above controversies.
Innovations in Health Communications 
Ron, you always have a way to get the message across with a sense of humor. I love it. Me and my wife both watched the videos and read your blog. She loves this blog. She was laughing but she was also getting the message.
Thank you Narayana. I’ll probably be a comedian if i’m not in health care. Just kidding. Im glad your wife likes it too.
Hey Ron, love your post and I agree with Narayana that you always seem to get it across with humor, which is appreciated, especially with some of the gross pictures. 🙂 Social media can be tricky with things like the immunization dilemma, someone can see the article, it goes crazy on Facebook and now everyone has an idea in their head that they don’t fully understand. But when that article gets disproven and or retracted (which I believe that one did), it doesn’t get nearly as much attention or spread even as close to as quickly. A lot of my friends with children are on Facebook all the time asking for pediatrician and dentist recommendations for kids and answers to small medical maladies. Forget Web MD, when you have hundreds of friends on Facebook! Thanks!
Thank you Marjorie. I always try to make it light. I agree with you about the immunization dilemma and most of the times the parents are so confused which one to follow. I always tell them that vaccines are not perfect but they are very safe and effective. As part of my service to our community, we have a page in Facebook wherein they can ask me questions about their babies and kids. I always try to answer their questions even some common problems like constipation, common colds, diarrhea, tylenol dose, fever, milk intolerance, what type of car seat, immunization schedules, referrals, and others.
Ron, what a great service. I agree with Marjorie that it’s pretty tragic that misinformation spreads like wildfire, while scientifically correct pieces gain little traction. Kudos to you as a health professional for getting the (accurate) word out there!
Ron – So funny and so true! Along with your point on back is best (which I’m sure you can imagine I’m hearing a lot these days) I keep wondering if people are blurring the line about what SIDS means/is. For example, is back sleeping decreasing the rate of SIDS or infant suffocation? I also see a lot about removing bumpers on cribs decreasing SIDS – same question. Sleeping with the baby next to you (but not in bed) decreases SIDS – is that because I can hear them if they are choking/struggling? I feel like SIDS is being bandied about like it is the only reason for infant mortality and I for one would like a little clarity. This blog is just awesome!
Hi Teresa!! Good questions Teresa. A lot of parents are also confuse about this issue/controversy. The back sleeping decreased the incidence of SIDS due to multiple reasons and I think part of it is that AAP discouraged parents from using soft mattress (Infant had the tendency to get stuck and can’t move well while sleeping with their tummy or on baby’s face resulting to suffocation). The main reason why there is decreased incidence of SIDS in infants who sleep on their back physiologically have lower arousal thresholds and less slow-wave sleep (SWS) compared to infants who sleep on their stomachs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_to_Sleep) . Regarding the crib bumper pads, I pasted an excerpt from About.comBabyproducts (http://babyproducts.about.com/od/recallsandsafety/a/bumpersafety.htm) which totally explained why we don’t use bumper pads anymore.
“Crib bumper pads became popular in older-style cribs where the slats were far enough apart that a baby’s head could become trapped between the slats, posing a suffocation risk. Today, all cribs sold in the United States and Canada are required to have slats close enough together that it’s nearly impossible for an infant’s head to fit through. So why do we still use the crib bumper pads? For some parents, the reason may be as simple as liking the way the bumper pad looks. The matched crib bedding sets in stores are often cute and the package deal makes for a nice coordinated nursery. Other parents are worried about their child’s arms and legs sticking through the crib sides, and some worry that the baby will hit his or her head on the crib sides and cause injury. According to a CNN article , the AAP says crib bumpers don’t offer much in the way of injury prevention. Health Canada reports that serious injury is not likely when a child puts his or her arms and legs through the crib slats. The baby will either remove their arm or leg from the slats if possible, or make enough noise to alert a parent for help.
Sleeping with your baby next to you (but not in bed) only hypothetically decreases SIDS because parents can hear them struggling or snoring but how about those parents who are deep sleepers. There is no definitive reason why it decreases SIDS but I would say that it is more instinctual and deep inside parents have the sense that their baby is in trouble. SIDS is not the only reason for an infant mortality especially in the neonatal period that is first 30 days of life. Undiagnosed metabolic disorder, infection like group B streptococcal infection, and rare neurological disorder just to mention a few etiologies/causes.
I would like to share to everybody this just recently published article in Pediatrics (Official journal of American Academy of Pediatrics) entitled “Bed Sharing Remains Greatest Risk Factor for Sleep Related Infant Deaths”
“Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and other sleep-related causes of infant mortality have several known risk factors, but little is known if these factors change for different age groups. In a new study in the August 2014 Pediatrics, “Sleep Environment Risks for Younger and Older Infants,” published online July 14, researchers studied sleep-related infant deaths from 24 states from 2004-2012 in the case reporting system of the National Center for the Review and Prevention of Child Deaths. Cases were divided by younger (0-3 months) and older (4 months to one year) infants. In a total of 8,207 deaths analyzed, majority of the infants (69 percent) were bed-sharing at the time of death. Fifty-eight percent were male, and most deaths occurred in non-Hispanic whites. Younger infants were more likely bed-sharing (73.8 percent vs. 58.9 percent), sleeping on an adult bed or on/near a person, while older infants were more likely found prone with objects, such as blankets or stuffed animals in the sleep area. Researchers conclude that sleep-related infant deaths risk factors are different for younger and older infants. Parents should follow the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendations for a safe sleep environment and understand that different factors reflect risk at different developmental stages “.
– See more at: http://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/Bed-Sharing-Remains-Greatest-Risk-Factor-for-Sleep-Related-Infant-Deaths.aspx#sthash.E6YUvOSf.dpuf
Thank you Teresa. I hope this answer your questions.
Ron – This is a treasure trove of information, thank you so much for sharing all of it and it most certainly answers my question. I’m sharing your blog (and this comment thread) with my husband to make sure we’re both ready for the little bundle come September.
Teresa – I was about to comment about your status “soon to be a mom” but I thought you just stop working out and gained weight. Just kidding. Wishing you a smooth delivery of that cute little baby. Congratulation to you and to your husband in advance!!
Ron, you always make things very funny, even if your professional side is obviously appalled by these posts. I find it interesting that you combined video and photo in your post. I find that some people could get side-tracked when opening a video clip that they may not go back to read the rest of the article. Very informative blog. Thank you, Dr. Hipolito!
Hi.. Marie. I agree with you that people can get side-tracked when opening a video that they may not go back to read the rest of the article. I think sometimes most of us are guilty of that. Most of us are multi-taskers anyway. Thank you!!
Ron love your post! This is perfect way to blend humor with a serious topic…. sometimes with so many “reporters” there is too much information to dig through and people will just believe what they read and not dig deeper or ask subject matter experts.
Good post Ron! This is why its important to know who is giving the advice! Trust the AAP, not Joe Schmoe’s Vitamin and mineral shop for info on pediatric health!