In an era where reaching a live operator on a business line is an endangered practice, families calling Kids First are delighted to find a friendly (and depending on how often you call, familiar!) voice on the other end of the line. Answering the phones for Kids First are either Debbie Thompson or Kim McNamee….

Planning is underway for the Chicago Breastfeeding Center, under the auspices of Kids First Pediatric Partners. The goal is to proactively assist nursing mothers and babies so that as many mothers as possible can successfully breastfeed. “It’s the big secret that no one tells you before having a baby that breastfeeding is really hard,” says…

To benefit fetal growth and development, women who are breastfeeding, pregnant or who might become pregnant should consume 8-12 ounces of lower-mercury fish each week (2-3 servings), according to updated advice from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The advice also suggests avoiding four types of fish associated with high…

A recent study in Pediatrics found that child and maternal activity levels are directly associated, with more active mothers having more active children. Maternal activity levels differed depending on mothers’ levels of education, number of children and weekly working hours. On average, mothers engaged in about the same amounts of sedentary and light physical activity…

Families may decide to use a retail-based health clinic because they believe it is convenient and less expensive, but according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), these clinics do not provide children with the high-quality, regular preventive health care children need. In an updated policy statement, the AAP emphasizes that retail-based clinics are an…