November 12, 2018
Literature Quick Bites
1) Updated car seat guidelines as quoted directly from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
1. All infants and toddlers should ride in a rear-facing car safety seat (CSS) as long as possible, until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their CSS's manufacturer. Most convertible seats have limits that will permit children to ride rear-facing for 2 years or more.
2. All children who have outgrown the rear-facing weight or height limit for their CSS should use a
forward-facing CSS with a harness for as long as possible, up to the highest weight or height allowed by their CSS's manufacturer.
3. All children whose weight or height is above the forward-facing limit for their CSS should use a belt-positioning booster seat until the vehicle lap and shoulder seat belt fits properly, typically when they have reached 4 ft 9 inches in height and are between 8 and 12 years of age.
4. When children are old enough and large enough to use the vehicle seat belt alone, they should always use lap and shoulder seat belts for optimal protection.
5. All children younger than 13 years should be restrained in the rear seats of vehicles for optimal protection.
These guidelines make complete sense as motor vehicle accidents continue to be a major contributor to childhood death and injury. These recommendations parallel the article a few months ago noting that teenagers suffered less death in the newer and safer cars.
2) In a mouse model, researchers at the University of Virginia have found that the maternal microbiome has a direct effect on her offspring having autism spectrum features. Dr. Lukens and colleagues noted that certain microbes in the maternal gut are associated with abnormal changes to the infants neurodevelopment. The changes seem to be mediated by an immune modifying protein called interleukin 17a. Future research will look at whether these patterns persist in humans and can we predict autism risk from microbiome signatures and IL17a levels.
In the meantime, as stated in the first few chapters of the my upcoming book, load the maternal diet with vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans and seeds while shunning processed low fiber foods.
3) Here are a few links: link1, link2 to some absolutely beautiful pictures of Earth from space that were taken by US astronaut Scott Kelly and are now in his new book Infinite Wonder. I especially like this one of Mt. Fuji from overhead. They will brighten your day, guaranteed. Show these to your children as they really reflect a view of our world that transcends there day to day way of seeing things.
AAP Policy Guidelines
UVA Autism Article
Mother Baby Book Microbiome Article
Mother Baby Book Microbiome Article II
