Pediatrics

Pediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. The age limit of such patients ranges from birth to 18. In countries where the age of majority is 18, this age limit may be from birth to age 17 (such as in Canada). A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician.

What is Pediatrics?

Pediatrics is the branch of medicine dealing with the health and medical care of infants, children, and adolescents from birth up to the age of 18. The word “paediatrics” means “healer of children”; they are derived from two Greek words: (pais = child) and (iatros = doctor or healer). Paediatrics is a relatively new medical specialty, developing only in the mid-19th century. Abraham Jacobi (1830–1919) is known as the father of paediatrics.

Pediatrics Training

Pediatric Skin Conditions

Subspecialties of Pediatrics

Pediatrician: Role, Education, Training, Subspecialties

Infections in Childhood

A Brief History of Pediatrics

Child and Adolescent Sports Injuries

Importance of Sensory Stimulation for Babies

Supporting Children with Mental Health Disorders

How Fast Food Affects Children's Health

Mental Health Disorders and Children

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Effects of Passive Smoking on Children's Health

Latest Pediatrics News and Research

Study reveals how medulloblastoma spreads and grows on the leptomeninges

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital, the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and collaborating institutions reveal in Nature Cell Biology a strategy that helps medulloblastoma, the most prevalent malignant brain tumor in children, spread and grow on the leptomeninges, the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

22 Apr 2025

Vaccinated children far less likely to develop long COVID

Unvaccinated children and adolescents were up to 20 times more likely to develop long COVID than their vaccinated peers, according to new research led by a team from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

21 Apr 2025

Anxiety and depression in children increased steadily from 2016 to 2022

The percentage of children under 18 years old with anxiety and depression increased steadily from 2016 to 2022, according to publicly available data from the National Survey of Children's Health that were analyzed by researchers from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.

21 Apr 2025

EEG monitoring helps reduce anesthesia use and improves pediatric recovery

Newly published results of a randomized, controlled clinical trial in Japan among more than 170 children aged 1 to 6 who underwent surgery, show that by using EEG readings of brain waves to monitor unconsciousness, an anesthesiologist can significantly reduce the amount of the anesthesia administered to safely induce and sustain each patient's anesthetized state.

21 Apr 2025

Experimental cancer drug shows promise in boosting tuberculosis treatment

An experimental drug now in clinical trials as a cancer treatment could help boost the power of first-line tuberculosis (TB) treatments by helping infected cells die a gentler death, Johns Hopkins Medicine investigators report, based on mouse-model research of the lung-damaging disease.

21 Apr 2025

The lasting impact of paternal depression on children

In popular culture, dads are stoic, sensitive and strong. So powerful is the mystique of the happy dad that celebrities, joke books – even hard seltzers – carry the label.

20 Apr 2025

Yale study links childhood thyroid cancer risk to air and light pollution

A new study led by researchers at Yale University suggests that early-life exposure to two widespread environmental pollutants- small particle air pollution and outdoor artificial light at night-could increase the risk of pediatric thyroid cancer.

17 Apr 2025

Researchers use algorithm to pinpoint disease risk mutations in noncoding DNA

Researchers from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Medicine) have successfully employed an algorithm to identify potential mutations which increase disease risk in the noncoding regions our DNA, which make up the vast majority of the human genome.

17 Apr 2025

Hydroxyurea shows long-term benefits for children with sickle cell disease

Hydroxyurea remains effective long-term in reducing emergency department visits and hospital days for children living with sickle cell disease (SCD), according to new research published in Blood Advances.

17 Apr 2025

Pediatricians warn of measles resurgence and emphasize vaccine safety

Pediatric infectious diseases experts stress the importance of vaccination against measles, one of the most contagious viruses, which is once more spreading in the United States.

15 Apr 2025

Study reveals a novel link between body fat and anxiety

In a groundbreaking study, researchers at McMaster University have revealed a novel link between body fat (adipose tissue) and anxiety, shedding light on the intricate relationship between metabolism and mental health.

15 Apr 2025

Why measles is back in the U.S. and what doctors must know now

Measles is making a troubling comeback in the U.S., driven by declining vaccination rates and rising vaccine hesitancy. Pediatric infectious disease experts provide clinical guidance to help healthcare providers recognize, manage, and prevent measles in today’s outbreak-prone environment.

14 Apr 2025

Study: Over 3 million children died in 2022 due to drug-resistant infections

A landmark study presented today at ESCMID Global 2025 has revealed that over 3 million children worldwide lost their lives in 2022 due to antimicrobial resistance (AMR)-related infections.

12 Apr 2025

More psych hospital beds are needed for kids, but neighbors say not here

In January, a teenager in suburban St. Louis informed his high school counselor that a classmate said he planned to kill himself later that day.

11 Apr 2025

Study reveals how the brain balances hormones and metabolism during lactation

Nursing poses major metabolic demands on mothers, to which they respond by eating more and saving energy to sustain milk production.

10 Apr 2025

Exploring the complex association between anemia and retinopathy of prematurity

Anemia is a common condition in premature infants, particularly those at risk for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

10 Apr 2025

Study shows wisdom of early US investment in COVID-19 vaccines

Five years ago, volunteers rolled up their sleeves in the first clinical trial of a vaccine against COVID-19, as the new pandemic surged around them. By a year later, 66 million American adults had gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, at no cost to them. Now, a new study shows how wise that national investment in testing, buying and delivering the first vaccines was.

10 Apr 2025

MSC-derived extracellular vesicles show promise in treating high-dose radiation injuries

A new study in the peer-reviewed journal Stem Cells and Development highlights the potential of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) as a therapeutic strategy for high-dose radiation injuries by promoting hematopoietic recovery and improving survival.

9 Apr 2025

Oklahoma Children's Hospital improves care for babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome

In years past, health care providers took a punitive stance toward women giving birth to babies exposed to substances like opioids in the womb.

9 Apr 2025

Twins begin pregnancy smaller than singletons earlier than expected

Twins—smaller at birth, on average, than singletons—start out smaller in pregnancy than was previously known, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

7 Apr 2025