October is Children's Health Month: Requiem for Deamonte Driver

We can celebrate and observe Children's Health Month in the context of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) applying ten years of environmental protection research to protecting the lives of children. But the devil is in the details. On February 25, 2007, 12 year old Deamonte Driver of Maryland died due to a bacterial brain abscess. The bacterial brain abscess was caused by untreated oral disease - rotted teeth. An $80 tooth extraction might have prevented his death, but his mother did not have health insurance, the family lost Medicaid insurance, and oral surgeons who accept Medicaid are difficult to find anyway. Cost of care for the two surgeries and six weeks of hospital care required to treat the brain abscess? $250,000.

Millions of children in the US do not have access to basic preventive and restorative dental care. Federal public officials need to stop shortchanging oral health programs. We need water fluoridation, and universal availability of preventive care so that children can feel good about themselves and participate fully in school and extracurricular activities. Americhoice, (a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group), provided a $200,000 grant to the University of Maryland Dental School in August, 2007 to provide outreach to poor children in Maryland. Alyce Driver, Deamonte's mother, participated in the ceremony.

Representative Elijah Cummings of Baltimore, MD introduced legislation - Deamonte's Law -
to help end the silent epidemic of untreated oral disease in our nation's poor children. An estimated 20 million children lack access to care. The 155,000 member American Dental Association (ADA) supports the legislation which highlights the need for pediatric dental specialists.

45 million Americans have no health insurance -10 million of those are children. The National (State Children's Health Insurance Program) SCHIP bill now awaits President Bush's approval. The bill provides stop gap insurance for families who are not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid but without resources to pay for private insurance. The funds to pay for it are proposed to come from increased tax on cigarettes. The Senate passed the bill last week, as did the House of Representatives, but with less than the majority needed to override presidential veto. Tragic to think we have been denied the gift of one child's life due to lack of insurance. How many other Deamonte's walk among us, quietly bearing their pain, trying to get their homework done, unable to get the care they need through no fault of their own?


Thank you Children's Defense Fund for use of Deamonte's picture.

Labels: access to care, children, Deamonte, insurance

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World Breastfeeding Week

If you've ever given birth to a child (in America at least) or know anyone who has, then you may have heard of La Leche League International. LLLI, a true grass roots group that has flourished into a major international organization, is a formidable force in the movement to get every mother to breastfeed her baby, or babies, as the case may be. So what's my point? August 1st-7th 2007 is World Breastfeeding Week...yes, that's right, WORLD!

Apparently, babies/children are not the only ones who benefit from breastfeeding, so do mothers (the nursing mothers, that is) and society as a whole. This is not just me or even LLLI talking, this comes from such reputable organizations as the World Health Organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Breastfed kids tend to be healthier (fewer acute and chronic illnesses), and when they do get sick, tend to have fewer symptoms and shorter illnesses. By school age, they tend to score higher on cognitive and IQ tests as well as visual acuity tests.

Okay, for mothers, breastfeeding is work...a lot of work. Imagine not being able to engage in any activities that take you away from the baby for more than two hours...at least in the beginning. Fret not mamas, you're doing something good for yourself as well. Breastfeeding reduces your chances of developing ovarian and pre-menopausal breast cancers, and osteoporosis. You are more likely to return to your pre-pregnancy weight and feel more attached to your child (no pun intended), and this is just to name a few benefits, find more here.

Finally, and maybe of most concern to the vast majority, the benefits to society include a decrease in the need for health services (which we ALL contribute to), fewer sick days (and happier co-workers, in the case of working mothers). For those who are eco-conscious, breastfeeding requires no packaging and the production in no way causes any harm to the environment.

And there you have it! I realize that not everyone can actually participate in World Breastfeeding Week but if you know any lactating mothers you may point them in the direction of this blog to get some good information and encouraging words.

Photo courtesy of jessicafm

Labels: babies, breastfeed, breastfeeding, children, la leche league, mothers, nursing

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