News & Updates

In recognition of National Infant Mortality Awareness Month, the federal agencies focused on infant health and safety, ask all organizations who reach families and health care providers through media, print, and education to show infants sleeping alone, on their backs, and in a clutter-free crib, bassinet, or play yard.

The NICHD and its collaborators in American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities recently released a packet of tailored training materials and activities intended to help spread safe infant sleep messages in Native communities.

Breastfeeding provides many benefits for both mother and baby. The NICHD and other agencies and organizations encourage mothers to breastfeed their babies to capitalize on the many benefits it provides.

This month’s NICHD Research Perspectives features the report America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-being. Each year, 22 federal agencies collaborate to produce the report, a convenient reference for policymakers, the public, and anyone with in an interest in the nation’s children. It compiles key data about child and adolescent well-being in a variety of areas.

Children age 17 and under account for almost one quarter of the U.S. population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Because they make up such a large and important group in this country, and because their current health and well-being has implications for the nation’s future, a national priority is to monitor, protect, and improve children’s health and well-being.

The number of children living in the United States declined slightly, as did the percentage of the U.S. population who are children, according to the federal government’s annual statistical report on the well-being of the nation’s children and youth.

text4baby the free service that texts important health information to expectant and new moms, will now offer messages for dads, too!

text4baby External Web Site Policy is a free service that delivers important health information about the stages of pregnancy and baby’s first year to the cell phones and mobile devices of moms-to-be and new moms. Since its launch in February 2010, the program has sent more than 62 million messages. With more than 500,000 subscribers, text4baby is the largest “app” of its kind.

On December 5, 2012, the NICHD released the Scientific Vision: The Next Decade, the culmination of a collaborative process that began in 2011 to identify the most promising scientific opportunities for the Institute and the research community to pursue over the next decade. The Vision statement was made available during the NICHD’s 50th anniversary colloquium.

​Alan Guttmacher, M.D., Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) announced a number of changes to streamline the institute’s organizational structure and accelerate the exchange of scientific ideas.

A document charting a research course for the many collaborators who share an interest in promoting the science concerning human development through the life span, child health, women's health, and rehabilitation research is now available online.

As the Institute marks its golden anniversary, we look back on the NICHD's early years, its scientific accomplishments, and its future.

​The October 2012 NICHD Research Perspectives, the NICHD’s monthly podcast, is now online. The podcast features discussions of research of a study on a treatment to reduce the risk of preterm birth and the new Safe to Sleep campaign.

In 1994, the NICHD, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and other partners launched the Back to Sleep campaign, to inform parents and caregivers about ways to reduce the risk of SIDS, defined as the sudden, unexplained death of an infant younger than 1 year of age. Initially, the campaign focused on encouraging parents to put infants on their backs to sleep to reduce the risk of SIDS. Since the campaign began, U.S. SIDS rates have dropped by 50% overall and the rate of back sleeping has increased significantly. In fact among African Americans, and the rate of back sleeping among infants has tripled.

​The U.S. national campaign to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome has entered a new phase and will now encompass all sleep-related, sudden unexpected infant deaths, officials of the National Institutes of Health announced today.

It has been said that children are our most valuable resource and our best hope for the future. Protecting this valuable resource begins with an understanding of the health challenges America’s children and youth face today. Since 1997, the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics has collected data and issued an annual report on the state of our nation’s future with this goal in mind.

More than two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, and approximately 17% of Americans ages 2 to 19 are overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Obesity increases the likelihood of many serious health problems, including heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke, certain cancers, fatty liver disease, cirrhosis, liver failure, pregnancy complications, and infertility. Being overweight can be emotionally painful and can significantly impact life expectancy.

Although it could affect anywhere from 9% to 18% or more of women age 18 to 64 at any time during their lives, there are few definitive answers about vulvodynia—a group of conditions characterized by unexplained pain of the vulva.

Asthma is a growing problem in the United States, especially in children. This condition causes the airways of the lungs to swell and narrow, leading to wheezing, shortness of breath, and coughing. Inhaling certain substances or doing certain activities can trigger asthma symptoms. Common asthma triggers include animals, dust, chemicals in the air or in food, exercise, mold, pollen, stress, tobacco smoke, and respiratory infections such as colds.

Car accidents are the leading cause of death and disability for adolescents. As they shift from learning to drive in classrooms and parking lots to real on-road driving situations, they encounter shifts in weather, traffic, and road conditions, as well as potential distractions.